Friday, February 26, 2016

Eight Reasons Conservatives Should Reject Donald Trump

As I pointed out on Facebook, I long believed there was no chance Donald Trump would be the Republican presidential nominee, and stayed relatively quiet on the matter. As of today, I still don’t think that a Trump nomination is “inevitable”, but I now accept there’s a reasonable chance of that happening.

While my voice isn’t a new one, I felt compelled to go on record with my own thoughts. Here are just a few reasons why conservatives should reject Donald Trump:
  • He’s not conservative. He supports abortion on demand and Planned Parenthood, raising taxes, single payer health care, eminent domain for private gain, and gun control. On policy, Trump is a better fit with the Democratic Party—this is why he was a Clinton and Ed Rendell support for so long—than the Republican.
  • He’s a demagogue. Trump is a loud mouth, xenophobic, sexist bigot (or at least, he plays that character on the campaign trail).
  • He will roll over the constitution. For those concerned about the expansion of executive power, Trump will be worse than Obama or Bush ever were. He’s the closest thing to a fascist we’ve seen in America in decades.
  • Trump IS part of the establishment. His campaign donations, his connections with politicians like the Clintons, the favors he’s gotten from government—enriching himself through the vast power of government—are all things voters hate about the political establishment. Trump should be the poster child for cronyism.
  • Trump can’t win a general election. His favorability ratings are horrible among general election voters, and he loses head-to-head matchups (even when other Republican contenders win).
  • He’s not honest. He doesn’t “tell it like it is”, but lies about himself, his own record, other candidates, and debunked Internet myths.
  • Trump will damage the Republican brand, and more importantly to me, the message of conservatives. The attacks that Republicans/conservative are all bigots, racists, and Neanderthals will pour down on us. The damage to the brand be worse than that done by Bush.
  • Voting for Trump won’t “show the establishment”. Consultants are still going to get paid. Party hacks aren’t going to get fired. And if you think “well, now the party is going to listen to my voice,” think again.
Tomorrow, I’ll offer some ideas as to why—despite all that—Trump is doing so well among voters.

1 comment:

Bob Howard said...

Good points but when faced with voting for Candidate Trump or Candidate Clinton, freedom loving citizens will vote for Trump rather than stay home or vote third party. Why? An egotistical man who has used “the system” believes in America and will allow himself to be constrained, as he has in business, by “the law” and various constitutes that he needs to achieve his egotistical greatness. On the other hand, a woman or man who believes America since its founding is fundamentally flawed and pursues JUSTICE by undoing America will not be constrained by “the law” and will enslave the very voters who elect them by voting for them, staying home, or voting third party. There are plenty of examples. Don’t become a victim to a skewed prospective.