McAllister: Time for Conservatives to Make a Choice

Conservative Review ^ | January 21st, 2016 | D.C. McAllister

[Isara]

It’s pretty clear Donald Trump isn’t a conservative. The problem is many voters in the Republican Party think he is. These voters are real, they care about the constitutional principles that make America exceptional, and Trump needs them. He can’t afford to have the base of the Republican Party leave him for Ted Cruz.

This is why he needed Sarah Palin’s endorsement. This is why he went to Liberty University and talked about “2 Corinthians.” This is why Cruz’s comment about New York values was problematic for him. Many pundits made the mistake after the last debate of thinking the comment would hurt Cruz. It didn’t. It opened the door for everyone to see how liberal Trump truly is. This exchange with Tim Russert is damming (emphasis mine):

Russert: Do you think homosexuals should get married?

Trump: It’s not something I’ve given a lot of thought to. I live in New York City, and there’s a tremendous movement on to have and allow gay marriages, something that is too premature for me to comment on.

Russert: How about gays serving in the military?

Trump: It would not disturb me. I mean, hey, I lived in New York City and Manhattan all my life, ok, so my views are a little different than if I lived in Iowa perhaps, but it’s not something that would disturb me.

Russert: Partial birth abortion. The eliminating of abortion in the third trimester. Big issue in Washington. Would President Trump ban partial birth abortion?

Trump: I’m very pro-choice, and again, it may be a little bit of a New York background, because there is some different attitude in different parts of the country, and, you know, I was raised in New York and grew up and worked and everything else in New York City.

Russert: So you would not ban it?

Trump: No, I am pro-choice in every respect.

Trump’s own words are a ringing endorsement of his liberal values, and despite the whining from the New York crowd about Cruz’s comments, Trump knew he had a problem. He had to fix it. He clearly says in the Russert interview that New York values are very different from Iowa’s values. And with the Iowa caucus not far off, he had to do something to stop the bleeding. Enter Palin: the conservative darling of the Tea Party.

"Should conservatives sacrifice their principles on the altar of populist passion and pride?"

Many are applauding her endorsement and predicting how it will strengthen Trump’s support among conservatives. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. That depends on the conservatives—whether they’re already in his camp or thinking about joining it. It’s to these conservatives that I ask this question: If Trump is indeed repentant of his liberal sins—if he is actually a conservative—then why does he need Palin? Why not stand on his own as the true conservative in the race?

And here’s another question: If he is not a conservative—which appears to be the case, because he does, in fact, need Palin—then why would she support him? She’s supposed to be a conservative, right? If he’s not a conservative, then why endorse him? Why not endorse a true conservative?

Of course, none of us can really answer that last question because we don’t live in Palin’s mind. Whether it’s hunger for the spotlight, a promised place in the Trump administration, personal loyalty to a friend, money, or simply that she thinks he can win and believes the shtick that he’ll make America great again, the fact remains: she is abandoning her conservative principles to support Trump.

Should conservative voters do the same? Should conservatives sacrifice their principles on the altar of populist passion and pride? This is the only question that matters. Personalities don’t matter. Celebrity doesn’t matter. Promises made in the heat of campaign rallies don’t matter. Roaring rhetoric on a debate stage doesn’t matter. All that matters is this: Do you believe in conservative principles or don’t you?

If you do, your candidate is not Donald Trump. Palin’s endorsement doesn’t bolster his conservative credentials—it proves they don’t exist.

Where do you stand, conservatives? The time to choose is now. Up to this point, many of us who call ourselves constitutional conservatives have been silent in our support of any one candidate. We’ve been watching patiently as we’ve seen Trump take a wrecking ball to the Establishment. We didn’t attack Trump for his liberalism or his authoritarianism or even his elitism because we wanted him to continue to tear down the Establishment elites. It had to be done. They were the oozing scab that needed to be ripped off, so we could get to the infection underneath. Trump was the man to do that—and he’s done it well. We conservatives who have been fighting for America for years stood aside, even applauded, and often explained the reasons for the rise of Trump populism.

But we never believed for a minute that Trump should be president. We saw him as clearing a path for another, for a true constitutional conservative. That could have been one of many early on (Rick Perry, Rand Paul, Ben Carson), but now there is really only one: Ted Cruz. Now is the time to rally around him as the candidate who can channel the forces of populism in a principled conservative direction.

Granted, many populists won’t want to come along because they have never held to conservative principles. But that’s not the case for others. Many Trump supporters are conservative to their core, but they have populist sensibilities and sympathies. It’s to you that I’m making this appeal. The Trump juggernaut has done its job. It’s time to leave him and support the candidate who is truly committed to the Constitution, who respects states’ powers, who values individual rights, who is unquestionably pro-life, who understands the need to make our military strong in defense of this nation, and who is willing to repeal Obamacare. It’s time to support the true conservative in the race who has actually fought for your rights and liberties.

