Evan McMullin – For Many Of Us, Why in the World Not?

 

Evan McMullin@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!”

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  1. Kate Braestrup Member
    Kate Braestrup
    @GrannyDude

    I think I can do this in Maine.

    I usually vote absentee, in case I get called to a crisis on election day, so if I pop by the town office, I can find out and get it done.

     

    • #1
  2. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    I’m probably approaching beating this horse to death, but am I the only one who sees McMullin’s intemperate comments about GOP racism as more or less disqualifying?  I’ll admit to having considerable sensitivity in this area since it so plays into the lib narrative.

    • #2
  3. Carol Member
    Carol
    @

    Hoyacon: am I the only one who sees McMullin’s intemperate comments about GOP racism as more or less disqualifying?

    Me too.

    • #3
  4. Johnny Dubya Inactive
    Johnny Dubya
    @JohnnyDubya

    Hoyacon:I’m probably approaching beating this horse to death, but am I the only one who sees McMullin’s intemperate comments about GOP racism as more or less disqualifying? I’ll admit to having considerable sensitivity in this area since it so plays into the lib narrative.

    Would you be so kind as to provide a link, or paste his quote(s) verbatim?  Thanks!

    • #4
  5. TKC1101 Member
    TKC1101
    @

    I just assume McMullin supporters are happy being called racists. Go figure. All those years of the Progressives doing it, kind of makes you wonder. Maybe true conservatism is just like progressivism….

    • #5
  6. Johnny Dubya Inactive
    Johnny Dubya
    @JohnnyDubya

    Quote 1:

    Finn: “[The GOP did] a terrible job in outreach and appealing to nonwhite voters.”

    McMullin: “It’s nonwhite voters, but it’s also millennials, it’s also women — these are all groups that the Republican Party needed to appeal more to.”

    No problem there.  He’s right.  Next…

    • #6
  7. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Johnny Dubya:

    Hoyacon:I’m probably approaching beating this horse to death, but am I the only one who sees McMullin’s intemperate comments about GOP racism as more or less disqualifying? I’ll admit to having considerable sensitivity in this area since it so plays into the lib narrative.

    Would you be so kind as to provide a link, or paste his quote(s) verbatim? Thanks!

    Interview with Byron York.  Lame of me not to provide a link. Sorry.

     

    • #7
  8. Johnny Dubya Inactive
    Johnny Dubya
    @JohnnyDubya

    Quote 2:

    McMullin: “The Republican Party has a problem now with people, candidly, in its ranks, members and some voters, who don’t embrace, I think, some foundational truths upon which our country was founded and which it has drawn nearer to over time.”

    Somewhat oblique, but it apparently was said in the context of racism.  OK, maybe he’s stating some hard truths.  He’s not talking about all Republicans, though.  One can’t deny that there are some nasty racists out there who have become more vocal in this cycle.  They’re all over social media.

    • #8
  9. TKC1101 Member
    TKC1101
    @

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/10/wow-nevertrump-candidate-evan-mcmullin-says-republicans-racist/

     

    I’m a racist, you’re a racist, you can be a racist too….

    • #9
  10. Johnny Dubya Inactive
    Johnny Dubya
    @JohnnyDubya

    Quote 3:

    McMullin: “Number one is that we are all created equal.  That is something that Donald Trump, I don’t believe, has embraced, nor have some of his supporters. And it’s a deep problem in the Republican Party, and that’s just the truth.”

    Hmm, well, I wish he had given an example of what he’s talking about with regard to Trump.  He shouldn’t have asserted without an example.  But, again, it’s indisputable that there are vocal Trump supporters – a minority of supporters, but a non-trivial number – who are racialists.  Perhaps it is a deep problem in the party.  Perhaps it’s akin to the John Birchers.  Perhaps these elements need to be treated as the Birchers were.

