Donald Trump has never been faithful to any principle greater than himself and spent these years engaging in crony capitalism in a corrupt system to enrich himself. Now we are to believe that he has come to Jesus.
Well, his road to Damascus never went as far as ethanol, or Scalia. I think we will see more and more of this betrayal of conservative principles by Donald Trump. If he ever gets into the Oval Office he will feel no constraints at all. Will he double the ethanol subsidies? Will he appoint Justices who find Scalia as repugnant as Trump does? Assurances that his conversion is real and permanent are not enough in a candidate who is a mere flip flopper on issues of convenience but Donald Trump is a flip flopper who is a narcissist. There is no reason to believe that once converted he will stay converted.
One can argue that Ted Cruz has modified his positions in the area of immigration which is no more important to you than it is to me. How has he done so? He has moved from no citizenship to no legal status. He has moved from increasing legal immigration and H1B visas to reducing even eliminating immigration and eliminating the latter. Cruz argues that these positions were taken as lines of defense against Rubio's Gang of Eight Bill but even if that exclamation is discounted as subterfuge in an election year, these are not basic ideological rebellions against a lifelong commitment to conservatism. These are not the equivalent, as many on these threads insist, of a change of party, a flip on abortion, and countless other ideological reversals done by Trump as easily as changing gears in your auto. In no sense would Cruz ever justify his changes in policy as matters of self-interest but Trump blatantly does so. One but conclude that his actions are utterly selfish and there is no reason to believe that Trump's lifelong practice will suddenly change when he is beyond our control and becomes the most powerful man in the world as well as one of the richest.
To equate these changes in policy in these two men is to engage in rank relativism. At worst Cruz has changed to accommodate a change in public opinion on issues which are not fundamental or ideologically crucial-albeit immigration is a crucial issue but not an ideological issue as applied in this context. At best Donald Trump has changed to feed his ego. At worst, Cruz has changed on two or three issues but Donald Trump has flipped on everything and is still flipping today and betraying a populist mentality not a conservative mentality when he supports ethanol or attacks Scalia. God knows where Trump will flip-flop next if he gets into office or what will become the flavor of the week that tickles his ego.
To bet the ranch that Donald Trump will continue to maintain his robust posture on immigration-now effectively no more robust than Cruz'-is to bet the ranch on one man's ego whose biography shows it to be mercurial.
How much more prudent to go with a candidate whose default position is not his own ego but honest conservatism.
