Dear Erick,
In late 2016, before the election, during one of my many debates with members of my family about Donald Trump and whether we should vote for him, I laid out all of my reasons against it, concentrating on the long-term effects of supporting him. I stated that we won’t know the full effect until probably around 2022-2024, but we’ll see trends along the way.
Since then, they have determined that I was wrong at each point where Trump supposedly did something great. “You didn’t think he’d beat Hillary”, “You didn’t think he’d appoint a conservative Justice”, “You didn’t think he was serious about building a wall”, “You didn’t think he would do all of the great conservative things that he has done”.
All of these “accomplishments” have been used to prove how wrong I was about Trump. I’m not going to go into each of them specifically to rebut them and show how they can be picked apart and debunked as far as proving how great Trump has been. That is not the purpose of this letter. Frankly, you already know these things. The point is, every one of these arguments miss the entire point of why I was ultimately so against Trump (and by the way, why you were…or at least why you said you were).
I consistently stated that I had no doubt that Trump would do some conservative things if he was elected, or at least make it seem so. There would be things that I would otherwise be pleased with if any true conservative President did them. But my biggest point was that the insincere, ignorant, bumbling way Trump would do them would create a terrible image for conservatives and conservatism and cause a backlash so big that we’d increase the ongoing threat of moving toward progressive socialism much quicker than we already were. That his antics would solidify the stereotype of conservatives that we have been fighting for so many years. That his arrogant, authoritarian, immature nonsense would reverse all of the strides that conservatives and Republicans have made in the last decade. And make no mistake, aside from having the Presidency, Republicans were increasing dramatically in each of the states and movements toward actually fixing things for our Republic were happening, contrary to Trumpists’ beliefs.
You know this stuff. I know you do.
But ever since his election, he has actually done much worse. I never expected the total acquiescence and bowing to Trump from the entire Republican Party and most of the people in it. This is incredibly disturbing. Excusing his despicable words and actions, going along with clearly non-conservative policies that attack free market capitalism, standing by while he trashes and undermines our intelligence services, tolerating his absurd praising of despots, saying nothing when he turns long-time allies into adversaries, playing into and covering for all of his lies. I could go on. But again, you know all of this stuff.
In the end, I got tired of debating each and every move that Trump makes with my family. It was a futile effort and ignored my main point…that the long-term effects are still the big problem. I essentially stated that I was not going to argue about it anymore on a daily basis, that I would sit back and wait for 2024, when we will then be able to analyze the entire situation based on what I’ve been saying. If the Republicans and conservatism were sitting strong at that point, then there would be a legitimate case to claim I was entirely wrong. However, if, as I suspected all along, we get to that point and the Republican party is in shambles (or demolished) and Trumpism is then synonymous with conservatism, then I will have been proven right.
And then I stated that if I am proven wrong after all of this, then I will quit politics. Not the part about trying to stay informed, but at least the part about trying to analyze and pontificate about it all. If I am wrong, after all, it will be an indication that everything I have learned and believe about the founding, the principles involved, the Constitution and role and structure of the government…everything that I have learned by paying attention to politics for so many years, has been for naught. If I am wrong, it will show that I’m just not very good at this. So, rather than spend my time writing and talking so much about it, I will find other, more productive ways to spend it.
Which brings me to my main issue with you, Erick.
All during the lead-up to the 2016 election, and for a time afterwards, I was with you. You and I were on the same page. I read pretty much everything you wrote about the situation and agreed with the vast majority of it. When you started The Resurgent, I was with you. When you asked for monetary support to keep it going, I contributed. When you began the NeverTrump movement, I was all in. When you described all of the reasons you were against Trump (including such things as the importance of moral character, virtue, and that the ends don’t justify the means), I said, “Yep, right on. Me too!”
And then you began to shift. Slowly, but surely, we could see your transition. It was a running joke as to which side you would be on today. It seemed very apparent to all of us who had followed you along that you were beginning to crack, that you were attempting to get back into the good graces of friends that had forsaken you, that you were desperately trying to get your television punditry slots back.
It was obvious, Erick.
So, my question to you is, why should anyone ever pay any attention to anything you say ever again?
Seriously, why? By now being “all in” for Trump 2020, you have essentially admitted and conceded that you were wrong all along about Trump. That everything you have said against Trump for the past three years (and there was a lot) was wrong. What that means, just as I stated about myself if in the end I am proven wrong, is that you are spectacularly bad at this stuff. So now, after your transition to “all in” for Trump 2020, we’re to believe that you are good at it and worth listening to? Sorry, that just doesn’t compute.
The bottom line is that you were either wrong about everything in your NeverTrump life, or you are now a sellout that will say anything to prop up your flailing political punditry career. In either case, it makes you an incredibly bad person to pay any attention to. The Trumpisphere is full of such fallen sycophants. You are now no different.
I want my money back, Erick. It was obviously solicited under fraudulent claims. I know that you can look up my name for my contributions and that my email address is attached to that…you can use that email address to PayPal my refund. I thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
Steve Wood
