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Never Trump
On the eve of Super Tuesday, Republicans face a grave decision: Are we the party of Lincoln and of Reagan, or are we the Party of Donald Trump?
I came of age during the Reagan Revolution. One of my earliest political memories was watching his speech at the 1976 Republican National Convention — one of millions of little kids hungry for optimism and a winsome smile in that unrelentingly bleak era. I didn’t reach voting age until after his re-election, but in high school, Reagan’s ideas inspired me to start reading National Review, argue individual freedom with my liberal civics teacher, and even join the US Navy.
The Republican Party was the home of bold, new ideas rooted in a love for our ancient founding documents. We viewed our nation as a shining city on a hill and invited all our fellow citizens to join us in perfecting this great American experiment.
In 2016, the mood is again bleak. After years of economic stagnation and ethnic strife punctuated by terror attacks, the American people want an easy way out. We don’t trust the feckless political class that has presided over our current malaise, or the economic elites who have been enriched by it. All of us feel angry, betrayed, and fed up.
“The American Dream is dead!” Donald Trump thunders at his angry rallies. “We don’t have victories anymore. The US has become a dumping ground for everyone else’s problems.” His solution is seductively simple: “If I get elected president, I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before, and we will make America great again!” The smile has been replaced with a scowl.
How will Trump usher in this utopia? He just will. He’ll build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. He’ll start a trade war with China, which will somehow lower prices and create jobs. He’ll pull out of the Middle East, while bombing it and taking their oil. He’ll give everyone government health care, make the economy grow like you wouldn’t believe, and change the First Amendment so people won’t say mean things about him.
The Strong Man on the white horse will save us — not through Congress, the courts, or the Constitution, but merely by willing it. And the price is cheap: All we have to do is admit that the American Experiment is dead. Our Founding Fathers were wrong about that individual liberty nonsense and we should bow to our new king. America will be so great your head will spin.
Trump praises the strength of Vladimir Putin and the Chinese communists who crushed the Tiananmen Square protestors. He approvingly retweets Mussolini fan accounts, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists. He refuses to denounce David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan, bizarrely assuming that will help him with voters in the Deep South.
I still hope, and pray, that Republicans won’t fall for this Democratic demagogue. But if Trump were to win the nomination, it would prove that the Party of Lincoln and Reagan was dead.
Political parties are created to serve us, not the other way around. The GOP has been a flawed vehicle to promote individual liberty, a sound national defense, and a dynamic economy. I had to swallow hard to vote for moderates like Romney and McCain. But voting for a big-government liberal is a bridge too far.
If the keys are handed to a would-be strongman, I have no choice but to step out of the car and walk my own way. Unlike many in the GOP establishment, for me principle is always more important than power. My conscience can have it no other way.
I joined the Party of Lincoln and the Party of Reagan. I will leave the Party of Trump.
If that makes me a bad Republican, so be it. I seek to be a good American.
Published in General
I don’t either. But over the past week I’ve been told that Cruz’s looks do him no favors and that Perry is inarticulate. How such lunacy took hold, I am not sure, but who can be surprised at a Trump arising in an environment where superficial, alternative-reality judgments like those are being made.
That poses an interesting question I’ve always wondered about. Namely, how far left could the Democrats go and still retain enough of their voting block in order to win national elections? I don’t know the answer to that question; but, with the speed at which the Dems have moved left (the Blue Dog Dems are now in the dustbin of history) in the last 8 years we’ll find out the answer in the not too distant future.
If we’re talking about a point where it’s Trump v Hillary, we’re beyond that decision. I’m hoping this is all moot after tomorrow, and that someone else has emerged that we unify behind. If it doesn’t happen, the idea that we can just abstain and be guilt-free doesn’t wash with me. We’re stained if we vote for Trump, and we’re stained if we don’t and get Hillary elected. I just can’t believe people are so willing to ignore Hillary’s lawlessness and responsibility for deaths because Trump’s an ass.
Add me to the list of those who will walk with you, Jon.
The Framers realized that democracy often devolved into irrational mob rule, and structured our Constitution accordingly. The great irony of 2016 is that the Democrat Party has a more republican form of primary than the Republican Party which is currently being undone by too much democracy.
Say what you will about nominees being chosen in smoke-filled back rooms by party bosses, it never produced a candidate as unpalatable as Donald Trump.