If conservatives fail to make a decision to stand for constitutional principles now that the Trump wrecking ball has done its job, then the unprincipled populist genie will never be put back in its bottle. It will continue to grow bigger and bigger until the reasoned voices of those who are actually fighting for our country are silenced.

"Why does the Establishment want Trump and not Cruz?"

If you’re still not swayed and are drawn to the populist ideals over your core principles, consider this: Trump isn’t a populist either. He made that clear when he made the following statement about getting deals done in Washington: “You get Congress, you get ‘em together, you get everybody together in a room, you cajole, you get along, you have dinner, and you make deals.”

Are those the words of a populist? Is a populist someone who wants to cozy up to politicians who rip our Constitution to shreds and sell out hard-working Americans to Wall Street cronies? Does a populist want to have dinner with the Establishment elites and Leftists while the people wonder what’s happened to their country? Maybe they’ll have a scotch and a nice Ramon Allones cigar. Maybe finish it off with a round of golf at Trump International. Is that a populist? Is that a fighter? Is that a leader who speaks for the people?

Clearly, the answer is no. Trump isn’t a conservative and he’s not a populist. Think on it. Think on it hard. Your rights and liberties hang in the balance. Your children’s future is at stake. If you’re still in doubt about the first point, ask yourself: Why did he need Sarah Palin? If you’re still in doubt about the second, ask yourself: Why does the Establishment want Trump and not Cruz?

It’s time for conservatives to make a choice. Stand for reason and constitutional principles or abandon them for madness and power.

[Isara]

"Trump isn’t a conservative and he’s not a populist. Think on it. Think on it hard. Your rights and liberties hang in the balance. Your children’s future is at stake. If you’re still in doubt about the first point, ask yourself: Why did he need Sarah Palin? If you’re still in doubt about the second, ask yourself: Why does the Establishment want Trump and not Cruz?"

[catnipman]

It’s important not to forget that only a few weeks ago, Trump singularly upset the whole election apple cart!

Trump set the national agenda by opposing illegal immigration and bringing up other issues that the GOPe and their allies desperately wanted to avoid, and now they can’t.

The GOPe was not prepared for this, and as a consequence they don’t have a clue about what to do, hence their almost universal collapse into a pile of quivering jello, flip-flopping like a bag of Mexican jumping beans dumped on a hot griddle.

Trump has exposed those who pretend to be conservative but are really just fronts for big money establishment campaign donors who purchase their candidates with campaign “donations”.

Trump, by actually being a real man, has exposed the other candidates (Cruz excepting of course) and their allies for the weak little sniveling sellouts that they really are.

Trump’s vociferous truth-telling and fearless neutering of the kommie media have been the catalyst that triggered a massive revolt amongst conservative voters who are infuriated at the GOPe Congress doing absolutely ZERO to stop Obama’s agenda, and suddenly the GOP RINO leadership is in full blown panic mode and in full blown retreat, and the SMALL conservative House contingent smelt blood in the water, took heart, and charged in against a weakened, frightened and paralyzed GOPe leadership, and Boehner was taken out as a sacrificial lamb.

Trump is absolutely correct when he says that without Trump in the race, everything would be same-ol’, same-ol. The Joyful Tippy-Toes Turtle would be creeping closer to the finish line, Boehner would still be safely ensconced as Speaker, and there would be no mention of illegal immigration are any of the issues surrounding it by any politician in either party, other than possibly how critical it would be to pass immigration “reform”.

The media are loath to make the connection, but it’s obvious that the Boehner resignation was yet another falling domino, toppling due to the Trump Effect, because Trump’s unabashed truth-telling and fearless neutering of the kommie media triggered a revolt amongst the great unwashed GOP masses which emboldened a few conservative Congress critters to grow a few pairs.

And our nation wouldn’t even be having ANY of these conversations about illegal immigration and the myriad of other Obammunist issues destroying our country if it wasn’t for Trump. Instead, we’d simply be debating which RINO, GOPe squish would be least likely to be stomped by Hillary, and the GOPe would once again be exhorting the “base” about how critical it is for us to once again vote for the “lesser of two evils”, that is, vote for the GOPe side of the Uniparty coin.

And do note that ALL of the oligarchs and plutocrats are frightened to death of Donald Trump because the billionaires and millionaires can’t buy him like all of the other politicians they routinely purchase, because Trump doesn’t need nor want their money, and the kommie media is frightened to death of him because he isn’t afraid of them either, the bottom line being that Donald Trump can not be controlled by the rich and powerful or the corrupt media, so for anyone who is truly for campaign finance reform and wants to take money out of politics, voting for Trump is the only reasonable choice.

