I'm going to abstain from any comments on the fitness of the candidates themselves. However, I have to say,
regardless of whom the republicans run, and regardless of whether or not the republican nominee wins or loses, and regardless of whether or not that nominee is a true reflection of the will of republican voters........ the republican party leadership have some
SERIOUS soul-searching to do going forward. The party elites are directly to blame for the schism, having invested so much political capital in marginalizing the party's own grass roots, insulting their intelligence in the process. Those elites are the ones who alienated all the voters who are
now refusing to cooperate with those leaders to get behind Trump.
It may be self-defeating for those voters to challenge the leadership, but the party faithful aren't the ones who got the party to this point. I have a very dear friend in New Mexico whom I've known for nearly 20 years now. She has been active in republican politics since she was a teenager, and she's in her 70s now. She worked in campaign offices as a volunteer, made phone calls, licked envelopes, canvassed neighborhoods, been a convention delegate, etc. etc. etc. She did it in upstate New York, in Kansas, in Texas, and now in New Mexico. She's seen all of the party's ups and downs for more than 60 years now, and for the first time in her life, she is discouraged with the party. She is a #NeverTrump person today. Her Facebook post this morning said:
I harbor no illusions that anything I say at this point will make a bit of difference to anyone at all.
I am posting this column because it most clearly explains my #NeverTrump #NeverHillary position. My actions are based on my conscience and concern for my country and the future of my grandchildren, not on a political party or any partisan candidate.
In my opinion, we are in a lose-lose situation. Both candidates are equally bad and will hurt our republic. You cannot pick one evil over another. Evil is evil.
I am posting this only to put my beliefs about the election on the record. I really don't care at this point what anyone else's opinion is, or if anyone agrees with me. You can respond if you wish, but PLEASE BE AWARE that my opinion on this election is not going to change. All I ask from you is that you read the entire column that I posted before you respond.
The presumptive Republican nominee has made it very clear that he does not want or need the conservative vote. I believe him. With no conservative voice in our government, we are in very deep trouble.
Therefore, my plan going forward is to promote the down ballot candidates. We absolutely MUST retain control in the House and the Senate if we are to hold any hope at all of stopping the actions of a bad president.
And in my own opinion, right now we are facing the grim prospect of having a very bad president for at least the next four years. No matter who you decide to pull the lever for.
Thank you for listening.
So, here is a loyal republican, who has actually
worked for the party for over 60 years (more than
most republicans can claim, people who mostly turn out to vote, but that's the extent of their commitment), who has thrown in the towel. Like a good soldier, she will continue to work hard for the down ballot republican candidates, but she's abstaining from voting for the party's nominee for the first time in her life. She is fully aware that one less vote for Trump makes things easier for Clinton, but she is no longer interested in enabling the leadership's bad behavior. She knows what other disillusioned republicans know, and that is that the reason the leadership gets away with their fecklessness is that millions of good people hold their noses and give their votes to the RNC candidates, NOT out of an affirmative belief in that candidate's fitness for office, but rather out of fear of the other party's candidate getting elected.
Well, they are no longer afraid of the outcome, not because they LIKE what would happen if Clinton wins, but because they see the direction the country has taken as inevitable regardless of who gets elected.......exactly because the RNC is aiding and abetting the decline.
And there are tens of thousands like her. The party really screwed up, but the screw-up LONG predates Trumps run for the presidency. That is why the state of the party lays squarely at the feet of the party elites.