Above is the face of the Trump base. Do you think they really care that Trump views women as his sexual prey?
The Donald is not toast any more than he was after the first debate. And having establishment Republicans flee from his campaign only plays to is anti-establishment persona. Trump’s campaign is fueled by white male rage, anti-abortion zealots, and white supremacy its various manifestations ranging from anti-immigration dogma to voter disenfranchisement. And the business establishment is on board because they know a Trump administration will eviscerate what remains of the nations environmental and worker right protections and regulations. [And they also know that Trump’s populist, anti-global trade promises, should he try to enact them, can be easily blocked at the house and senate levels; that is what lobbyist are for].
We can imagine an alternative scenario where in 2008 John Edwards had secured the nomination before his infidelities came to light. That event would have been devastating and the Democrats would have likely been eviscerated in their down stream elections. The difference is that Edward’s behavior was antithetical to the ethos of his campaign and an affront to the values held by the Democratic base.
There is no hypocrisy in Trump being a sexual predator; This revelation is not much different than a tape surfacing in which Trump makes a racist statement. Yes, such explicit references make it harder to put a “Mike Pence” whitewash (in every sense of the term) on Trump’s world-view. And this scandal will likely tip undecideds away from Trump (but not necessarily toward Hillary Clinton—they might sit out or vote Libertarian).
Once the crisis dust settles, the right wing media will find some way to spin this scandal in a less damaging way (even if they have to roll out Sarah Palin condemning the lamestream media) and I suspect that many GOP leaders will walk back their renouncements in the coming weeks, once they realize that Trump is not going anywhere. [The damage control strategy is hard to envision. I can't imagine trump playing the contrite, I ask God for forgiveness card. I suspect instead a mix of the liberal media is out to get our card guy mixed with a lot of anti-Hilllary/”Bill had a sex scandal” conflations].
My skepticism about this event being a game changer that seals the election for the democrats is that trump campaign has disrupted the standard rules of the game and, as Rachel Maddow has routinely reported, normalized behaviors and statements that would have, in the past, been certain deathknells. Recently, Hillary Clinton ask during a campaign stump why she is not up 50 points in the race against the most unqualified candidate in modern history (if not all history).
Why aren't I 50 points ahead
As Moyers & company note, misogyny is the answer (or at least the primary factor). So, really why should these revelations change the fundamental dynamics?