Pressure is mounting on conservative NeverTrump voters like me to pledge our allegiance to the business mogul. I can’t speak for every person in the NeverTrump camp, but this life-long conservative is sure going to speak for herself so that those who don’t understand my NeverTrump position can comprehend why all the nonsensical arguments being thrown about won’t convince me to “unite for the sake of the party.”
First, I’m not going to attack the man’s character except to say I consider Donald Trump to be one, but not to have one. Second, I’m not going to play defense; I needn’t prove to anyone that my rejection of Donald Trump as a fitting U.S. president is based on his policy ideas. Anyone paying half a moment’s attention sees he doesn’t understand his own policy.
Let me introduce myself. I’m 54, 30 years married, and a mother and grandmother. I’m both LDS and a fiscal conservative. I do my darnedest to vote in every election, national, state, and local. I consider voting a moral obligation.
But not this time, not for president—not if my choice is between Trump or HRC. My moral obligation, then, is to vote for neither.
Imagine this. You’re at a restaurant. The server tells you your choice is between rancid beef and rancid pork. Which would you pick?
Neither. You’d head for the door. There the manager blocks your path, saying, “Sure, rancid beef is bad, but … rancid pork!”
You still wouldn’t order. You’d bolt. Even if it meant a fight.
That scenario is insane. I’m not insane. What I am is screwed. And the people screwing me are voters who somehow envision that a man who’s been buying both sides of Washington D.C. for decades is the guy to end its culture of corruption.
I get it. Trump voters don’t like the way the Republican leadership has gone mushy. They don’t like that the U.S. is on the brink of economic catastrophe. They want change. So do the rest of us. That’s why approximately 60% of Republicans have, so far, voted for tea-party and outsider candidates not named Trump.
But change cannot come if those who’ve opposed Trump now go belly-up like a submissive puppy. If Trump winds up the nominee, we have a choice to either roll over when GOP powerbrokers call for party unity, or we can stand on our conservative principles by saying no. Never. We will not relinquish the presidency to Trump. If we roll over just because Trump gets R-branded, we’ll lose any legitimacy associated with our calls for reform. We’ll become the hypocrisy we decry.
Sometimes compromise must happen. But compromising integrity of purpose will weaken our power as voters and annihilate our credibility. Compromise here strengthens the corrupt establishment. A compromise vote for Trump for the sake of the R-party is worse than ordering rancid meat. Its signing up to feed it to your family—your nation—for four years. If we poison ourselves, we lose the right to complain about being sick.
Look, Trump voters gotta trump, I suppose. But the rest of us who object to the corruption in the Republican party should not resign our integrity to keep alive the beast we wish to starve. The only way to continue that message after (and if—a BIG IF) Trump is nominated is to remain in the NeverTrump camp. If the 60% of us who voted against Trump in the primaries then cast a ballot for him in the general, the Republican establishment will write us off as a silly little blip on the historical radar screen of conservative politics.
We’re headed to a contested convention. Contrary to the illogic spewed by Trump and his pocketed talking heads, he hasn’t received the majority of Republican votes. He’s been trounced. Those of us who hope for a course correction at the convention are being branded “establishment.” False. Don’t be manipulated. NeverTrump in the primaries. NeverTrump at the Convention. NeverTrump in the general. Never. Trump.
If Trump is the nominee, I will vote—but never for him. Conservatives need to ensure our place in the House and Senate. For president, I’ll vote libertarian because I want the R-establishment to know I was here.
And to my fellow Republicans who say a NeverTrump vote elects Hillary: That, my friends, is not my fault. The fault lies with those who put him on the general ballot. Truth.
Take note, GOP, from the top down. NeverTrump will stand squarely on principle. You remember what that is, right?
How long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides? Helaman 13:29
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Life Outside The Book of Mormon Belt 
Who Benefits From A Brokered Convention?
U.S. History: It’s the OTHER party who benefits; as Thomas E. Dewey went down in flames, 1948.
Unfortunately, it will NEVER matter who will be a better president; Trump or Cruz.
Does the term ‘fresh face’ from Carl Rove two days ago sound familiar???
We all need to consider changing our strategy now. Let’s be clear, the GOP establishment, their lobbyists, along with members of their elite clubs, hate BOTH Trump and Cruz! BOTH men are a threat to their power. There are many now who are actually saying they will vote for Hillary; THAT’S how much the ‘status-quo’ means to them. It is solely for this purpose the GOP is trying to FORCE an open/contested/brokered convention.
