Center-right Trump skeptics have been duped into supporting a center-left narrative, seriously damaging any hope there was for a principled renewal of the conservative movement in the near future.
“ Now, this has led them to set aside their principles and support progressive institutions whose express agenda is counter to conservative values and principles, all in the name of opposing the institutions that have become radicalized partly because they abandoned them.”
This is why I was so turned off by the Never Trump movement as characterized by the Lincoln Project and others. Voted for Jorgensen last year.
“ There’s ultimately no difference between setting aside principles to support a man and setting aside principles to oppose a man.”
Exactly. Most people did one of the two. Including people I respect. This is why I became such a fan of the Dispatch because they seemed some of the only ones who did neither and refused to compromise on their principles.
Yeah, my falling out with the Never Trump movement came when I came back from a week of Turkey hunting in the hills to find out that Amash's presidential campaign had been rejected (shot down) and he had withdrawn for lack of support. All because it had become so important to beat Trump that no one wanted to risk taking votes from Biden. I was pretty frustrated and felt pretty betrayed. I'd staked out a very unpopular position in the conservative movement, and I had strained relationships with friends and family as a result. I didn't do it to vote for Democrats. I did it to stand on principles. I'd fought back time and time again against the assertion that I and others in the Never Trump movement had such TDS that we were willing to support and vote for progressives and socialists to beat Trump and the Republican Party. I felt stabbed in the back. Considering we had supported an independent candidate in 2016 who jumped in the race with only a few months to build steam, I had thought we were building towards another effort that could start behind the eight ball this time, and to have the "lesser of two evils" arguments I had pushed against four years before be turned against me from those who I thought had rejected it was infuriating. I've gotten a lot more measured this year, but last year I was getting pretty darn strident about it all. I know I burned a lot of bridges, that's for sure. But I felt like my conservative credibility was on the line, and I had to take pains to disassociate my voice from those who were making the choice to enable progressivism.
Allow me to hypothesize for a moment about what I think happened...
First, the news media, the general source of “truth” and information in our country has twisted the First Amendment in their favor to the point that few individuals actually think for themselves.
Second, the parties are broken. Nobody who is elected actually works for the People. They work to advance their party agenda. There is one notable exception to this: Mitt Romney. So far, he is the only politician whom I have seen try to maintain his moral and ethical compass. Look where that has gotten him.
Levi’s dream has come true. Those who have made it to the great and spacious building are mocking those who are holding true to their principles.
“ Now, this has led them to set aside their principles and support progressive institutions whose express agenda is counter to conservative values and principles, all in the name of opposing the institutions that have become radicalized partly because they abandoned them.”
This is why I was so turned off by the Never Trump movement as characterized by the Lincoln Project and others. Voted for Jorgensen last year.
“ There’s ultimately no difference between setting aside principles to support a man and setting aside principles to oppose a man.”
Exactly. Most people did one of the two. Including people I respect. This is why I became such a fan of the Dispatch because they seemed some of the only ones who did neither and refused to compromise on their principles.
Yeah, my falling out with the Never Trump movement came when I came back from a week of Turkey hunting in the hills to find out that Amash's presidential campaign had been rejected (shot down) and he had withdrawn for lack of support. All because it had become so important to beat Trump that no one wanted to risk taking votes from Biden. I was pretty frustrated and felt pretty betrayed. I'd staked out a very unpopular position in the conservative movement, and I had strained relationships with friends and family as a result. I didn't do it to vote for Democrats. I did it to stand on principles. I'd fought back time and time again against the assertion that I and others in the Never Trump movement had such TDS that we were willing to support and vote for progressives and socialists to beat Trump and the Republican Party. I felt stabbed in the back. Considering we had supported an independent candidate in 2016 who jumped in the race with only a few months to build steam, I had thought we were building towards another effort that could start behind the eight ball this time, and to have the "lesser of two evils" arguments I had pushed against four years before be turned against me from those who I thought had rejected it was infuriating. I've gotten a lot more measured this year, but last year I was getting pretty darn strident about it all. I know I burned a lot of bridges, that's for sure. But I felt like my conservative credibility was on the line, and I had to take pains to disassociate my voice from those who were making the choice to enable progressivism.
Understandable that you’d be frustrated by that experience!
Allow me to hypothesize for a moment about what I think happened...
First, the news media, the general source of “truth” and information in our country has twisted the First Amendment in their favor to the point that few individuals actually think for themselves.
Second, the parties are broken. Nobody who is elected actually works for the People. They work to advance their party agenda. There is one notable exception to this: Mitt Romney. So far, he is the only politician whom I have seen try to maintain his moral and ethical compass. Look where that has gotten him.
Levi’s dream has come true. Those who have made it to the great and spacious building are mocking those who are holding true to their principles.
“Lehi’s” dream...not Levi’s dream. Judas Priest. DYAC! 😅
Go back to clown college, nazi.
Hey man...didn’t your folks ever teach you the golden rules?