A Catholic for Trump

 

Hadley Arkes on The Catholic Thing:

[T]he House of Representatives last September voted 248-177 to punish surgeons who kill babies who survive abortions. All 177 votes in opposition came from Democrats….Even if the candidate of the Left were winsome and squeaky clean, an Administration of the Left would be unrelenting in its war to make Catholic institutions fund abortions and contraceptives and recede from any moral objections to same-sex marriage.

We would see an extension of the same drive to detach Executive orders ever more from the statutes that supply, at once, their authority – and their limits. A “rule of law,” now teetering at the very edge, would pass well over that edge, not merely disfranchising us, but diminishing us all.

Mr. Trump is a wild card, but he is likely to sign pro-life measures, and he is seeking advice now from the right people to appoint a plausible successor to Justice Scalia. In this Guide for the Perplexed, we may find reason to bite our lips and take the Wild Card over the brutal Sure Thing on the other side.

Support the Wild Card over the brutal Sure Thing. That might indeed be the best that we can do, mightn’t it?

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  1. Could Be Anyone Inactive
    Could Be Anyone
    @CouldBeAnyone

    Who are these “right” people advising trump she speaks of? Reads like some illogical rationalization of a bad option into a better option.

    • #1
  2. Pencilvania Inactive
    Pencilvania
    @Pencilvania

    Yes, that is the best option. And lots and lots of prayer.

    • #2
  3. John Wilson Member
    John Wilson
    @

    Peter, if you keep on trying to rationalize voting for Trump I will delete my account. After all your talk of principle and championing of the Reagan legacy over the years, if you back this vile excuse for a candidate you will undermine any credibility or pretense to integrity you’ve ever earned.

    • #3
  4. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    If that wasn’t enough (and it is for me), there’s the end of the First and Second Amendments and a weaponized IRS.

    • #4
  5. BrentB67 Inactive
    BrentB67
    @BrentB67

    I think the analysis is correct .

    There is absolutely no doubt what Hillary will do in office. Every left wing, communist, feminist dream brought to life in the oval office.

    Trump is the wildest card and could easily be worse than Hillary and could also be better. The problem is he is much more into playing crowds and cable news reporters than he is leading a nation.

    That isn’t an endorsement to vote for the devil we do not know versus the one we do. I just think that is a succinct way of breaking it down.

    • #5
  6. Saint Augustine Member
    Saint Augustine
    @SaintAugustine

    It’s not just Catholics. This is a war on all faithful Reformation churches too.

    • #6
  7. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    BrentB67:I think the analysis is correct .

    There is absolutely no doubt what Hillary will do in office. Every left wing, communist, feminist dream brought to life in the oval office.

    Trump is the wildest card and could easily be worse than Hillary and could also be better. The problem is he is much more into playing crowds and cable news reporters than he is leading a nation.

    That isn’t an endorsement to vote for the devil we do not know versus the one we do. I just think that is a succinct way of breaking it down.

    There’s just one more piece to this I don’t hear about very often. Trump will face opposition for any hair-brained schemes — within his own party!!

    Clinton? Not so much.

    In fact, if the last seven and a half years are any indication, there won’t even be much resistance from Republicans to the historic first woman president. They might be accused of being sexist, or of wanting to deprive retirees of their SS checks in a government shutdown, or of wanting to force Caitlyn Jenner to use the men’s room. Can’t have that. Might damage the party.

    Bwwahahahaha!!

    • #7
  8. Saint Augustine Member
    Saint Augustine
    @SaintAugustine

    There was rarely any doubt in my mind that Trump is better than Hillary. This is the single biggest reason right here.

    The only questions I have are whether Trump has crossed any lines making a vote for him inexcusable, and whether a Trump victory is so bad for the conservative movement that (in the long run) it’s even worse for the country than Hillary.

    • #8
  9. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Five non-negotiables for Catholics: abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, cloning, and SSM.

    Clinton gets a perfect (intolerable) score. I don’t think Trump is ideologically committed enough on anything to know for sure what his stance is on these five issues. I’ll take Trump.

