Every morning, before we open our eyes, every one of us must grapple with the excruciating possibility that Donald Trump could be re-elected. It’s the nightmare from which we cannot awake, at least for now. And yet, something is stirring in the Republican Party. After eight vertiginous years of rot and decay, made no less alarming by their often buffoonish character, the GOP seems to be taking some tentative steps toward normality.

Consider the state of Texas. The Lone Star State has contributed more than its share to the degradation of American politics through the good offices of Ted Cruz, a chief instigator of the Jan. 6 insurrection through his election denialism; Greg Abbott, a conspiracy booster, immigrant exploiter and gun extremist; and state GOP chairman Allen West, a secessionist. It was Texas attorney general Ken Paxton who filed the specious 2020 lawsuit the Supreme Court to disqualify the votes of states Biden won. If the Court had taken the case, Ted Cruz would have argued it.

And yet, Texas Republicans did something we’ve only fantasized about in recent years — they impeached Ken Paxton. Paxton’s abuse of office came to light when four attorneys in his office, all reportedly Republicans and conservatives, reported him. When he fired them, they filed a whistleblower suit and won a $3.3 million settlement.

Something else happened in the past two weeks that felt different.

Trump engaged in his usual lickspittle sycophancy toward a gross despot, congratulating Kim Jong-Un on his election to the executive board of the World Health Organization (international organizations are not known for their high ethical standards.)

And Republican politicians, rather than 1) claiming that they didn’t see the comments, 2) suggesting that this is a media-generated controversy, 3) saying they are focusing on real issues like inflation or the crisis at the border or 4) offering that Trump really has a point when you think about it, did something else.

They condemned him in clear terms.

Mike Pence said, “Whether it’s my former running mate or anyone else, nobody should be praising the dictator in North Korea.”

Not only do these comments reflect a reaffirmation of traditional American values, they framed their criticism of Trump in moral terms.

They didn’t dodge the fitness question by saying he was a likely loser.

Will it last? Who knows? Recent history mocks the optimist. But if not an earthquake, these developments are at least tremors that suggest something may be changing in the Republican Party.