    • #10
  11. Johnny Dubya Inactive
    Johnny Dubya
    @JohnnyDubya

    Quote 4:

    McMullin: “There’s no reason for [minorities to feel they’re not welcome in the Republican party].  Those people [who feel left out of the Democratic party because it does not respect their faith] should be with the conservative movement and with the party that is its political vehicle. But they can’t be with the Republicans because they feel they’re not welcome because of the color of their skin.”

    This is true and uncontroversial.

    • #11
  12. Johnny Dubya Inactive
    Johnny Dubya
    @JohnnyDubya

    Quote 5:

    McMullin: “I spent a lot of time in the Republican Party believing that that was something Democrats and liberals would say, [people] who weren’t interested in really understanding who we were.  But I have to say in the time that I spent in the House of Representatives and leadership and in senior roles there, I realized that no, they’re actually right. And Donald Trump made it ever more clear that there is a serious problem of racism in the Republican Party. That is the problem. Not conservative ideals. Racism is not conservatism. And that’s what I’m talking about. That’s the problem.”

    This is the quote that probably bothers Republicans the most.  I do wish he hadn’t said it, at least not in that way.  “They’re actually right.”  Ugh.  “Serious problem.”  Oy vey.  Once again, though, there certainly are some Trump supporters who feel emboldened to be ugly in a racialist and anti-Semitic manner.  Look at Jonah Goldberg’s Twitter feed.

    • #12
  13. Johnny Dubya Inactive
    Johnny Dubya
    @JohnnyDubya

    Quote 6:

    McMullin: “We learned lessons after 2012 that we needed to appeal to [minority and younger voters], I don’t think by changing policy as much…but it’s a lot about tone.  You have a candidate here in Donald Trump who’s attacking people based on their race, their religion, their gender.  Republicans are doubling down on these key weaknesses that came out of 2012. That’s not to say that Mitt Romney did the same things. But he did not appeal to them the way we needed to. But it’s not just about him, it’s about the whole party.”

    The only problematic part for me is “Donald Trump who’s attacking people based on their race, their religion, their gender.”  That’s partially unfair, but there are kernels of truth to it.

    • #13
  14. Johnny Dubya Inactive
    Johnny Dubya
    @JohnnyDubya

    Quote 7:

    McMullin: “I believe that true conservative principles are the answer to these challenges that we’re describing and appealing to these different groups.  The Republican Party has deviated from that for a while — I’m talking about the growth of government. The Republican Party has contributed to that. Depriving people of their individual liberties. I’m talking about crony capitalism, which is something I saw from the inside. It’s a terrible thing. That also deprives people of their liberties and deprives the economy of vibrancy.  So true conservative principles — I don’t think we need to change any of that. But we need to return to true conservative principles, which I’m describing as the fundamental ideals on which our country was founded. Equality, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, with an emphasis on liberty in this case. This is what the Republican Party has gotten away from. This is why it has a problem with these groups. And if it were to embrace those causes truly, then I believe they would be able to appeal more.”

    Uncontroversial.

    • #14
  15. TKC1101 Member
    TKC1101
    @

    Johnny Dubya: This is the quote that probably bothers Republicans the most.

    Aha! A glimmer of hope. I thought you guys wanted a conservative, not some hipster SJW.  Oh well. As long as he is not Trump, anyone will do….

    • #15
  16. iWe Coolidge
    iWe
    @iWe

    None of these quotes are remotely as arrestingly wrong as just about anything Trump says.

    McMullin is on the ballot in MD. He is getting all my family’s votes here.

    • #16
  17. Johnny Dubya Inactive
    Johnny Dubya
    @JohnnyDubya

    TKC1101:I just assume McMullin supporters are happy being called racists. Go figure. All those years of the Progressives doing it, kind of makes you wonder. Maybe true conservatism is just like progressivism….

    I am bothered by elements of what he said.  See my comments above.  But since he wasn’t calling all conservatives or Republicans racists, then why should I think he was calling me a racist?  Unless I were a racist.  Then he would be correct.