    • #9
  10. Sweezle Inactive
    Sweezle
    @Sweezle

    Peter Robinson:Hadley Arkes on The Catholic Thing:

    … an Administration of the Left would be unrelenting in its war to make Catholic institutions fund abortions and contraceptives and recede from any moral objections to same-sex marriage.

    We would see an extension of the same drive to detach Executive orders ever more from the statutes that supply, at once, their authority – and their limits. A “rule of law,” now teetering at the very edge, would pass well over that edge, not merely disfranchising us, but diminishing us all …..

    Support the Wild Card over the brutal Sure Thing. That might indeed be the best that we can do, mightn’t it?

    I agree. A Hillary Clinton win guarantees Supreme Court justices who will support all leftist proposals that “would be unrelenting in its war to make Catholic institutions fund abortions and contraceptives and recede from any moral objections to same-sex marriage.” There are worse things that can happen if Trump is not elected and either Hillary or Bernie are.

    • #10
  11. Aaron Miller Inactive
    Aaron Miller
    @AaronMiller

    Peter Robinson: Hadley Arkes:

    Trump is a wild card

    My exact words earlier today. But as I argued there, I do believe Trump could be worse than Clinton as well. That is why I am undecided about November.

    Either way, voting 3rd-party or abstaining is a long-term strategy that cannot help our country in the near term. None of us knows what American circumstances will look like after 4 years of a Clinton or Trump presidency. A long-term strategy relies on assumptions about even less predictable circumstances further down the line.

    • #11
  12. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    T vs. C. aside, I’m not sure I trust the theological instincts of someone who chose “an eye for an eye” as his favorite Biblical maxim, believing it to be a justification for retribution.

    • #12
  13. Dick from Brooklyn Thatcher
    Dick from Brooklyn
    @DickfromBrooklyn

    Peter Robinson: Mr. Trump is a wild card, but he is likely to sign pro-life measures,

    What evidence is there for this assertion?

    • #13
  14. RyanM Inactive
    RyanM
    @RyanM

    Peter Robinson:

    Support the Wild Card over the brutal Sure Thing. That might indeed be the best that we can do, mightn’t it?

    No, it Mightn’t.

    Peter, I know you are an eternal optimist, and I fear that you will be among those who delude themselves because the alternative is a painful reality.  That’s how many have justified supporting Trump in the first place, but it is a false hope, and the only way to arrive at it is to ignore what you know to be true.

    This is the year for sitting one out, and reorganizing.  Remember that with a Hillary victory, we’ll have some semblance of credibility (though not much) and the ability to try again in 4 years.  Even if hesitant republicans such as yourself rally around Trump, he will still go down in flames, and you will have neither credibility nor dignity.

    • #14
  15. Robert Lux Inactive
    Robert Lux
    @RobertLux

    It’s also quite possible a Hillary presidency could bring about the forced shutting down of colleges like Thomas Aquinas College in California.

    • #15
  16. Martel Inactive
    Martel
    @Martel

    James Lileks:T vs. C. aside, I’m not sure I trust the theological instincts of someone who chose “an eye for an eye” as his favorite Biblical maxim, believing it to be a justification for retribution.

    At least it’s Biblical.  Hillary’s hostile to the entire book.  (Her preferred alternative to “an eye for an eye” is “I’ll destroy your very existence if you so much as look at me wrong.”)

    • #16
  17. RyanM Inactive
    RyanM
    @RyanM

    Saint Augustine: and whether a Trump victory is so bad for the conservative movement that it’s even worse for the country than Hillary

    exactly.

    Trump will destroy conservatism.

    Hillary will destroy the country, temporarily, and conservatism will remain our best chance to come back.

    I’ll take the war over the battle, thank you.

    • #17
  18. Dick from Brooklyn Thatcher
    Dick from Brooklyn
    @DickfromBrooklyn

    James Lileks:T vs. C. aside, I’m not sure I trust the theological instincts of someone who chose “an eye for an eye” as his favorite Biblical maxim, believing it to be a justification for retribution.

