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Evan McMullin – For Many Of Us, Why in the World Not?
@dickfrombrooklyn (oh, dear…or was it @ctlaw? I had already had a few beers) and I were talking with Rob Long last night at the meetup, and I was lamenting that there isn’t more discussion on the site about Evan McMullin. Today, I actually used the Ricochet search function (something I don’t usually do, though I am a champion Googler) and found that, in fact, there have been a couple of posts. Anyway, last night, Rob’s response to my lamentation was: “Write something!”
OK.
If you are a committed NeverHillary conservative and you are (i) NeverTrump (not voting for Rodham or Trump), or (ii) ReluctantlyTrump (holding your nose and voting for him) even though you think he has no chance of winning, or (iii) ReluctantlyTrump but live in a blue state where your vote doesn’t make a difference anyway, why not vote for McMullin – the only true conservative in the race?
Rather than refraining from voting, or voting for someone you don’t like and think can’t win, or voting for someone you don’t like in a state where your vote “doesn’t matter,” why not vote for the one who expresses to the world, “This is who we are?”
If every single person that met the descriptions (i), (ii), or (iii) voted for McMullin, wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing?*
I’ve heard that there’s a possibility McMullin will win Utah. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing?*
If McMullin won non-trivial numbers of voters in other states, making him more than a just a forgotten footnote in this election, wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing?*
The only problem I see (I am NeverHillary/NeverTrump) in voting for McMullin as a write-in is a minor, procedural one. It’s ridiculous, but apparently, even though McMullin has named the delightfully-named Mindy Finn as his running mate, his legal running mate is another person — a friend of McMullin’s who acted as a placeholder in the paperwork. I can’t even remember the guy’s name. But I believe you can’t write in Finn’s name as Vice President — you have to write in this other guy’s name. Sheesh! Fortunately, this is an issue that some quick Googling could resolve. It’s easy enough to go to McMullin’s website and figure out how to vote for him in your state.
I do wish there was a groundswell of like-minded people willing to turn out and make a declaration, via their vote, that’s collectively less of a whimper and more of a shout.
It’s probably naïve, but I like to think that McMullin’s candidacy could be, as he suggests, the beginning of a new conservative (“Conservative?”) party in the US. I’m beginning to think this is something that needs to occur.
* When I say “wonderful thing,” I am obviously describing the perspective of someone who falls into categories (i), (ii), or (iii) above. I don’t need to hear from folks in the comments saying, “Of course it’s not a wonderful thing, because only Trump can fix!”
Published in General
Hail my McMullin brother. I am with you 100% percent of the way. In fact I think I might be one of those few McMullin posters on this site. The only way to show your displeasure with both Trump and the GOP leadership but still your support for conservatism is to vote for McMullin. So yes it would be wonderful to make him into a true story of the evening.
I’m sorry your underwear is all in a bunch about McMullin, but you have to remember he isn’t a typical politician stepped in the ways of double speak. He tells it like it is not afraid to hold back and challenge the GOP establishment and their presidential candidate. He is a fighter.
He called Trump out on his BS. And as we know Trump is the avatar of pure unPC rage. Only filthy SWJ would question him or the holly truths he utters from his midnight Tweeting.
My family is voting McMullin. (I live in a deep south state that will go solidly for Trump.) My dream is the Trump-and-Hillary-both-fall-short-of-270-McMullin-wins-Utah-and-the-House-gives-the-presidency- to- a conservative- Republican (McMullin) scenario.
I know its a long shot, but a guy can dream can’t he. Plus, you have to admit, it’s been one crazy election cycle.
You are not alone. It’s pretty obvious he’s a puppet whose strings are pulled by the man I voted for for president four years ago in a fruitless attempt to deprive the Republican party’s candidate of the electoral votes from Utah. There’s a reason our former presidential candidate always reminded me of Eddie Haskell.
That and $5 will buy you a small latte.
I would have voted for other Republicans candidates over Hillary Clinton. For the last couple of months, I have said that I would be voting for Hillary who is much better than Trump. But I have changed my mind and will be writing in Evan McMullin for President on my ballot in Arizona.
Evan McMullin has been endorsed by General Michael Hayden, former Director of the CIA and NSA, and noted conservatives Bill Kristol, Jonah Goldberg, Erick Erickson, Mona Charen, and Jay Nordlinger. The Emerson College Utah Poll from October 17-19, 2016 has Evan McMullin in first place at 31%, followed by Trump at 27%, Clinton at 24% and Johnson at 5%. If Evan McMullin carries Utah, and neither Trump nor Clinton has a majority of electoral votes, it is possible that Evan could be named as President by the House of Representatives under the Twelfth Amendment.