    Really, the only way one can have a big problem with what he said (other than having a problem with the phrasing or tone) is if one thinks there is no racism in the party.  Do you think that?

    I don’t think it’s fair to categorize him as a progressive because he said one thing that offended you.  Look at all the other things he stands for.

    • #17
  18. Johnny Dubya Inactive
    Johnny Dubya
    @JohnnyDubya

    TKC1101:

    Johnny Dubya: This is the quote that probably bothers Republicans the most.

    Aha! A glimmer of hope. I thought you guys wanted a conservative, not some hipster SJW. Oh well. As long as he is not Trump, anyone will do….

    Leaving aside this interview, what has he said that would make him an SJW?

    • #18
  19. Z in MT Member
    Z in MT
    @ZinMT

    iWe:None of these quotes are remotely as arrestingly wrong as just about anything Trump says.

    McMullin is on the ballot in MD. He is getting all my family’s votes here.

    What about #Texit?

    • #19
  20. livingthehighlife Inactive
    livingthehighlife
    @livingthehighlife

    If there ever was a year for the Libertarian Party to become a force in our political system, this was it.  Instead we got Johnson, who isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.  This, in my opinion, led to McMullin.

    Personally, I understand the desire to look for alternatives, but I’m out on McMullin.

    • #20
  21. TKC1101 Member
    TKC1101
    @

    Johnny Dubya: Leaving aside this interview, what has he said that would make him an SJW?

    Calling me a racist , or one who associates with them. That is enough to really piss me off.  Trump has not called me one. Hillary has.  Now McMullen joins her. She at least gave me a basket.

    SJW are heavily into labelling people and then feeling  good that they signaled they are virtuous.

    I though McMullen was not too bad until this one. It is not a small thing with me.

     

    • #21
  22. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Johnny Dubya:I am bothered by elements of what he said. See my comments above. But since he wasn’t calling all conservatives or Republicans racists, then why should I think he was calling me a racist? Unless I were a racist. Then he would be correct.

    Well, I can’t tell you that you should be bothered, but I can say why I’m bothered (see bolded).

    “Number one is that we are all created equal,” McMullin continued. “That is something that Donald Trump, I don’t believe, has embraced, nor have some of his supporters. And it’s a deep problem in the Republican Party, and that’s just the truth.”

    “I spent a lot of time in the Republican Party believing that that was something Democrats and liberals would say, [people] who weren’t interested in really understanding who we were,” McMullin said. “But I have to say in the time that I spent in the House of Representatives and leadership and in senior roles there, I realized that no, they’re actually right.”

    “You have a candidate here in Donald Trump who’s attacking people based on their race, their religion, their gender,” McMullin said. “Republicans are doubling down on these key weaknesses that came out of 2012. That’s not to say that Mitt Romney did the same things. But he did not appeal to them the way we needed to. But it’s not just about him, it’s about the whole party.”

     

     

    • #22
  23. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    iWe:None of these quotes are remotely as arrestingly wrong as just about anything Trump says.

    That’s a low bar.  Racism is not “a deep problem in the Republican Party.”

     

    • #23
  24. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Hoyacon:I’m probably approaching beating this horse to death, but am I the only one who sees McMullin’s intemperate comments about GOP racism as more or less disqualifying? I’ll admit to having considerable sensitivity in this area since it so plays into the lib narrative.

    Me too.

    • #24
  25. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Hoyacon:

    Johnny Dubya:I am bothered by elements of what he said. See my comments above. But since he wasn’t calling all conservatives or Republicans racists, then why should I think he was calling me a racist? Unless I were a racist. Then he would be correct.

    Well, I can’t tell you that you should be bothered, but I can say why I’m bothered (see bolded).

    “Number one is that we are all created equal,” McMullin continued. “That is something that Donald Trump, I don’t believe, has embraced, nor have some of his supporters. And it’s a deep problem in the Republican Party, and that’s just the truth.”