    That reminded me of that funny scene in “A Fish Called Wanda” in which someone had to explain to Kevin Cline’s character that the central tenant of Budism isn’t “every man for himself”

    • #18
  19. Martel Inactive
    Martel
    @Martel

    RyanM:

    Peter Robinson:

    Support the Wild Card over the brutal Sure Thing. That might indeed be the best that we can do, mightn’t it?

    No, it Mightn’t.

    Peter, I know you are an eternal optimist, and I fear that you will be among those who delude themselves because the alternative is a painful reality. That’s how many have justified supporting Trump in the first place, but it is a false hope, and the only way to arrive at it is to ignore what you know to be true.

    This is the year for sitting one out, and reorganizing. Remember that with a Hillary victory, we’ll have some semblance of credibility (though not much) and the ability to try again in 4 years. Even if hesitant republicans such as yourself rally around Trump, he will still go down in flames, and you will have neither credibility nor dignity.

    No more credibility than we have after eight years of Obama.

    But even if Hillary in office did give us some sort of “credibility,” you think our righteous creds are somehow going to outweigh three Eric Holders on the Supreme Court?  Or an IRS persecuting conservative and religious groups with impunity?

    • #19
  20. Weeping Inactive
    Weeping
    @Weeping

    Western Chauvinist:There’s just one more piece to this I don’t hear about very often. Trump will face opposition for any hair-brained schemes — within his own party!!

    Clinton? Not so much.

    In fact, if the last seven and a half years are any indication, there won’t even be much resistance from Republicans to the historic first woman president. They might be accused of being sexist, or of wanting to deprive retirees of their SS checks in a government shutdown, or of wanting to force Caitlyn Jenner to use the men’s room. Can’t have that. Might damage the party.

    Bwwahahahaha!!

    Why should we expect them to oppose Trump anymore than Hillary?

    • #20
  21. Martel Inactive
    Martel
    @Martel

    Weeping:

    Western Chauvinist:There’s just one more piece to this I don’t hear about very often. Trump will face opposition for any hair-brained schemes — within his own party!!

    Clinton? Not so much.

    In fact, if the last seven and a half years are any indication, there won’t even be much resistance from Republicans to the historic first woman president. They might be accused of being sexist, or of wanting to deprive retirees of their SS checks in a government shutdown, or of wanting to force Caitlyn Jenner to use the men’s room. Can’t have that. Might damage the party.

    Bwwahahahaha!!

    Why should we expect them to oppose Trump anymore than Hillary?

    Just read Ricochet.  A lot of Republicans despise Trump with far more fervor than Hillary (or Obama or any other Democrat for that matter).

    • #21
  22. Scott Wilmot Member
    Scott Wilmot
    @ScottWilmot

    We can be assured Hillary will continue the progressive’s destruction of our country. Trump is a wild card but I’ll take that chance.

    • #22
  23. Testudo Aubrey Inactive
    Testudo Aubrey
    @SquishyBlueRINO

    This is all grasping at straws.

    Trump is indefensible in and of himself.

    All I am hearing is variations on the coercive theme that we must support him in order to oppose Hillary.

    No. We. Don’t!

    You wanted him, you got got him. Win with him or lose with him. I will not make common cause with the thugs and bigots in his camp. Period.

    The GOP is becoming a White Identity Party and her standard bearer is a hateful mentally ill thug.

    Do not think for a moment that those of us who find him repulsive and unfit for office see him in any other light juxtaposed with Hillary.

    • #23
  24. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Weeping:

    Western Chauvinist:There’s just one more piece to this I don’t hear about very often. Trump will face opposition for any hair-brained schemes — within his own party!!

    Clinton? Not so much.

    In fact, if the last seven and a half years are any indication, there won’t even be much resistance from Republicans to the historic first woman president. They might be accused of being sexist, or of wanting to deprive retirees of their SS checks in a government shutdown, or of wanting to force Caitlyn Jenner to use the men’s room. Can’t have that. Might damage the party.

    Bwwahahahaha!!

    Why should we expect them to oppose Trump anymore than Hillary?

    Seriously? You think Republicans will sign off on a new Smoot-Hawley because Trump is a “Republican” president? Well, then. We should just pack it in. Trump isn’t the only unprincipled Republican.