If Donald Trump and Ted Cruz don’t team up BEFORE the state delegates are committed (before all the primaries are over) we WILL lose! Even if Ted Cruz OR Donald Trump GET the necessary delegates RNC’s rule 42 subsection xxxx will allow them to change the rules at any minute they choose.
Behind closed doors these two men need to agree to a Trump/Cruz ticket. Where, by the way, they will be unstoppable. If that doesn’t happen, and it goes to a contested convention, the nominee will be someone ‘appointed/anointed’ by the establishment GOP. Meaning a Mitt Romney or a Jeb Bush or WHOMEVER they consider a ‘fresh face’ to be will get the nod.
When THAT happens, and believe me it WILL, that nominee WILL without a single doubt in my mind, lose to the other party. Without question voters will rightfully feel disenfranchised and stay home on Election Day as they did in 2012 (only for different reasons). The end result being another 4-8 years of HELL and losing American values in their entirety.
I think we all know the socialist direction both Bernie AND Hillary want to take our country in. MANY who are LDS confuse ‘socialism’ with the United Order; it is NOT! For the United Order to be implemented it requires NO corruption. For this reason we are not asked to live by it and likely won’t be until Christ’s return.
Mitt Romney lost in 2012 by 2.5 million votes. Many in the electorate were SO offended by the principles of The Church they stayed home.
Their motto: Stay Home and Pray on Election Day
Those who choose to throw away their vote on any third party or by staying at home are giving their approval to socialism by default.
I believe, at the very least, Trump does not fall into that category.
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I knew I’d hear from you. 😉
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😁
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I will never vote for Trump, & I believe Cruz is smart enough to know that those of us who support him would cease to do so if he became part of a Trump/Cruz ticket.
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I’m guessing those who are die-hard Trump fans feel the same way.
Personally, I dismiss idealaugues on EITHER of those sides. There is simply no reasoning with Trumpkins or CruzCrews.
“I WILL MARCH BEHIND
WHOMEVER OUR
CANDIDATE IS,
BECAUSE IF WE DON’T,
WE LOSE.”
~Andrew Breitbart
A big ‘shout-out’ to all those who decide to stay home on Election Day as they cut off our nose to spite our face.
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I cannot tell you how much I agree with what you just wrote! It’s what I’ve been saying, just not as well as you’ve said it. Preach it, sister!
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I can say I, as a longtime liberal, will never vote for Hillary, and I would never vote for any Republican. The only major party candidate I would ever consider voting for is Sanders, and if he doesn’t get the Democratic nomination, I will vote Green or hope for a Sanders independent candidacy.
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Eric, before you cast your vote for socialist Bernie Sanders you may want to consider that The Church has taken a position against Socialism or anything that leads to communism.
“No true Latter-day Saint and no true American can be a socialist or a communist or support programs leading in that direction. These evil philosophies are incompatible with Mormonism, the true gospel of Jesus Christ.” Ezra Taft Benson – conference report, Oct. 1961
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Elder Benson’s political statements were widely criticized among the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve when he made them, especially those that insinuated that his political ideology was the official position of the church. He was frequently counseled to back off of his political statements, which counsel he repeatedly ignored. The Church has repeatedly stated its political neutrality and has indicated no official opposition to any political ideology. So yes, I will continue to back Sanders, and I would defy anyone to claim that makes me a bad member of the church.
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I know I’m late to the party on this, but I’ve never understood the fierce anti-Hillary sentiment that, in the end, got us a President Trump. Can someone explain it to me?
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Your question is reasonable, but I admit it made me chuckle. Not in a derisive way, but in a “Is there an explanation?” kind of way. Mark, I’ve left the R party because it no longer stands for much except its own re-election. As for my *personal issues with HRC? I’m not a progressive so there are basic ideological differences, most of which are economic. Even the political approaches I’d take to social issues are different than those most progressives would prefer. At this point, that’s neither here nor there and not something I want to wade into right now. The point is, HRC and I think along different tracks.
With that said, I also have personal issues with her character. Since the Me Too movement, I’ve noticed many progressives who once defended Bill Clinton’s sexual misbehavior see him differently. And they are willing to concede that HRC appears to have thrown a few women under the bus in order to maintain her husband’s power. That’s all water under the bridge as far as I’m concerned. I’m grateful the Me Too movement has moved so many progressives to rethink how power colors our view of sexual abuse and impropriety. This is something the conservatives need to figure out now. And that alone is enough to make me chuckle. The irony.
Politics is a team sport. People will laud whoever is captain of their team. I find that morally vacant. But it is what it is.
Thanks for reading. You had to dig deep to find this rather out-dated post. More power to you for that!
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