They've only been able to win one Presidential election fair and square since 1991: the Dubya post-9/11 contest.
That is almost three decades! Only one Republican victory in this century won the popular vote; and that was only because no nation feels comfortable about changing horses in midstream in wartime.

The fact an exposed adulterer (Bill Clinton), Al Gore, a black man and a woman all can get more popular votes than the full spectrum of Republican Conservative ideology has convinced them they dare not ever let go of power. With the changing demographics and ethnicity of the nation they know they would never get it back again.

Through limitless plutocratic funding, demagoguery, obstructionism, outright lies (remember birtherism, Fox News, the refusal to implement Obamacare, Pizzagate and Benghazi), clever voter manipulation and suppression they have managed to control the legislature, the States and the courts, so they now have the power to simply ignore any constitutional or statutory obstacles in their path.

It actually started way before Trump was elected, although I didn't realize it myself until Obama tried to hold hearings for a Supreme Court Justice and the Republicans simply refused. They didn't just fail to confirm his nomination, (which was their right, but would have meant political scrutiny from the electorate), they simply just chose not to hold hearings. This is unprecedented, at least in this country.

The Soviet Constitution guaranteed freedom of religion, assembly and speech to the Soviet citizen too, but with just one party in power, the question never seemed to come up, did it?