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What an awful choice: a crony-capitalist, lying crook or a crony-capitalist, lying blowhard/con-man. We are doomed and I am torn.
I first met Trump in a business deal about 10 years ago and have disliked him ever since. He is un-trust worthy and an unbelievable teller of tall tails (of which he is the hero). On the other hand, Clinton runs a shameless money laundry making an enormous fortune based on business/government cronyism and is a transparent liar about why she set up her “home-brew” email system. She obviously wanted to avoid the official records act. The fact that she sent classified documents over it just compounds the crime.
It will have to be a third party in the hope that a foundation can be laid for what ever follows the collapsed Republican Party. Lincoln after all was a Whig before participating in the foundation of today’s Republican Party.
It’s good to see fellow conservatives putting our ideals before party.
McCain.
Oh please. You don’t even get the reasoning if you say that.
Sorry, I just don’t buy that. What’s “white” about conservatism?
Yes, that is ironic. When I first saw that Bernie had no chance because the Party made sure before he ran, I thought, see at least we are still democratic.
But now, I realize why the framers made it so informed people chose the candidate. And then let the people choose between people of some integrity to the goals of the party.
Now I long for smoke filled rooms and good government that is responsive to the needs of the people.
We should go back to State legislatures electing Senators too.
We messed with the systems and this is what we got.
If Trump is nominee, the party will have left me much like RR & Dems of old.
Super delegates, anyone?
Surely, your “oh please” can produce something here, right? What has Trump produced whose specifics aren’t a nightmare born of Democrat fantasy?
This is your opportunity: tell me specifically (preferably using Trump’s words or writings) on which issues he is superior to Rubio. Keep in mind that unless Trump simply intends to steam-roll Congress, that the normal path for changing the law is “passing legislation” which Trump hasn’t ever admitted to being a requirement for his awesomeness to take effect.
He’ll have to do better than he has to convince me. The issue is, apparently you can beat something with nothing so long as the nothing is a bloviating, crony-capitalist, burnt-sienna-colored weeble from the Bronx.
Yup.
Yes this. Faith and Reason work hand in hand. Faith comes from the heart. Reason and Intellect sustains Faith in times of emotional distress and turmoil. I will walk if I have to. I am not motivated by the phrase the lesser of two evils. The lessers both have one thing in common, they are both evil.
Imagine in a paralleled universe, people took a good honest look at Trump and rejected him, and Marco was surging on to the nomination. At Ricochet, you’d all be celebrating and looking forward to the general with optimism.
But there would still be a large number of voters asking themselves the disheartened question you’re facing now: can I bring myself to vote for this guy (Rubio)? Crony Capitalism. Amnesty. So discouraging for people like me.
Rubio would stand a good chance of losing, just like Romney did (and I voted for Romney)
Paul Erickson:
Surely, your “oh please” can produce something here, right? What has Trump produced specifics on that aren’t a nightmare born of Democrat fantasy?
______________________
I support Rubio.
NEVER TRUMP!
Because Rubio’s politics are very conservative. And he is the only one being honest about immigration. They all agree with what Rubio’s stand is, but they lie about it. Because reality is what Rubio says and they are pandering to the same voters that Trump is pandering too.
I agree with Cruz most, of course, but a President can’t govern by himself, he has to be able to convince others to join him… and Cruz can’t do that, he does not have the personality, or the understanding of human nature. And he is lying about what he really wants the immigration policy to be.
I will never support Trump. I have already determined that leaving the spot blank is preferable to Hillary, but if it is close in my state, I will vote for Hillary. Because Trump being the face of my party will turn the country to the left more quickly than Hillary winning would.
The GOP is not the Party of the KKK. And if it becomes that, by nominating Trump, I’m out.
Give me a third Party, with the people who are standing strong, I include Rubio. And I’m there.
We will have to revisit this type of thread many times during the general and see if allegiances stay the same as 1) the media ravage his name and turn it into pig farm backwash and 2) Trump continues to constantly changes positions. He does love him some polls. In the general those polls will include Dems.
In the end however, Trump is a one trick pony. He’s got the anger shtick down. But if it becomes apparent that he has lost the conservative vote he will have to replace it somewhere. As crazy as this has been I won’t be shocked if he goes after the Bernie contingent. Anger is anger. It would be funny to see him try to get to the left of Clinton now wouldn’t it? There is more of them than there are of us. When principles have no value, it just comes down to numbers.
