Donald Trump has had an uphill battle since the day, over a year ago, when he announced his candidacy for the Republican Party presidential nomination. Against long odds and endless naysayers in the media and in his own party, he secured the party nomination for president and in the process received more primary votes than any other previous Republican candidate. Ever. Sharing votes with 16 other primary candidates.

Now that he has the GOP nomination, one would think his main opponent would be Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party. If only it were so. Mrs. Clinton is a flawed candidate, corrupt and dishonest, running as the third term of the disastrous Obama eight-year presidency. This should be a cakewalk for any Republican candidates regardless of their experience, temperament, personality, hairstyle or any other distinguishing factors.

But it is not. Not only is Trump running against the Democratic Party, but he is also running against virtually every major media outlet as well as his own Republican Party. Donald still has strong support from “We the People,” those viewed with disdain and contempt by both political parties, big media, Hollywood, academia and all the other self-appointed, know-it-alls. Will that be enough to win the election?

Media support for the Democrat candidate, no matter who that is, should be a foregone conclusion. The alphabet networks, cable news shows and major newspapers are nothing more than campaign arms of the DNC. The most recent example is Khizr Khan receiving 50 times more coverage than Benghazi mother Pat Smith on the three major networks, ABC, CBS, NBC. When George W Bush was running for president, Code Pink and Cindy Sheehan were constantly on the news, protesting the Iraq war and excoriating George W Bush. Then in 2008 with a new Democrat president, the war protests went into silent mode receiving no media coverage, having already served their purpose.

What’s new this election cycle is the number of prominent Republicans denouncing Trump or promising to actively support the candidacy of his Democrat opponent. Three well known George W Bush administration officials, Richard Armitage, Henry Paulson and Brent Scowcroft have said “I’m with her” and will be supporting Hillary Clinton for president, rather than the nominee of their party. Meg Whitman, former Republican candidate for governor in California, also endorsed Clinton, promising to raise money and campaign on her behalf. 

Correction: The Koch Brothers have not withdrawn support from Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson over his support for Trump as was asserted earlier, and Charles Koch has emphatically stated that he will not support Hillary Clinton. Our apology for the error.

What happened to party unity? Remember the pledge taken by all 17 GOP primary candidates to support the eventual nominee? Ted Cruz refused to endorse Trump over attacks on his family. If Ted’s skin is that thin, he should stay out of national politics. Just ask Mitt Romney about personal attacks.

Did senior Republicans such as Paul Ryan or John McCain endorse Donald Trump for president? Actually quite the opposite. In fact, Ryan indicated he would be willing to sue a President Trump if he tries to limit Muslim immigration into the US. Now the GOP is apoplectic over Donald Trump, “Saying he was not yet ready to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan or Sen. John McCain in their 2016 reelection bids.” So Trump must support Ryan and McCain in their tough primaries but they have no similar obligation to support Trump in his tough presidential race? Huh? Does party unity only flow in one direction?

Don’t forget the Romney and Bush families, also refusing to support the nominee of their party. How many Republicans wrote checks for and held their noses in support of members of those families when they ran for president?

The GOP, via its leaders and party elders, has clearly chosen sides in this current presidential campaign. And they are choosing the Democrat side by not supporting their nominee, or by endorsing and campaigning for his opponent. Where is the “conscience” Ted Cruz speaks of?

What happened to the Republican Party? The party of small government, law and order, American exceptionalism and a strong presence on the world stage? Running from Trump into Clinton’s camp means giving up on everything the GOP stands for. Or at least used to stand for.

It seems that the GOP establishment has far more in common with the Democratic Party than their own party. The Republican Party establishment has just endorsed cronyism, as demonstrated and mastered by the Clintons. As well as open borders, big government, political correctness and the steady decline of American greatness and culture.

The new and improved GOP endorses a candidate willing to sell anything and everything, including national security, to line her own wallet. A candidate with a resume of nothing except failures in foreign and domestic policy. One who will stack the Supreme Court with a bunch of Ruth Bader Ginsburgs eager to rewrite the Constitution without a First or Second Amendment. Stop Trump and get Hillary along with all of this and much more.

I am a life member of the Republican Party so I’m stuck with that label. But locally I am registered as unaffiliated. My letters and emails from the GOP go into the trash. I and many others are left without a political party since the Republicans and Democrats are now one and the same. “What difference at this point does it make?” as someone prominent recently asked.

Frustrating but also illuminating as the mask is now off the GOP establishment, what they stand for and believe in. One party rule suits Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell just fine. They have more power and perks in the majority, but will still be well taken care of regardless of who runs Congress or sits in the White House. They make the rules, and the rules always favor the authors of those rules. They will have a front row seat at the trough of government largess. They will never struggle to pay their bills, get a job, afford health insurance or survive in crime-ridden neighborhoods.

The GOP has sold its soul, not for principles, morals or conscience, but for their own empowerment. Just as Bill and Hillary Clinton have done for decades. No wonder the two parties of today are such a good fit.

This is what Trump is paddling upstream against. All is not lost however. This week’s LA Times poll has Trump two points ahead of Clinton. Trump is filling stadiums. Clinton can’t fill a gymnasium.

Still, it may not even be possible for a Trump to win running as a third party candidate, which is what he is given that both the Democrat and Republican parties are allied against him. In the UK, the Brexit vote was talked down by the establishment, the elites and the ruling class. The people responded by kicking the elites in the teeth. There is still hope the same happens here in the US in November.

Brian C Joondeph, MD, MPS, a Denver based retina surgeon, radio personality, and writer. Follow him on Facebook  and Twitter.