O-SenseI’m somewhat ashamed that I didn’t write this column a few weeks ago. But, my friends at the prominent conservative magazine National Review, with their takedown of Donald Trump last week, have prodded me forward.
National Review, founded by William F. Buckley, in a prominent editorial last week, made the case of why Trump is unacceptable as President:
“Trump is a philosophically unmoored political opportunist who would trash the broad conservative ideological consensus within the GOP in favor of a free-floating populism with strong-man overtones.”
I agree in the strongest possible terms and hereby pledge that I will not vote for Donald Trump either in the March 8 Idaho GOP primary or in the general election (I think I would just sit that one out). If you are a Republican, I encourage you to join me.
Here are a few reasons why . . .
If you are a conservative, Trump is anything but one. He has supported in the past few years a single payer health care system (ie. like Canada), Obama’s stimulus plan and the auto bailout. In defending the bank bailout he said, “[The government] can take over companies and, frankly, take big chunks of companies.” On abortion, he told Tim Russert in 1999 that he was “pro-choice in every respect” in explaining his support of late-term abortions. Now he claims he would support a ban on late-term abortions. His flip-flops are simply not credible.
If you are Republican, Trump is a fair weather friend. As The Weekly Standard pointed out, he has switched his party registration five times since 1987. In 2011, he told Sean Hannity that he was President Obama’s biggest cheerleader. He has contributed $1.3 million in political donations with 54%, according to the Washington Post, going to Democrats. Some Democrats he backed financially include Sen. Harry Reid, former Sen. Hillary Clinton, former Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Ted Kennedy. In New York, two-thirds of his money flowed to Democrats.
If you respect the Constitution, Trump must not be allowed to assume the Presidency. One of the key components of the Constitution is limitation on the powers of each branch of government. As National Review’s Rick Lowry wrote in December: “The thought you can’t do that doesn’t ever occur to him. He would deport the American-born children of illegal immigrants. He has mused about shutting down mosques and creating a database of Muslims. He praised FDR’s internment of Japanese Americans in World War II.” That kind of constitutional ignorance is inexcusable.
If you are concerned for America’s security, Trump is not the choice. His ignorance on foreign policy and national defense is unbelievable. He has manifest ignorance on how U.S. nuclear forces have been structured since the 1950s (a triad of missiles on subs at sea, land based missiles and bombers), the nature of multi-billion dollar weapons being aquired and, even, our friends overseas (the Kurds are our allies, not our enemies). Trump would render little confidence by those in the armed forces because he has not the foggiest idea what they do. Putting a rank amateur in charge of the nuclear trigger is plain foolhardy. Trump even claims we should kill the families of terrorists, a stance that is directly contrary to international law as accepted by the United States.
If you respect the presidency, then you have a duty to block Donald Trump. We have a history of great presidents – Washington, Madison, Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan. Could Trump ever join that crew? Absolutely not. He is crude, undisciplined and a complete narcissist. Presidents bring Americans together, not push them apart (Mexican immigrants are rapists, etc.). Ronald Reagan understood the dignity of the office. Trump would trash it.
If you want to win, choose someone besides Trump. Real Clear Politics is a web site that tracks polling data over time. Trump has consistently polled the worst of the major Republican candidates against Hillary Clinton. At the very least he will lose Hispanics and turn off women. It is hard to conceive of any scenario where he does as well as Romney in 2012. His nomination will put Clinton in the White House.
Steve Taggart is an Idaho Falls attorney specializing in bankruptcy (www.MaynesTaggart.com). He has an extensive background in politics and public policy. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