If he ends up to the left of Clinton will he still be a better choice than her?
Harder to keep up with this thread than the PIT on opening day.
I have to go along with Kozak on this. There isn’t enough time to form a competitive third party and get on ballots between now and November. In 1976 a popular position was “I can’t support Ford because he pardoned Nixon,” with the result being that Carter gained the presidency. In this case the morality of both presumptive candidates is repugnant, but I think Clinton will be worse for the country than Trump.
My exact thought this morning. When I hear people like Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity become Trump supporters, it’s like, they never believed the things they said before.
It’s only about beating Hillary? Because that’s important. But Trump is just so much worse, he would do worse things in my name.
Please, you who have power in the former GOP, give me a third party, and not headed by nutcases, but honest conservatives, and yes that is what Rubio is. And I think Romney is too. You should take with a grain of salt the people spinning his record of conservative apostasy to you…. are now supporting Trump. And Mitt is not.
We should do a count down until Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh go all in for Trump… they are fakes.
Pardon me if I failed to understand. I’m still not sure I do.
Indeed, this is precisely what happened in 2012. And I voted for Romney, too.
Again, the Trumpeteers don’t care about all these cries of fear from Republicans or conservatives. They are driven by hate for the GOP. “I’m outa here” is music to their ears. What do they want? They say it over and over again. They type it in every comment section, every tweet and every internet chat room thread….”BURN IT ALL DOWN!”
Some are hidden Democrat tools who are just fomenting rage but many are legit conservatives who have been pushed past the breaking point.
If Trump rolls tomorrow, the only play is to figure out a few planks we can walk with Trump on and figure out how to help him convert those into a campaign that sounds conservative enough to not destroy the party. We need to start figuring out how we are going to hold this guy accountable and somehow work with him and move forward after 8 years of bowing in front of Obama.
I believed that for a long time.
Have you seen his ad for Trump University? It’s exactly the same. And people gave him thousands of dollars. And got nothing.
And did you see him come unhinged at Jeb, yelling about George’s supposed lies? Then the next day he was all calm… It was lunacy how he put on a different face. It fooled me a bit.
Then he got beaten down by Rubio and Cruz, and the next day he was just a lunatic. It was truly frightening to imagine him with actual power over my life. Did you see him?
I think Trump is unstable, a lunatic, mentally ill…. something.
Now he says he’s not doing anymore debates.
No, Trump is a con artist, using the same tactics that have made him millions, it’s no mystery that he is winning, but I’m not participating.
Hillary’s a crook and a felon, but she isn’t unstable, and honestly there are donors she has to answer too. If she gets crazy they can stop her.
I will never be in the Party of the KKK. Trump and Sessions pandered for the KKK vote yesterday.
Nope, very, very, last straw, I’m out.
It’s funny how many think this is about beating Hillary.
It’s not.
It’s about keeping a lunatic out of the Whitehouse.
You can’t bargain with a lunatic. Especially one who has never been told “no” by anyone ever in his life.
Even keeping the Supreme Court takes a back seat to putting a lunatic in the Whitehouse!
The GOP is gone. The sooner you realize that the sooner you can make your choices accordingly.
There is no way to come back from here.
2. Or the base of the Party leaves the Party and starts up our own.
Trump supporters wanted to burn down the whole system… they did burn down the GOP, it’s not here anymore. There is no saving it.
This isn’t a few people who will never vote for Romney.
This is about the character and soul of the GOP. They sold their soul to Trump and the GOP is over.
So.
I disagree, but winning is no longer an option.
Replacing graft and corruption with graft and corruption is not winning.
There is no win, only lose.
This is where it started…you really do have to go back the the original progressives 100 years ago. When the states got their voices removed from the equation, the rapacious growth of the federal government was assured. Washington became the only power center, unopposed by any state legislature. Throw in the New Deal, and lo these many years later you have DC as a literal boomtown insulated from the rest of the country. Voters elected representatives who valued power more than they valued their constituents. Placated with myriad federal handouts the state legislatures and a lot of citizens were like the proverbial boiling frog, unaware of their pending demise. Apparently, plenty of individual voters are more like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction rising gasping from the bathtub. And the chatterers are gobsmacked.