The Never Trumpers are odd birds. They claim to be Conservative stalwarts, that they believe in the standings of Ronald Reagan, that they are the True Conservatives, yet, they’re enabling the election of Democrats, many are mouthing Democrat policies and slogans, and are truly unhinged in Democrat fashion over Trump and those who support him, along with the truly outspoken Republicans. And the UK Guardian says they’re getting a wakeup call
Never Trumpers get ‘brutal wake-up call’ as Republican candidates flounder
For Asa Hutchinson, former governor of Arkansas, there were boos and chants of “Trump! Trump!”. For Francis Suarez, mayor of Miami, there were jeers and cries of “Traitor!” And perhaps most tellingly, there was no Florida governor Ron DeSantis at all.
The recent Turning Point USA conference brought thousands of young conservatives to Florida and there was no doubting the main attraction: former president Donald Trump, who made a glitzy entrance accompanied by giant stage sparklers. In a less than rigorous poll, 86% of attendees gave Trump as their first choice for president; DeSantis, who polled 19% last year, was down to 4%.
Events and numbers like this are cause for sleepless nights among those Republican leaders and donors desperate to believe it would be different this time. The Never Trump forces bet heavily on DeSantis as the coming man and the premise that Trump’s campaign would collapse under the weight of myriad legal problems.
But six months away from the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, none of it seems to be working. DeSantis’s campaign is flailing and leaving some with buyers’ remorse. Hutchinson and Chris Christie, outspoken Trump critics, are polling in single digits, sowing doubts about voters’ appetite for change. Never Trumpers have reason to fear that his march to the Republican nomination may already be unstoppable.
“They’re experiencing a brutal wake-up call that the party is not interested in hearing critiques of Trump,” said Tim Miller, who was communications director for Jeb Bush’s 2016 campaign. “The Trump challengers’ candidacies have been astonishingly poor and learned nothing from 2016. When the leading candidate gets indicted and all of his opponents besides Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson just echo his fake persecution complex talking points, it’s going to be hard to beat him.”
These Never Trumpers are crazy. Always have been, always will be. It’s pure Trump Derangement Syndrome. They’re only interested in the man, and, I’ll happily admit Trump is really not a good person. But, then, most politicians aren’t. Trump is just more open. They rarely talk about Trump’s policies, and have never attempted to drive policy. In fairness, Trump is almost as bad on those who oppose his agenda within the GOP, but, at least that is mostly about policy.
The NTs yammer about principles. If you’re enabling the election of today’s wacko, uber-Leftist Democrats, how does that help your principles? Unless you just want to be grifters like the Lincoln Project, the Bulwark, Bill Kristol, Jonah Goldberg, etc. Some Republicans can get all sorts of squishy, like on support for McCain and Romney. They sat out the elections. Would it have been better for McCain to defeat Obama for Conservatism, and especially spending? How about Romney? 2012 was the time to kill Obamacare. It’s never going away now. Is it better to have Trump or Biden (or whomever they replace Biden with) for Conservatism? Seriously, these NTs are so unhinged that they find ways to slam the people Trump put on the Supreme Court when they had their abortion and affirmative action rulings, among others.
Do you think I really wanted McCain or Romney? I hate voting for Thom Thillis, who became a Squish. Or Richard Burr? I was happy when Burr retired. If Christie or Hutchinson, or a GOP ultra-squish like Larry Hogan, somehow wins the primaries I’ll hold my nose and vote for them. Really, in my mind, I’m voting against Hillary, against Obama, against whomever. That’s what these NTs have to remember. They’re enabling Democrats. Politics is often a choice between bad and worse.
It’s also about putting up the person with the best chance of winning, and, I don’t think Trump can win the general election, but, that’s a separate blog post.
Read: UK Guardian Claims Never-Trumpers Get Brutal Wakeup Call »