    “I spent a lot of time in the Republican Party believing that that was something Democrats and liberals would say, [people] who weren’t interested in really understanding who we were,” McMullin said. “But I have to say in the time that I spent in the House of Representatives and leadership and in senior roles there, I realized that no, they’re actually right.”

    “You have a candidate here in Donald Trump who’s attacking people based on their race, their religion, their gender,” McMullin said. “Republicans are doubling down on these key weaknesses that came out of 2012. That’s not to say that Mitt Romney did the same things. But he did not appeal to them the way we needed to. But it’s not just about him, it’s about the whole party.”

    Damning stuff from his own mouth.

    Also, what is his stance on open borders? Since this is exactly the sort of stuff we hear from people who are for Open Borders, I have to think he is for it.

    • #25
  26. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    What is his stance on Immingration?

    From his site:

    The path to reform begins with securing our borders. Once they are secured, there should be a process of earned legalization for the illegal immigrants who are already here. There is simply no efficient way to deport 11 million individuals; doing so would break apart families and likely cost $100 billion. Furthermore, legalization is not amnesty.

    While addressing illegal immigration, it is vital to remember that legal immigration is one of America’s greatest strengths. Immigrants and their children have a long record of hard work, starting businesses, and creating jobs. Still, we need to reform the legal immigration system so that it prioritizes American interests and security, including the protection of workers from low-wage, low-skill competition.

    There should be a robust debate about immigration, but there should be no place for the kind of hateful and divisive rhetoric frequently on display in this campaign.

    Translation: If you think people should be deported, you are hateful, and I am not talking Amnesty, I am talking Legalization. Amnesty is forgiving people for breaking the law and letting them stay through some process. Legalization is forgiving people for breaking the law and letting them stay through some process where they earn it.

    So, vote McMullin! He is for business as usual on immigration! Amnesty by any other name is still Amnesty.

    • #26
  27. Johnny Dubya Inactive
    Johnny Dubya
    @JohnnyDubya

    TKC1101:

    Johnny Dubya: Leaving aside this interview, what has he said that would make him an SJW?

    Calling me a racist , or one who associates with them. That is enough to really piss me off. Trump has not called me one. Hillary has. Now McMullen joins her. She at least gave me a basket.

    SJW are heavily into labelling people and then feeling good that they signaled they are virtuous.

    I though McMullen was not too bad until this one. It is not a small thing with me.

    He did not call you a racist or one who associates with them. But if you insist on imagining that he did, you’re welcome to do so.

    If a black leader said, “There’s a real problem in the African-American community with absentee fathers and criminality,” some blacks might say, “How dare he?” “I married my wife and we raised our son together! I’m not a deadbeat and my son is not a criminal!” Others might say, “He’s right, but he should never be airing our dirty laundry that way and confirming what others think about us!”

    Wouldn’t that be silly? Do you see who you are in this example?

    • #27
  28. C. U. Douglas Coolidge
    C. U. Douglas
    @CUDouglas

    I just posted about McMullin’s lead in Utah. As things have been going, I wouldn’t be surprised if he took it. It makes things interesting, that’s for certain.

    • #28
  29. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Hoyacon:I’m probably approaching beating this horse to death, but am I the only one who sees McMullin’s intemperate comments about GOP racism as more or less disqualifying? I’ll admit to having considerable sensitivity in this area since it so plays into the lib narrative.

    Nope. I switched from McMullin to Blank because of them.

    • #29
  30. iWe Coolidge
    iWe
    @iWe

    Z in MT:

    iWe:None of these quotes are remotely as arrestingly wrong as just about anything Trump says.

    McMullin is on the ballot in MD. He is getting all my family’s votes here.

    What about #Texit?

    Hillary wins anyway. She will be the main reason constitutional Americans will seek #Texit.

     

    • #30
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