    • #24
  25. Weeping Inactive
    Weeping
    @Weeping

    Martel:

    Weeping:

    Why should we expect them to oppose Trump anymore than Hillary?

    Just read Ricochet. A lot of Republicans despise Trump with far more fervor than Hillary (or Obama or any other Democrat for that matter).

    Those in Washington don’t seem to.

    • #25
  26. Weeping Inactive
    Weeping
    @Weeping

    Western Chauvinist:

    Weeping:

    Western Chauvinist:There’s just one more piece to this I don’t hear about very often. Trump will face opposition for any hair-brained schemes — within his own party!!

    Clinton? Not so much.

    In fact, if the last seven and a half years are any indication, there won’t even be much resistance from Republicans to the historic first woman president. They might be accused of being sexist, or of wanting to deprive retirees of their SS checks in a government shutdown, or of wanting to force Caitlyn Jenner to use the men’s room. Can’t have that. Might damage the party.

    Bwwahahahaha!!

    Why should we expect them to oppose Trump anymore than Hillary?

    Seriously? You think Republicans will sign off on a new Smoot-Hawley because Trump is a “Republican” president? Well, then. We should just pack it in. Trump isn’t the only unprincipled Republican.

    They eventually signed off on Obamacare. Why not a new Smoot-Hawley?

    • #26
  27. Michael Stopa Member
    Michael Stopa
    @MichaelStopa

    I only hope that before the election everyone here in Ricochet, and everywhere else for that matter, decides which of the major party candidates they wish to vote for and speaks up in defense of that choice.

    I hope they all recognize that not voting for anyone or voting for some hopeless third party candidate (whom they themselves do not believe has a chance to win) is sanctimonious. I suspect those who do choose “neither of the above” will wear their choice on their sleeve – perhaps they’ll mark it in ashes on their foreheads. “I could not compromise my purity by marking the ballot for either of these flawed individuals.” Puhleez.

    • #27
  28. Aaron Miller Inactive
    Aaron Miller
    @AaronMiller

    I wonder if voter perspectives on this dilemma are influenced by whether we are entering a horrible time or escaping one.

    Imagine we are living in the Soviet Union. We are faced with a choice betwen Khrushchev, who scares the heck out of us, and Gorbachev, who is less scary but isn’t a freedom-loving guy either. Both represent evil oppression. Does that mean a vote for the lesser oppressor is dishonorable support for evil? Or is it a respectable step toward milder tyranny and, eventually by the grace of God, genuine freedom?

    Assuming both Clinton and Trump would be destructive and unjust, is a vote for the lesser evil encouragement of that evil or is it just playing for time?

    • #28
  29. John Wilson Member
    John Wilson
    @

    Refusing to vote for Trump is not sanctimonious or an act of purism any more than refusing to give your permission to the man who is trying to to con you is. Trump is a fraud and a charlatan whose entire career is marked by bilking both customers and business partners as well as buying politicians and abusing the legal system. He is a proven deceiver and double dealer. This isn’t conjecture or a projection. It is proven fact. Trumps character and MO are well known, as are his very recent associations and support for all manner of leftist and illiberal abuses of liberty and the rule of law. Trump is no wild card. He is an indisputable shyster by any measure.

    • #29
  30. Michael Stopa Member
    Michael Stopa
    @MichaelStopa

    John Wilson:Refusing to vote for Trump is not sanctimonious or an act of purism any more than refusing to give your permission to the man who is trying to to con you is. Trump is a fraud and a charlatan whose entire career is marked by bilking both customers and business partners as well as buying politicians and abusing the legal system. He is a proven deceiver and double dealer. This isn’t conjecture or a projection. It is proven fact. Trumps character and MO are well known, as are his very recent associations and support for all manner of leftist and illiberal abuses of liberty and the rule of law. Trump is no wild card. He is an indisputable shyster by any measure.

    Okay, fine. So choose Hillary.

    I did not say it was sanctimonious to not vote for Trump. I said it was sanctimonious to (for some reason other than sloth) not vote for either candidate that can win. The future is A or B. Evaluate as best you can – for your children if not for yourself – and make a choice.

    • #30
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