By this point, the e-mails are flowing in pretty steadily, and they begin in roughly the same fashion:
“I’m a longtime Republican, but ….”
“I’ve always thought of myself as a Republican, but ….”
“I’ve voted for every Republican candidate since Jerry Ford, but ….”
And the “but” is always Donald Trump. Party loyalty will carry voters a long way, but not that far, not for these voters. Not as far as Trump, who on Tuesday even suggested that Ted Cruz’s father played a role in the JFK assassination.
The sense of betrayal among these voters is palpable. The Grand Old Party has long been their political home; it has been part of who they are. Now, they look on in befuddlement, unable to even recognize what it has become or to see a place for themselves within it. If last night’s Indiana primary went the way the polls predicted, Trump now stands this morning as the uncrowned but inevitable Republican nominee for president, and at least some in the GOP want no part of it.
Judging from my e-mailers as well as personal conversations, a lot of anti-Trump Republicans are at a loss at what to do next. For the grifters and opportunists, the choice is easy. Newt Gingrich is already sniffing around, marveling at Trump’s intellect, leadership and genius and letting it leak that if asked, he would be duty-bound to consider a request to serve as Trump’s running mate.
“If a potential president says ‘I need you’, it would be very hard for a patriotic citizen to say no,” says the ever-patriotic Gingrich.
However, for those not blinded by personal ambition and the desire to insinuate themselves to power, the questions are more complicated.
Does party loyalty require them to support a candidate who has ostentatiously rejected much of the GOP’s platform, who has made a mockery of the party’s longtime self-image as a defender of traditional values? Do they actually embrace Trump, a man they loathe? As Americans concerned about their country, do they believe that President Hillary Clinton constitutes more of a risk than President Donald Trump?
In my own informal polling, most Republicans distressed at the thought of Trump also say they can’t envision voting for Clinton. I get that. But in a controversial column this week, George Will raised the stakes considerably higher. He urged a political Operation Dunkirk, with an all-out effort to rescue as many downticket Republicans as possible from the coming disaster. But he also urged responsible Republicans to do everything they can to ensure that Trump loses all 50 states.
Apparently, Will believes that only a complete and total rejection by the voters would allow the Republican Party to conduct a post-election purge, ridding itself of all vestiges of Trump, including the “quislings” and “collaborators” now gathering in Trump’s wake to kiss his ring.
It’s important to note that even a resounding GOP defeat would only be temporary, as all political victories must be. America will always have a party devoted to defending conservative ideals, but it needs to be a party capable of governing and of competing on the basis of policy and fact rather than resentment and anger. We haven’t seen such a party in a while.
