Like any cult, when the worshippers begin to near the realization that their grand scheme is collapsing faster than the Dallas Cowboys’ offense, they generally have one of two responses:
- Surrender peacefully to the authorities, or
- Start mixing up the Kool-Aid
It appears that the supporters of the titular frontrunner for the GOP nomination process are deciding on which flavor to use and furiously scrounging through the cabinets for a measuring cup. At this point, the frontrunner’s support base is engaged in the curious game of blaming voters for being unimpressed by their candidate’s genital girth.
There’s more to it than making fun of his ridiculous little hands for the conservative refuseniks in the Republican Party. For one thing, this is not about ‘party’, it’s about the beliefs we hold dear to us. We could abandon those ideals and coalesce around the frontrunner in order to defeat Hillary Clinton, but we do so with the full knowledge that we do those beliefs a tremendous disservice. We would no longer be fit to carry those ideals forward, having forsaken them merely for the ‘win’, not the winning ideas. Supporting the frontrunner now is a tacit admission that conservatism doesn’t matter.
Conservatism is defined by the belief that every American is born with the ability to rise above their station, no matter their race, their religion, or their upbringing. The frontrunner and his supporters wish to return to World War II-era internment camps, mass deportations, and immigration bans for anyone they find remotely troublesome or isn’t fabulously wealthy. The GOP will be the party of a domestic American paramilitary police force that rivals the US Army in size and power.
Conservatism is defined by the belief that a strong US military that defends American interests at home and abroad. The frontrunner and his supporters want to see Dresden-style “carpet bombing” of civilian population centers to break the will of those who support terrorists. The GOP will be the party of genocidal military tactics.
Conservatism is defined by the belief that people should take responsibility for their own financial well-being and work to achieve a standard of living that allows you to afford a measure of health care that you personally wish to pay for. The frontrunner likes the idea of the individual mandate, but he can’t seem to nail down any other specifics about what he’d change…but his poll numbers are absolutely awesome. The GOP, after successfully pinning all of the shortcomings of Obamacare (and they are myriad) on the Democratic Party, will be the party that decided to throw more money at it like virgins down a volcano.
Conservatism is defined by reducing the tax burden on Americans and allowing them to keep more of what they earned with the eye toward reducing spending to prevent running up the debt. The frontrunner blamed Gov. Scott Walker for not raising taxes in Wisconsin. The GOP will be the party of increased confiscatory taxation after coming in third for the highest corporate tax rate in the world, behind Chad and the UAE.
Conservatism is the belief that men and women have an equal impact on our society, albeit in vastly different ways. Conservatism has long sought to be a place where women can influence the conservative impulse for liberty and self-reliance as evidenced by their preternatural ability to know when a kid is on the sofa and cleaning their room will require an excavator. In the past week, the frontrunner’s campaign manager was charged with misdemeanor battery of a female reporter, he then tweeted pictures of his closest competitor’s wife that implied her looks were a worse issue than her problems with depression, and then stated in an MSNBC interview that women should be punished for getting an abortion. The GOP will be the party that alienated more than half of the US population.
We are left with one conclusion: the frontrunner for the GOP nomination is not a conservative. He espouses no conservative beliefs, he is not interested in anything the GOP has to offer unless it can be completely and totally subservient to him, and feels no compunction about threatening retaliation on anyone not seen as being unequivocally enthusiastic at the prospect of his being the standard-bearer of the GOP.
If anyone is wondering why there seems to be such resistance to the frontrunner being the eventual nominee, it seems self-evident. The frontrunner simply does not share what we believe is important and is actually a danger to any future progress for the cause of conservatism. It isn’t petulance, Mr. Nolte, and characterizing it as such is only going to further resolve people against any form of unity.
The Dented Vessel 