“Here I stand; I can do no other.” — Martin Luther
Now that Ted Cruz has dropped out of the race, Donald Trump supporters—both the inspired and the resigned—sincerely expect #NeverTrump conservatives to fall into line and support the nominee. “What else you gonna do?,” one asked me after Trump’s win in Indiana.
#NeverTrumpers look at Trump voters—in particular the non-insane ones (hint: if you’ve ever used the word “cuck,” this isn’t you)—and we sincerely don’t understand how anyone could expect us to. As I told the “what to do” tweeter, “Trump is still Trump. I am still me.”
This divide is unbridgeable because the two viewpoints are irreconcilable. For Republicans who are prepared to accept Trump as the nominee, the man is, in the end, a politician. When it comes to winning GOP primary votes with virtually no money or staff, he’s frankly a brilliant politician. And if you assume, as many GOP voters do, that all politicians are narcissistic jerks anyway, then what’s the big deal about this specific narcissistic jerk? He’s not Hillary and, for some Republicans, that’s enough.
#NeverTrumpers don’t agree. Either because we’re idealistic enough to believe there is some minimum standard of competence and decency voters should demand from candidates for office; or we’re so horrified by the uniquely despicable beliefs and behavior of Donald Trump that we cannot support him—even if we did think he would win in November.
Jazz Shaw, a Trump-friendly (or at least Trump-curious) writer at HotAir.com made this point for me when he dismissed the #NeverTrump notion that nominating Trump is different from nominating any other candidate:
In other words, Trump is Romney is McCain is Dole. Nominee Trump will be just another Republican who loses the popular vote—something every non-incumbent Republican has done since Reagan in 1980.
Do Trump supporters really believe this? Would they say the same if the nominee were, say, David Duke? Or Jerry Springer? Trump supporters say such comparisons are nonsensical or unfair. If they acknowledge that it’s possible for a presidential nominee to be so unpopular and off-putting that it hurts the entire brand, then they must consider the possibility that Trump is one such candidate. This is what #NeverTrumpers see as self-evident, but many Trump supporters don’t see at all.
At a recent conference, I met a group of loyal Republicans angry at what they perceived as Trump-bashing from speakers like me. “He’s going to be the nominee,” one insisted, “why can’t you be positive? Help him get better. Why not promote a good vice-presidential pick?”
I said OK, like who? The group offered several: Rubio, Carly, Walker—one even insisted the obvious thing was a unity ticket with Cruz. Fine, I replied. But you know none of those people would ever run with Trump, right?
They were surprised: They couldn’t believe mainstream Republicans wouldn’t run on a Trump ticket. I tried to explain that being Trump’s running mate was a career-ender, which is why the short list of potential running mates—Chris Christie, Newt Gingrich, Governror Rick Scott of Florida—is made up entirely of people whose careers are over.
No ambitious Republican with a future would put his or her future in the hands (or, more accurately, mouth and Twitter feed) of Donald Trump.
This notion made these GOP loyalists furious. “But why not? Aren’t they Republicans?” one demanded.
Well, yes. Nikki Haley and Susana Martinez are Republicans. But they aren’t just Republicans. They’re also smart, and buying a ticket on the Trump-tanic doesn’t look smart right now. And they’re women. I can’t imagine a woman particularly excited about defending Trump out on the stump. And they’re people, people who probably have principles of some sort. And the first casualty of Trump is principle, followed by personal pride and basic human dignity.
Trump diehards don’t care about any of this. They’re more than happy to see the GOP burn. But the “Why not Trump” Republicans can’t see it at all. Perhaps years of talk radio have convinced them that all politicians are as sleazy as Trump. Perhaps they’re so anti-Hillary that any Republican will do.
Whatever the reason, “party uber alles” Republicans have reached the point where they’re suspending judgment on the GOP choice and are ready to move on to Hillary. Unfortunately for Trump, the liberal media and the Clinton machine aren’t.
They are going to take the GOP’s decision to nominate Trump and wrap it around the party’s neck. Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been on TV gloating over what she believes will be the destruction of the GOP thanks to Trump. Liberal journalists can barely hide their glee that the Republican party is going to send them such a prize turkey to carve up in November.
#NeverTrump Republicans see all this, which is why we’ve taken our stand. Even if our personal beliefs would allow us to vote for a candidate as flawed as Trump (mine won’t), we still care about conservative principles and the future of the GOP too much to do it.
If you sincerely see Trump as “just another Republican,” I hope for your sake you feel the same in six months. But I wouldn’t bet on it—not even at a Trump casino.
