Columnist Cal Thomas says he was going to write a column about how the Republican presidential campaign has become gutter politics. But given the comments from Donald Trump and others, he felt that the gutter would be a step up. The political campaign has descended into the sewer.
It is possible that the name-calling and character assassination will diminish as Donald Trump gains more delegates and is no longer facing a challenge from the few remaining candidates. But that doesn’t change the damage that has been done by his comments and the responses from Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

First, Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party will use all of his comments during the campaign and from past decades. After all, he has attacked women (Rosie O’Donnell, Carly Fiorina), news anchors (Meagan Kelly), talk show hosts (Hugh Hewitt), news operations (CNN, FoxNews), and the president of Mexico. That is just for starters. He is perhaps the most target-rich candidate in the history of American politics.

Second, his attacks obscure his positions on key issues facing the nation. Sure, he says he wants to make America great again. But how does he plan to do it? Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich put it this way. We don’t know what kind of president Donald Trump will be, because he doesn’t know what kind of president he will be.

Third, Donald Trump is losing lots of potential votes in the fall because of his behavior. Senator Ben Sasse and talk show host Eric Erickson already are saying they will not vote for Donald Trump if he is the nominee. John Stemberger writes that there are Three questions evangelicals should ask about Donald Trump. Michael Brown explains Why Evangelical Christians Should Not Support Donald Trump. Pastor Max Lucado wonders why decency isn’t doing better in the presidential race?

This is what happens when a presidential campaign descends into the sewer.