If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it a thousand times, right?
“We don’t support Trump personally, but we support the policies that he is implementing.”
The right has always charged that the left is willing to do anything to achieve their goals. The ends justify the means. The right has traditionally held itself to a higher standard. Principles matter. Morality matters. Virtue matters. Character matters.
In the era of Trump, that is all gone. POOF! We have #MAGA now, bitch!
We like that we are getting conservative Supreme Court justices.
We like that we’re cutting taxes and regulations.
We like that we’re geting tough on trade and not being the world’s schmucks anymore.
We like that we’re standing up to the media. FAKE NEWS!
We like that we’re making liberal, snowflake heads get all splody.
We like that we’re winning!
After having to endure life through the 8 years of Obama and Hillary, it’s time for payback! And, oh how sweet it is!
But where is all of this leading? What, exactly, is the “end game”?
Do you believe that after 8 years of Trump winning, the left will simply lay down their political weapons and surrender, finally acknowledging that we were right all along?
Is it enough to win these current victories, or is there a bigger picture that we should be focusing on?
Nikki Haley sent a shot across the USS Trumpski’s bow the other day, when she had this to say (The Hill):
“Raise your hand if you’ve ever posted anything online to quote-unquote ‘own the libs,’ ” Haley asked at the High School Leadership Summit at George Washington University.
The vast majority raised their hands in response, and then erupted into spontaneous applause.
“I know that it’s fun and that it can feel good, but step back and think about what you’re accomplishing when you do this — are you persuading anyone? Who are you persuading?” Haley asked. “We’ve all been guilty of it at some point or another, but this kind of speech isn’t leadership — it’s the exact opposite.”
“Real leadership is about persuasion, it’s about movement, it’s bringing people around to your point of view,” she added. “Not by shouting them down, but by showing them how it is in their best interest to see things the way you do.”
This is spot on and I believe it to be a direct attack on the politics of Trumpism. Yes, we can chalk up all of these “wins” with Trump and cheer and praise and feel like winners while the left explodes, but are we really making any progress in fixing what truly ails this Republic?
Do we believe Trump’s “leadership” is really going to lead to improving the divisive animosity that is destroying us from within? Or is it more likely to cause a huge backlash when the left once again gains power?
This is at the root of why many of us were/are “Never Trumpers”. It’s not that we simply hate the man, or hate everything he’s doing. Rather, it is more about the way he is doing it and what kind of backlash it’s going to cause. Many of those supporting and defending Trump now are doing so because they believe they are preventing the left from having control and implementing all of their crazy, leftist, socialist policies. We Never Trumpers are also afraid of those socialist policies gaining more control over our Republic, only we believe that Trump’s antics are going to cause that to happen more quickly and completely than they otherwise would have.
As Nikki Haley talked about, we need to focus more on educating and persuading than on ridiculing and mocking. If we don’t, this Republic is destined to fail, no matter how much you think we’re “winning” right now.