President Trump is really the last hope for this country: if he can’t undo any of the damage wrought by the Obammunists, the U.S.A. is done.

So least we forget, the above, and much more, are called “The Trump Effect”.

[Sasparilla]

Would you be as critical if Palin endorsed Cruz instead?

[Skooz]

I support Cruz and will vote for him in the primary.

If he wins the nomination I will vote for him.

If Trump is the nominee, I will vote for him.

See how simple it is?

[CptnObvious]

It's pretty clear that Hillary is not a Democrat, but a Socialist since no one can answer the question "What is the difference between a Democrat and a Socialist?"

The Mainstream Press ignores the Socialists in the Democrat party while playing up the differences between the Republicans.

One wonders why they are doing it? Maybe something to do with the word "Indictment"??

[The Iceman Cometh]

Would you be as critical if Palin endorsed Cruz instead?

No. Cruznadians would have used Palin as a wedge to trumpet to the sky that Palin knows and supports only true conservatives.

[Flintlock]

Well...................

The thing of it is..............................

We done voted “conservative” the past coupla times...........

...........AND WHAT THE HELL DID IT GET US????????

[Jim W N]

What a lot of people like this guy don’t understand is that Trump is a means to recovery, not an end. It’s not about perfect candidates - it’s really about the American People rising up to take charge of THEIR country once again. Trump-supporters are looking for a long line of future Presidents who will facilitate things like state sovereignty and the reestablishment of the Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land and ruler over the feds. Trump is just the first shot over the bow, mainly aimed at culturally corrupt and freedom-threatening political correctness.

[Cold Heat]

"Should conservatives sacrifice their principles on the altar of populist passion and pride?"

That's not even a question! LOL....

[Behind the Blue Wall]

No he’s not a conservative. He’s a patriot.

[Isara]

Presidential Candidates Comparison (Cruz vs. Trump)

Please click on the dots for more details on the ratings of the candidates.

Budget, Spending & Debt
Civil Liberties
Education
Energy & Environment
Foreign Policy & Defense
Free Market
Health Care & Entitlements
Immigration
Moral Issues
Second Amendment
Taxes, Economy & Trade

More at Conservative Review: https://www.conservativereview.com/2016-presidential-candidates

[Yashcheritsiy]

It’s pretty clear Donald Trump isn’t a conservative. The problem is many voters in the Republican Party think he is.

See, I think this is the fundamental assumption that articles like this (and let's face, this is, what, the fiftieth such article that has been written in the last week) always make, but which is not true. It isn't that Trump supporters are "snowed" into thinking he's a conservative when he really isn't. Trump supporters know what he is - but they are also making rational calculations about supporting him based on what THEY (rather than people like the author) think is important.

They care more about immigration, trade, national sovereignty, etc. - all issues where Ted Cruz is weak.

In a sense, Trump supporters are filling out a niche in the "ideological diamond" that Ted Cruz supporters - stuck as they are in an outdated and irrelevant "linear model" simply don't get. Because they don't get it, they therefore make all kinds of arguments - both against Trump AND to try to explain his supporters - that really just don't have much relevancy for many of Trump's supporters.

Ted Cruz supporters go on and on about social issues. Trump supporters know that if you don't get a handle on immigration, and more generally on national sovereignty, that 20 years from now, no social issue is going to matter in the least because the Dems will have a permanent supermajority lock on every branch of government. Trump supporters are trying to patch the holes in the hull, while Cruz supporters are busy complaining that they're not helping them to rearrange the deck chairs.

The "problem" isn't that many GOP primary voters are just dumb rubes who've been suckered in by Trump's "snake oil" or his "celebrity." Rather, they're people who have quite well-developed rationales for why they support him - but they're rationales that differ from those desired by Cruz supporters.

[freedomjusticeruleoflaw]

Cruz scares me more than Trump, but neither one scares me much. I call those pretending to be scared... liars.

[Vaquero]

2 Corinthians walk into a bar....one says “ did you hear what Trump said.....”

[PJBankard]

Too bad the President of the United States can’t ban Abortion or even Partial-Birth Abortion. Only Congress can do that.

Trump isn’t a social conservative, although he has changed his stance and is now pro-life. He is a nationalist based in fiscal conservatism. America First. Secure our borders. Bring back US Manufacturing. Fix our tax system. Reduce our Debt.

[GodGunsGuts]

Because at heart they know DONALD TRUMP IS ONE OF THEM!

[Yashcheritsiy]

LOL

[Yogafist]

Russert: Do you think homosexuals should get married?

This guy really wants to use this as an example? If I remember right, our "conservative" leadership told us homosexual marriage is now the law of the land, and it is time to move on, after that horrible Supreme Court decision. Sounds like Trump fits right into the party.

[ken5050]

Well, I see you’ve graduated from drinking the Kool-aid to drinking the ethanol..