And we don’t have to chew with our mouth closed
I think readers will agree that veritaspac has settled into a view of political reality that pursuit of an alternative to Trump is too late and risks installing a certified Democrat as president. I am not maintaining that Trump’s chances in the electoral college are great as of today, but they are getting better, because the Democrats have some problems, and their problems are less Trump than themselves, their own likability factors.
So it was looking toward who the Democrats were saddling themselves with that caused me to see 2016 as a great opportunity to nominate a true conservative candidate and have a good chance at winning even if one could argue one or the other might have more money or initial popularity. Of the 17 or more running any of them with an aggressive campaign, unlike what the Republican nominees ran in 2008 and 2012 could beat the Democrat. Why not make it the one who would actually do the best job at dismantling Washington?
But the least civic qualified person won, and for his lack of consistency, likely overall less a change agent than his supporters think they bought into. It is a sad lost opportunity, but so it goes, and back to another bite of the proverbial sandwich. Other conservatives, mortified by Trump, are coming to a similar conclusion. Consider this spat of articles today:
#NeverTrump becomes #OkayTrump
GOP Leaders Surrender To Trump (
But also consider this excerpt from Jazz Shaw at HotAir, who introduces a report from Poltico (in bold). It almost installed me with the hard core remaining #NeverTrump.
State level GOP leaders spend the weekend kicking #NeverTrump to the curb .
There clearly seems to have been a shift in the direction of the political breeze over the past ten days or so. We went through an extended period prior to Ted Cruz’s exit from the primary race when each weekend’s news brought similar stories to us. In states around the nation, groups of anti-Trump activists were showing up at state party conventions and inserting their own choices of delegates to the national convention in Cleveland. The headlines after each of these events were similar, describing how Trump had been “outmaneuvered” on the ground, with most of us expecting that to erupt into an ugly battle at the convention. But yesterday we saw one state after another lining up in pretty much the opposite direction. (Politico)
In Nebraska, this meant overwhelming passage of a resolution that indirectly scolded conservative Sen. Ben Sasse for leading the #NeverTrump movement and scuttling a countermeasure to condemn “degrading remarks toward women, minorities and other individuals” by presidential candidates.
I may be considered a fellow traveler for living with Trump because of the lack of a viable alternative, but shoot me if I ever find it “prudent” to indirectly scold a Sasse for his comments but refuse to even obliquely scold Trump for his. That demands too much of my vote. I will be a kicking and screaming fellow traveler with the likes of Trump. I can be accused of the same for my comments about Boehner, McConnell, Ryan, the GOPe donor class, while hoping for Republican wins in general, because of the alternatives.
Call it trying to be consistent. I won’t be silent about Trump’s non-conservatism any more than I have been about that cast of characters. But when Trump is right he will be praised, more so than Boehner, McConnell, Ryan, etc., because of the necessity of the campaign. It is plainly obvious that we afford criticism of the Obamanation and Clintonites at least three times more than RINO’s even though a prime purpose has always been to keep the Republican Party true to its conservative base. Trump ran as a Republican, not an independent. Being demanding of Trump is required if we are to be demanding of Boehner, McConnell, Ryan, etc. We don’t have to belabor him, even though his divergence from conservatism is extensive, but we do not have to be silent. We will vote for his conservative components and against his worse opponents.
R Mall
