Inspired by Crazy

Recently, some prominent and respectable conservatives who dislike Trump have issued statements about voting in November.

George Will wrote in June that the GOP should be voted out of office and reduced to ashes for its complicity in the current state of affairs in America.

David French wrote that he prefers a more measured, thoughtful approach, judging each candidate’s individual merits.

The sad truth is I see very little difference in outcome regardless of which of those two approaches I embrace.

I’m no conservative, and definitely not a Republican. In a better time, I would definitely prefer French’s approach to the election. One of the stated tenets the GOP platform has been that people should be judged as individuals, not as part of a group. (I see monumental hypocrisy in execution, sure. But in an ideal world, that would be, in my own mind, how we should always view others.)

However, I see a couple of flaws with French’s argument.

First, it is fair to judge people, at least partially, on the company they keep. The modern GOP is neither conservative, politically, nor admirable in any way I see. In defense of President Trump, too many Republicans have paraded around embarrassingly false and ridiculous assertions. Those people are the “voice” of the Republican Party.

Second, there are so few Republicans currently in office who have any hope to hold up under such scrutiny, there’s very little difference in my mind between Will’s approach and French’s approach.

I have some sympathy for Republicans who have tried to distance themselves form what the GOP has become. But, in the end, they chose to stick with the party. As French points out, rejecting the party carries substantial risk with it. But that’s the company they kept.

Now, it’s relatively easy for me to hold this viewpoint. I wouldn’t be likely to vote for a Republican anyway. But what if the parties were reversed?

What if the Democrats kept propping up an incompetent, dangerous man in the White House? Would I be willing to vote for a moderate Republican (as moderate as Joe Biden is a moderate Democrat)? Yes. And while it might make me feel queasy that the party I prefer (but by no means worship blindly) had strayed so far afield, I would not support any president, of any party, who behaved as Trump does.

And would I vote for a Republican if they were running against an obsequious Democrat supporting such a president? As long as the Republican wasn’t also an extremist, yes.

Because when a party strays as far afield as the GOP has, it’s no longer the party you support or believe in. 

Trump called the CEO “Tim Apple” instead of “Tim Cook”

It was a funny, and unoffensive (as far as I can see) mistake. Cook got the humor, and changed his twitter handle to “Tim ”

Why does Trump go into teenager-esque unbelievable denials? He should just laugh.

Fox News certainly is biased when it comes to politics, so it comes as no surprise they are critical of a new book from Clinton communications director. (Disclaimer, I haven’t read the book.)

Whether the book is full of excuses or not, it’s time to acknowledge some crucial facts about what happened:

• The “fault” for the election loss is both nobody’s and everybody’s. This was, in the end, a close election. Trying to isolate blame to a single person or incident (Clinton herself, the “deplorable” comment, James Comey’s ill-timed announcements of investigations, etc.) is failing to recognize that it was a confluence of factors that resulted in the election outcome.
• For those of us unhappy with the election result, the best thing to do is to reflect on whatever small role they had in the outcome, and what small influence they can exert to change future outcomes. Whether people feel they were too complacent, too dismissive of Trump’s appeal, too angry over Bernie Sanders’ primary defeat, too shrill, too quiet, etc., it’s time to reflect and focus on what each of us can do to effect change.
• Recent victories by Democrat’s are, I think, a critical signpost for Democrats moving forward. Those elections weren’t won because everybody hates Trump. They were won because the candidates spoke to the true needs of the people who voted in those elections. Trump won because he promised people things they most wanted.
• Criticizing Trump isn’t going to convince anybody. What persistent criticism communicates is that there is no better plan in place. There needs to be less criticism and complaining, and more counter-arguments with better solutions.

Reflection, self improvement, and actively pursuing a different future is what’s needed now.

A Liberal should be open to giving multiple viewpoints fair consideration.

When I was in college, in the aftermath of Dukakis being derided for being a “Liberal,” one article offered this sentiment in a set of pro-Liberal points that it declared should have been in Dukakis’ response.

To me, a Liberal is, by necessity, a person of compromise. If you truly consider multiple viewpoints fairly, it is unlikely you will find your original view the only one with merit.

There’s been a lot of rejoicing among Democrats and those who oppose Trump regarding the Virginia elections. I worry that it’s premature. Trumpism isn’t dead yet.