Dear Trump supporters:
For months you have been regularly maligned as mindless “chumps” who have been “duped” by your chosen candidate. I know because I’m one of the ones who have been doing it. I sincerely apologize, and I give you my word that I won’t do it anymore.
I get it. You’re not just angry; you’ve absolutely had it with the status quo. You’ve had it with an establishment that consists of politicians whose focus is almost exclusively on their own political interests regardless of the consequences on the nation. You’ve had it with $19 trillion in debt, Obamacare, wars all over the world, crony capitalism, unceasing streams of illegal immigrants, a stagnant economy hidden by rigged unemployment statistics, millions of dollars going to an organization that kills babies and sells their parts for profit, and Republicans who get elected by promising to put an end to all of this crap and then, after winning election on those promises, help keep that crap going.
You’re ready to do something – anything – to send a message to the establishment that their conceit and arrogance will no longer be tolerated.
I get it, and I fully and completely agree. Trust me – I am no establishment stooge. I have been fighting for conservative principles and for freedom my entire adult life – for over 30 years – and I fully and completely share your disgust with every single person who has been entrusted with power and has betrayed us by selling us out to remain in power. You couldn’t squeeze a dime between where you stand and where I stand on the unacceptable status quo.
So I really do get why Donald Trump is so appealing. He is unlike any presidential candidate that any of us have ever seen. While all of the other candidates are running traditional campaigns using traditional strategies to appeal to traditional segments of traditional political coalitions, Trump is brushing all of that to the side and running the most unconventional campaign in modern American history. He is outrageous, outlandish, offensive and bombastic, and by supporting him you are telling the establishment that they can blow it out of their ears. And I completely agree that that’s a message that needs to be sent.
Every time Trump does something that is appalling to the establishment, whether it’s calling a female journalist a “bimbo” or calling one of his opponents a “pussy” or blaming President Bush for 9/11, the establishment expresses its shock and dismay, and you respond by ratcheting up your support for him – and I understand why. I don’t for a minute believe that you actually approve of spewing obscene vulgarities and making outrageous and baseless accusations against others. I don’t believe any of you do those things in your own lives. No respectable person does. But by supporting a guy who does all of those shocking and seemingly crazy things, you are showing the establishment just how much you disdain them: “Hey, you establishment blowhards, check this out! You are so repulsive to me that I actually would support a guy who engages in the most outlandishly offensive conduct imaginable before I would support you! That’s how much you disgust me, you jackasses!”
I get the message you’re sending them, and I agree with it. The establishment of both parties deserves everything you’re throwing at them and more.
With that in mind, though, I ask you to please remember that there is more at stake in this election than sending a much needed message about the status quo. The winner of this election is actually going to be the president for the next four years. And that person is going to be responsible for some of the most consequential decisions of our lifetimes.
You’re supporting Trump to send a message and not based on his governing philosophy or ideology. That much is pretty obvious because no one knows what his ideology actually is. At various times he has endorsed liberalism, socialized medicine, pathways to citizenship for illegal immigrants, deporting illegal immigrants, repealing Obamacare, abortion rights, and the right to life. He seems to pick his policy positions based on what best serves his personal interests at any given time. And so, we really don’t know what he would do as president (other than try to crack down on illegal immigration, which is the one issue on which he has been specific). This lack of clarity about his governing philosophy matters because, if elected, he is going to make decisions that will bear greatly on our lives and those of our children for years and decades to come.
Consider:
-The next president will probably determine the direction of the Supreme Court for the next generation, but we have no idea what kind of person Trump would appoint. We do, however, know that the other candidates would appoint someone in the mold of Antonin Scalia because all of the other candidates have consistently supported those kinds of judges throughout their careers. If the wrong person is appointed, we will be looking at unrestrained leftist judicial activism for decades to come. Democrats won’t have to bother seeking to advance their agenda through our representatives in Congress or even through the president. They’ll do it through the five unelected liberal justices with lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court. Gun rights that were guaranteed with Scalia on the Court will be repealed. Political speech will be curtailed. Restrictions on the power of labor unions will be lifted. And the power of the president to rule by executive fiat will be entrenched. The future of freedom itself in our country depends on the certainty that the next justice of the Supreme Court will be another Antonin Scalia, and we have no idea if that’s who Donald Trump would even consider appointing.
-The next president will be faced with a $20 trillion debt, but we have no indication that Trump is bothered by the enormity of that debt and the burden it will place on our children. In fact, he talks openly about expanding government programs, which in turn would balloon the debt to even higher extremes.
-The next president will be responsible for dealing with a world on the brink of chaos. From Iran to ISIS to North Korea to Venezuela to Israel to the Sudan to Russia and Ukraine and beyond, the world is less stable today than at any time since before World War I. The world depends on the United States to maintain stability, and doing so requires a president with a steady hand in the mold of John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and even Bill Clinton. Trump’s bombastic approach to problems could have catastrophic consequences in today’s world.
By supporting Trump despite – and even because of – his outlandish and offensive conduct, you have already sent a loud and clear message that the status quo is unacceptable. There can be no doubt that Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and the other Republican candidates get that message and know that their success in the White House will depend on taking bold action to right our country’s course. They know you’re out there and that you will accept nothing less.
Donald Trump has served a valuable purpose in giving you the opportunity to deliver that message. Now, for the sake of our country’s and kids’ future, I ask you with sincere and genuine respect to consider moving to a different candidate who can be trusted to govern responsibly.
