The race is almost finished for the Republicans. It would take a miracle for Donald Trump to not be the GOP candidate for President. While there is still hope in the form a Trump meltdown or a third party conservative candidate, chances are high that we’ll have to choose between Trump, Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson, a symbolic vote, or no vote at all.
This will, of course, be one of my most viciously attacked articles I’ve written in a while. The #NeverHillary crowd includes millions. Many of these people can’t stand Trump but who hate/fear him less than they hate/fear Hillary. Now is not the time to lecture anyone about how choosing the lesser of two evils is choosing evil nonetheless. It’s also not the time to make the argument that as disastrous as a Clinton White House would be, it might not be worse than a Trump White House. I received a Tweet reply today that concisely made the case of why this may be true:
@0boy HRC is consistently wrong but with few exceptions not horribly wrong. DT wrong less but disastrously so.
— David Foran4Cruz (@4nconsulting) June 2, 2016
I’ll disagree slightly about Clinton being “not horribly wrong” with few exceptions as she has numerous liberal policy proposals which are definitely horribly wrong, but otherwise the concept is righteous. Trump won’t be wrong as often as Clinton, but when he makes the mistakes that he’s certain to make and reacts childishly as he’s certain to react, the consequences for America will be much greater. We may not be able to recover from either Presidency, which is why this video Tweeted out by Nancy French fits our current predicament perfectly:
My husband @davidafrench is in Vermont thinking and praying, and if I know him he's watched this clip at least once: https://t.co/H3NAqjFvQS
— Nancy French (@NancyAFrench) June 2, 2016
Ted Cruz, other Republican politicians, conservative pundits, and voters should renounce Donald Trump. If that means a quiet non-endorsement such as what Michigan Governor Rick Snyder did, so be it. What I would prefer to see is a clear message sent that both renounces Trump and establishes the need for the American Conservative Movement to recover from this setback immediately.
Here’s my statement:
As a Republican, I renounce the nomination of Donald J. Trump for President of the United States. Despite winning with a plurality of votes and delegates and with the understanding that most Republicans are now supporting him as the only way to stop the Democrats from winning the White House, I refuse to comply with the majority opinion that Mr. Trump is now the standard bearer leading our party into political battles. I will not leave the party because there are still strong, conservative Republicans running for other offices who need support, but I will not be voting for Mr. Trump.
If he wins the Presidency, I will respect the authority of the office and would defend the Constitution side-by-side with him as the office is called to do. I will continue to fight for the American Conservative Movement that has a far superior grasp of the solutions necessary to propel our country down a better path than Mr. Trump does. I will also continue to work within the party itself to champion the conservatism that once defined us. I hold no ill will towards those who support Mr. Trump as he and his campaign carry the full weight of the circumstance they’ve created. If I stand alone on these perspectives, I am prepared to fight alone. The United States of America should represent the blessings bestowed by our Father to a people who want to do His will. I fear that Mr. Trump does not share the values that this nation needs in order to fulfill our role in this world.
What’s next? I believe it is our duty to fight for an alternative. While I see some wisdom in the stance that a non-viable conservative candidate would offer Trump a scapegoat in a loss similar to how Ralph Nader was viewed as the spoiler for Al Gore, I am more compelled by the calling to fight the good fight even in the face of near-certain defeat. It is my sincere hope that the candidate I supported, Ted Cruz, will share in this perspective, decline to endorse Trump, and assist any worthy candidate who takes the courageous step of challenging the evil at our doorsteps.
Why is Cruz so important for this to work? The fact that he was the last to oppose Trump is a start, but it’s not the most important reason. Getting pundits and voters to realize the importance of our stand against Trump is easy. In fact, it’s already happening with a good number of “Never Trumpers” holding out and getting abused daily for their “state of denial.” There are a handful of elected officials who have already given Trump a “nay,” but none of them can have the necessary impact to counter names like Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, and Mitch McConnell who have already boarded the Trump Train. We need a leader for this movement to work and it’s not going to be Mitt Romney or Jeb Bush (no offense). Senator Ben Sasse is notable, but he doesn’t have the clout yet (though I believe he will eventually). We need a strong elected official to help justify the cause and Cruz is the ideal person to do it.
From there, our path becomes more clear regardless of what happens this election.
Consolidate Under the Conservative Umbrella
Patriots, whether they reluctantly support Trump or are stalwart in their opposition, must consolidate when the dust settles to form a stronger union of conservatism through which the political conversation can be shifted. Both the liberals and big government Republicans have enjoyed power for far too long and the results can be seen all around us.
I continue to refer to this as the American Conservative Movement even though such an entity doesn’t exist… yet. It most likely will. First, we will explore pre-existing organizations to see if they are prepared to bring the message to the masses or not. If no single organization can be found with the appropriate combination of conservative ideology and clout, we will start fresh and work to bring other individuals, groups, and organizations together to unify the conservative message.
New Party? Probably Not.
Whether it’s true or not, I have to believe that as of today the majority of Republicans are still conservatives. Many have become shell shocked by Trump’s rise. Others have lightly embraced him as less repugnant than Clinton but they’ll retain their conservative beliefs regardless of who wins. Then, there are those who are leaning left with Trump and turning into populists and nationalists without fully understanding what they’re embracing. Until this last group controls the party fully, our best course of action is to push forward within the party itself.
Forming a major party is nearly impossible today. A few years ago, it would have been considered completely impossible. Today, the internet allows the right reach in order to quickly (less than a decade) establish a political party that could pull from both Republicans and old school “Reagan Democrats” as well as Libertarians who are seeing their party shift away from the principles exemplified by Senator Ron Paul.
If it must be done, so be it, but at this point the chances are slim.
Re-educate
The left controls the American education system. We will have the daunting task of reaching those in high school and at universities, but we must also be able to re-educate them once they’ve already been indoctrinated. People like Ben Shapiro and other conservatives who are occasionally allowed to speak on campus must continue to plant the seeds. As for the rest of us, we must be ready with an answer. We must be articulate in our defenses when the opportunity comes up whether in person or online.
We must spread the word.
I am a firm believer that conservatism only makes sense to those who dig below the surface. Socialism sounds great at first glance. Liberalism seems to be the more caring perspective until it’s viewed with more scrutiny. Even big government Republicans must be shown why their perspectives must change.
We have the advantage of facts. We have the truth on our side. When a person’s feelings are cleaned from their lens of discernment, they will be more likely to see clearly how conservatism is truly the most compassionate way of thinking and governing.
Conclusion
Alexander Hamilton has been quoted a thousand times since Trump started seeming like the eventual nominee, but his quote must be stated once again as my conclusion: “If we must have an enemy at the head of Government, let it be one whom we can oppose, and for whom we are not responsible, who will not involve our party in the disgrace of his foolish and bad measures.”
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