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This year’s election is unprecedented for many reasons, not least because for the first time in modern history a host of America’s most prominent historians, scholars, political analysts, military and business leaders, along with numerous Republican politicians are speaking out about the danger a Donald Trump presidency poses to our way of life.

Many of them are also critical of Hillary Clinton for a variety of reasons, but none of them sees her as a threat to our democracy the way they believe Trump is.

But it is just as important that we the people not lose sight of the fact that Trump is the candidate of the Republican Party, its standard bearer, and, therefore, represents what it believes in and stands for.

I call attention to this fact because the time when Americans could trust either major party to lead the nation with a commitment to the principle on which our democracy was founded is over.

Indeed, though it may sound like an overstatement, I truly believe today’s Republican Party (unlike the past) cannot and should not be trusted to honor, preserve, or strengthen our democratic way of life.

That, of course, sounds partisan, but I think I can show that it is not because of what the Constitution says. The first paragraph states unequivocally the principles that define the standards by which we measure what ideas, proposals, and policies are good and bad for the country.

Examining those principles is a good test for whether or not you should take what I am saying seriously.

Unity – “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union…” Unity is not an ideal. It is a working principle when it comes to establishing and maintaining democracy. Our country was founded with the goal of “a more perfect union.’ That is why it says, “We the People…” Democracy cannot survive without leaders committed to seeking that union, that unity.

Justice – “…establish justice…” As with unity, justice is not an ideal, it is a working principle if democracy is to work. A democracy must have leaders who weigh their ideas and policies according to whether or not they promote justice.

Security – “…provide for the common defense…” Security is more than “defense.” It is about “the common defense,” which means security must include everyone, not some, not the majority, but everyone. What is more, that “common defense” includes more than a military threat. It has to do with anything and everything that threatens the health and well-being of all the citizens of a democracy such as crime, poverty, lack of education, closed opportunities, injustices of all kinds.

Common Good – “…promote the general Welfare…” Democracy differs from other forms of government because of its commitment to the general welfare of the nation. Democracy doesn’t promote the good of some over others. Soldiers in arms believe in “leaving no one behind.” So does democracy. The common good includes everyone, not just some, a few, or a majority. It includes everyone.

Freedom – “…and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…” Freedom is a blessing, not simply a right. That means that democracy depends on every citizen recognizing that freedom is a gift given, not a right earned. That means freedom must always be exercised responsibly. That is why it appears last in the list. Responsible freedom means working at unity, justice, security, and the common good all the time. Otherwise, freedom is nothing more than doing whatever you want to do without regard for anyone but yourself.

These principles are what make American democracy – and all democracies – both possible and sustainable, and these principles are precisely what are under assault by the Republican Party.

The right to vote is a prime example of this fact.

Since the Supreme Court decision in 2013 eliminating the provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that required pre-approval for states to change their voting laws, Republican state legislatures across the nation have enacted laws for the sole purpose of making it more difficult for traditional democratic constituencies to vote.

Photo ID’s have gotten the most press, but they are a small part of what these laws have tried to do. They have shortened voting days, reduced the number of voting precincts, eliminated same day registration, made absentee voting more complicated, reduced voting rolls that deleted legitimate voters while refusing to count temporary ballots unless the voter with a photo ID goes to the court house the next day.

The evil intention of these laws has been exposed by the absolute, irrefutable proof that the voter fraud claim they have been based on does not exist. Worse, most of the provisions of the laws passed would have no impact on fraud if it did actually exist.

Moreover, we know from the concern about what the Russians are doing that any genuine threat to the integrity of our elections is cyber, not voter fraud.

In light of the facts, what Republican legislatures have done to limit voting rights represents a direct assault on the principles in the Constitution that make our democracy work. If they believed in those principles, they would be working to expand voting, not limit it.

But that would not benefit them, and those who now lead Republicans care more about winning than they do about democracy.

So does the entire Republican Party. The 2012 Republican Party platform applauded these efforts and encouraged them to continue.

Which brings us back to where we started. It is not only the ideas Donald Trump is floating that pose a threat to the principles of American democracy, it is the Republican Party itself.

There was a time in the not too distant past when this was not true. That it is today suggests that the only hope for the Republican Party, as well as the nation, is for Republicans to be resoundingly defeated in November.

That might encourage Republicans who care about our democracy to tell the extremists among them that enough is enough.