After facing their Waterloo in Indiana, establishment Republicans and Cruz conservatives refuse to face reality. Like a petulant child who is denied a Happy Meal, self-interest and pride have taken the place of the duty owed to their party, their country. This, however, cannot be tolerated.
With the Democratic convention over, the general election begins. America has a choice and its choice is one of two presidential candidates. While many daydream for an America in which a third party is viable, such is a fantasy best saved for Ricardo Montalban. The election of 2016 is a two- party contest in which the two choices are fundamentally different.
Though Cleveland was predicted to be a hot mess, the convention went off without a hitch and the message was clear. America is a great nation that has been run into the ground by politicians like Hillary Clinton. Bad trade deals have turned Detroit into Thunderdome, unnecessary foreign wars have squandered the inheritance of future generations, careless intervention has created new enemies, and an unprotected border has hurt both culture and economy.
In Cleveland, Trump Republicans diagnosed what ails America. They pointed out that our police – the very people that stand on the line that separates barbarism and civility – are under siege.
But Cleveland was also about making the Republican Party bigger and stronger. Peter Theil – a gay Republican – became the first GOP convention speaker to acknowledge his sexuality. Donald Trump, too, became the first GOP nominee to pledge protection of the LGBT community.
The response? The RNC crowd erupted in cheers.
Philadelphia was starkly different. An “undocumented” American was given a primetime speaking slot, #BlackLivesMatters – what is arguably a domestic terror organization – was a headline act, the family of a fallen Muslim solider was prostituted, and American flags were nowhere to be found.
As for Law & Order, police were at the back of the DNC’s bus. Police were treated so badly in Philadelphia that when the DNC held a moment of silence for fallen officers, #BlackLivesMatters hecklers’ disruptions echoed through Wells Fargo Center.
This is the choice America has in November. We can be a nation that is willing to admit past mistakes and fix them or a nation that refuses to change course and stays with the politicians who turned a superpower into a ward of globalism.
But to establishment Republicans like the Bush klan and Evangelical conservatives like Ted Cruz, their hatred of the GOP nominee trumps their love of country. By refusing to support Trump, this small faction is jumping into bed with Hillary. Who knows, maybe they are hoping for a good rate on the Lincoln bedroom in Hillary’s White House.
The retort from the floundering #NeverTrumpers? We must stand on principle.
First, when have any establishment Republicans stood on principle? George H.W. Bush said he would not raise taxes in 1988. Once in office, he did just that – toppling what Ronald Reagan built.
George W. Bush campaigned on a platform that nation building was a fool’s errand. After the Twin Towers fell, he became a neoconservative puppet and the very fool he warned of.
Second, Cruz, too, says he is man of principle but when he took to the stage in Cleveland he refused to endorse the GOP nominee – a direct violation of the pledge he signed. He argues that he cannot in good conscience support Trump.
If Cruz wanted to stand on principle, he would have refused to sign the pledge in the first place because Trump always had a chance to win. But this would not have worked for Cruz because Cruz wanted to use the pledge to back Trump into a corner. Just as Cruz signing the pledge was political, so too was his refusal to honor it.
The fact is that any remaining Trump resistance is nothing more than a political hemorrhoid. They may quote Scripture, lament for the GOP of yesterday, or fret that Trump – a man who has built an amazing business – is “unstable,” but at the end of the day they are supporting Hillary’s America. For this reason alone, they are worse than Hillary herself.
And if they believe Hillary when she says that she will be a President for all Americans – even those that don’t vote for her – I urge them to call Bernie and ask him how well that went for him.
Joseph R. Murray II, is administrator for LGBTrump, former campaign official for Pat Buchanan, and author of “Odd Man Out”. He can be reached at jrm@joemurrayenterprises.com.
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