But much more important is that voting for Evan McMullin would carry the strong message to the Republican Party and America that conservatives reject Trump, and that they support the hopeful, inspiring and inclusive Republican Party of Ronald Reagan. Trump does not represent my values and he is manifestly unfit.
If McMullin had spent a 1/10th of the time attacking Hillary that he spends on Trump I might have given him a listen. But he (and his handler, Rick Wilson) seem to be running a primary campaign.
As if there weren’t other issues — amounting to nearly every past Republican Party platform since 1980 — where McMullin could have made hard, uncompromising distinctions with Trump. But he chooses to play the lazy race card for the immediate warm embrace of Beltway journalists and the self-hating DC GOP establishment. Even with that, a vote for McMullin in Utah (even better to get actively involved) is the best nonzero chance to elect a Republican other than Trump. Mass GOP movement towards Johnson in NM would help too but intelligent coordinated activity outside of the balloon fiesta or the Sunport is not a signature NM trait.
So racism is as bad in the GOP as absentee fathers are in the black community?
You don’t think that is too broad a brush?
I believe you and I thrashed this about on another thread. Short answer: you probably aren’t the only one who feels that way. But still, that’s small potatoes, even if you do take his comments as you do, rather than as I do, compared to the Trump Trainwreck.
Johnny, I’ll be voting for McMullin as well, if I can figure out how to do it.
His idiotic and false not to mention PUBLIC remarks about the GOP and racism are contemptible and should end his idiotic so-called career. What is wrong with people!? I mean come ON. I won’t be checking back in on this thread. Unbelievable.
Okay, as long as racism in the GOP isn’t as bad as absentee fathers in the NBA. (Full disclosure: Avenue Q racist/Bulworth Solution adherent)
Meanwhile, on Trump? Talk about unbelievable.
I still haven’t decided whether to write in McMullin (or someone else). His remarks on racism were less precise than I would have liked them to be, but more right than wrong. I mostly agree with him on immigration, though, so that’s a point in his favor.
I will now sit back and wait to be called a liberal-RINO-elitist-SJW-open-borders-globalist. Say, speaking of the right’s circular firing squad….
You realize that was an analogy, not a comparison, right?
Yes, if Republicans could perform some anal cranial extractions, maybe we could embrace the spirit of Avenue Q:
Please Educate me. What is a SWJ? SJW? I guess I need a program to follow Ricochet, or I need to quit my job and follow Ricochet 24/7…
You’re aware of the irony right?
Not from me. But I would like to know what is imprecise about racism is a “deep problem” in the GOP. Speaking of circular.
You’re right. Why am I upsetting myself by reading this? I’m clicking Unfollow .
McMullin’s “racist!” appeal is one reason to reject him, but I’d like to offer another reason. McMullin’s candidacy is nothing but an attack on the GOP nominee. As such, his candidacy put at risk Republicans’ and Conservatives’ efforts to deny HRC the White House. In other words, McMullin’s candidacy betrayed our earnest attempt to interrupt Leftist control of our government, all for the purpose of point-scoring within the GOP. These facts render the man’s personal views irrelevant, particularly since there was never any possibility that he would win the election. To support this man in the name of conservatism is a travesty.
Sal, what’s the worst thing I have called any member here? Racist is a big league insult. You want to do moral equivalence, go ahead.
I swear no loyalty to the GOP. They betrayed me by nominating an unqualified, center-left, authoritarian narcissist. I owe neither them nor him anything.
By nominating a different leftist?
I Agree that you don’t owe the GOP anything. I made no such claim.
As to your second point, most anti-Hillary proponents had nothing whatsoever to do with nominating Trump. He was, unfortunately, what the party served up.
[added] He is the only tool at our disposal for stopping Hillary.
I wish McMullin hadn’t said that. I also wish Trump hadn’t sound so surprised republicans want to protect gays from being murdered.
Strike one for McMullin. Strike 5,742,183 for Trump.
So what? The relevant comparison isn’t McMullin vs. Trump.
I live in a blue state but still vote like my vote matters, because as long as those on the right concede the idea that there is no point to voting you have ceded you’re right to vote to the left. Which is why blue states will remain blue for the foreseeable future. Every vote counts and it literally takes 20 mins. Also for the never Trumpers in blue states if your vote doesn’t matter anyway why not vote for Trump it’s not like it will make a difference as per your reasoning?
Huh? Isn’t that what this is all about? Some of us are going to vote McMullin and others think we shouldn’t because we should vote for Trump?
And that’s the explicit comparison being made by some. See comment 21.