A call to ‘none of the above’ conservatives

Forget the “NeverTrumpers” supporting Kamala Harris. Most are caught up in ego, appeasing their newfound progressive donors, or so busy protecting a brand that they forget what conservatism is supposed to be about: advancing good ideas and stopping bad ideas. The sad reality is that many stopped supporting GOP candidates and truly fighting for conservative ideals long before Trump.

Though they see themselves as the “keepers of the flame,” they’ve forgotten that William Buckley introduced conservatism to America by explaining that sometimes we are called to run into the town square and yell: “Stop!” Trump is the first Republican in 40 years to lead Team “Stop!”

We aren’t fighting the 1984 of Reagan versus Mondale. We’re fighting against Orwell’s “1984.”

These NeverTrumpers fail to appreciate history and don’t realize what many conservatives — and most MAGA populists — noticed: NeverTrumpers are part of the GOP that is so afraid of offending the Georgetown/Manhattan crowd that they never yell and rarely fight. And they never actually stop the left. Instead, they often have sat back or cut deals to allow the left to partly advance its harmful agenda — and then toast each other when they “slow down” America’s leftward lurch.

However, the focus here is the other “leadership” group of writers, commentators, and policy leaders. Their logic follows: “I’m a conservative and can’t vote for Harris, but Trump is a non-starter, so I’m not going to vote for either candidate.”

This “none of the above” group does include some people many of us still respect when it comes to crafting policies and conservative thought leadership. Members of this group write columns or appear on talk shows and podcasts. They craft and advance conservative policies, combatting the “welfare state,” the “nanny state,” and totalitarianism, be it socialism or communism. Many do it well.

Unlike the NeverTrumpers, many members of the “none of the above” group sometimes fight, advancing good — and stopping bad — policies. I’m hopeful enough to believe that we can reason with this group and call them to our shared cause.

Many are so upset with Trump’s behavior at times that they have forgotten the sage advice of Michael Corleone: “Never act out of anger, it clouds your judgment.”

All too often, this group's members point their anger at Trump. They blast his comments, his social media posts, and even his policies. They criticize his words and behavior and argue that he “isn’t a true conservative.”

Here’s the good and bad news: He doesn’t claim to be a “conservative leader.” Trump is a populist — making sure the voiceless are heard, not forgotten, and that their families, communities, and values aren’t trampled on — or made fun of. The good news is that Trump holds many conservative principles and fights for many traditional American values.

Conservatives’ best calling is to help Trump win — to stop the harm of the left. And, when elected, we must work with his team to enact our common goals, modify them as needed, and — yes, if necessary — stop his bad ideas.

Not your father’s Democratic Party

The modern iteration of the Democratic Party, represented by Kamala Harris, is not the party once represented by Walter Mondale or even Hillary Clinton. It’s a left-wing ideology that does not want to make America great again because its proponents view America as flawed, immoral, and a failed experiment. They openly reject capitalism, American exceptionalism, and the Constitution.

Harris seeks to rule by executive order and to place Cabinet and sub-Cabinet ideologues in the Justice Department, Department of Defense, Border Patrol, EPA, and Department of Education.

On the issue of school choice, the party doesn’t even think parents should be in charge of raising their kids when it comes to school policies — let alone “allow” them to select their child’s school.

Their agenda includes open borders, defunding the police, banning fracking, imposing policies that have demonstrably harmed public education and our students — and then forcing poor and working-class children to attend those “schools,” “canceling” student loans, packing the Supreme Court, and “limiting” the First Amendment.

Respectfully, how can my conservative friends say that they cannot vote to stop her, to stop them?

If their leftist agenda isn’t enough to compel you to support Trump, I ask you to do what you ask him to do: Put down the keyboards and iPhones. We do not need you critiquing every outburst, speech, or policy. You’re harming him — and harming those of your brethren who are helping him, trying to build a majority coalition.

The real fight we face

It’s been written and even said by some conservatives on television and radio that our conservative movement is bigger than Trump. Some have said our movement is more important than any election. Respectfully, it’s not.

First, we aren’t fighting the 1984 of Reagan versus Mondale; we’re fighting against Orwell’s “1984.”

Not merely conservatives, but America cannot afford to allow Harris to institutionalize and nationalize the agenda of the left. Our philosophy and our values do exist to influence elections, to then govern — or stop bad policies.

Second, the gravely mistaken idea that we can block Harris’ policies if she wins, or negotiate with her, ignores the harm that she can do unilaterally and that will be done by her appointees. Plus, it presumes that congressional Republicans will be smart enough, organized enough, and courageous enough to fight back.

Then, there’s this naïve idea that “once Trump is gone, we can go back to normal” and debate tax policy. But things haven’t been “normal” since the Obamas pledged to radically transform the United States. And in the Biden era, from open borders to our schools, things haven’t been “normal” in Washington, our local school districts, or our cities — and we’re not debating tax policy any more.

We’re fighting to preserve capitalism, national security, and the Bill of Rights.

To our conservative “none of the above” brethren, I urge you to reconsider. Help us to get our fellow Americans to go to the ballot box and vote Team “Stop!”

And if you cannot do that, please put down the keyboards and iPhones. Let Trump be Trump so that in 2025 we all can come together to stop the left, advance Trump’s good policies, and work to fix the bad ones.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPennsylvania and made available via RealClearWire.