Living
in Never-never Land
Published in Marietta Daily Journal June 26, 2016
One
by one they have come. Clothed in
self-righteousness they have expressed concern for their country while no doubt
thinking about their own hides. Senators,
representatives, governors, mayors, and even conservative political commentators
apparently think we all want to know for whom they “cannot” and will not vote.
Posing as moralists and patriots,
they tell us why they must obey their consciences and withhold their support
from their party’s nominee. With pained
facial expressions they assert that the nominee is destroying his adopted party
and that the world will end the moment he is inaugurated. Therefore, they could never vote for him.
Essentially, the Nevers are arguing
that the nation can continue business as usual: ignoring the national debt,
Islamic terrorism, squishy borders, oppressive regulations, anemic economic
growth, and shrinkage of the middle class.
To them, a known enemy is better than a brash friend.
Yes, the “Never” people are saying
never to their party nominee because he speaks bluntly, has never held office,
refuses to buckle, and refuses to play the game. (That’s not refreshing?) The game is kicking the can down the road and
talking middle class issues on the campaign trail but joining the buddy club,
once elected.
The Nevers claim their party’s
nominee would foolishly walk away from bargaining with other nations,
forgetting that Ronald Reagan walked away from the Russians at Reykjavik and
won the day. They claim that being
president isn’t the same as being a real estate deal maker, forgetting that
Thomas Jefferson brokered a massive piece of real estate referred to as the
Louisiana Purchase and that President James K. Polk didn’t do poorly in
acquiring the entire southwest.
The Nevers simply don’t believe that
business experience would be better than the continuation of community
organizing. They must not know or don’t
care that while a senior at Wellesley College, Hillary Clinton wrote her thesis
on another community organizer, Saul Alinsky, the author of “Rules for Radicals.” According to William McGurn of the Wall
Street Journal, Clinton continued to correspond with Alinsky while in law
school at Yale.
I am a Christian, but I would not
have refused to vote for Thomas Jefferson because he wasn’t one. The record (letters, public speeches) shows
that Jefferson boldly defended religious freedom, including that of Christians. Not an atheist, but a deist, Jefferson talked
and walked the talk of a true believer in freedom of thought.
Today’s Nevers would probably have
withheld their support of the imperfect Jefferson. But Jefferson’s mortal enemy Alexander
Hamilton didn’t. Given the choice of
Jefferson or Aaron Burr, Hamilton chose his lesser nemesis. Unlike today’s “Never” moralists, Hamilton
accepted the fact that sometimes we are handed two stark choices. We can either flee them, pretending there is
a third option or we can, like Hamilton – the founder of America’s financial
system – face facts.
Nevers are also afraid of the nominee’s
masculinity that presents such a contrast to today’s androgyny. To them his resoluteness and forthrightness
are scary. This is not only quite a
pity; it’s a recent development. Nobody
ever wondered or had to figure out what Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, or
Ronald Reagan was saying. To the Nevers,
their nominee is too “street.” He’s too
close to all of those who didn’t go to college.
Lord knows we don’t need working people picking our president.
The “Nevers” are big proponents of political
consultants. They dislike the fact that
their party’s nominee won’t listen to consultants, even though consultants have
never run for office themselves. Many of the “Nevers” are part of the
consultant class.
The Nevers are sore losers. They are political elitists deeply offended
that an outsider has crashed their party.
So long have they enjoyed their perch that they are in shock that the
nominee has eviscerated 16 other candidates, winning the hearts and support of
many an average Joe. They don’t realize
that our average Joe’s long ago grew tired of consultants, talking points,
polls, tele-prompters, promises, and blah, blah, blah.
As the saying goes, Grandma was slow
but Grandma was old. The Nevers are slow
to accept a political reality. For
almost a year they have been saying that the nominee’s next speech, next
debate, next comment will do him in. Now
it’s the big one, the presidential election that will surely bring him down. That could be the scenario if the nominee’s supporters
waver.
So far, however, supporters are standing like
a stone wall, including hundreds of non-self-righteous evangelical leaders who
met with the nominee this week.
More
and more, the Nevers are looking just plain politically inept.
Roger
Hines
6/22/16
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