Conservatives Against Trump

Max Boot - a long time Republican - has a piece in the Washington Post where he calls for the destruction of the Republican Party.  Comparing it to Germany and Japan in the wake of World War II, he says it must be destroyed before it can be rebuilt.  Gee, that's not just a little hyperbolic.

The straw that broke the camel's back is the separation of children from parents on the border.  Of course, the separation 'policy' dates back to the 90s and has been reconfirmed over the last 20 years.  This has been happening for years but a picture (taken during the Obama Administration!) was published with kids in cages and suddenly this blew sky high.  Boot should know this.  In fact, he probably does but this makes a good pretext for his continuing Trump hatred.  Basically, it boils down to criminals go to jail and their kids are put in protective services.  Should kids go to jail with their parents?  No.  Just like Americans, if you don't want to be separated from your kids, don't commit a crime that puts you in jail.  Duh!

 

I've long liked Max Boot - I own a couple of his books (Out of Order & War Made New) and definitely recommend them.  However, like George Will, he has somehow lost his way.  I don't know quite what it is about Trump that has driven so many staunch conservatives to support the increasingly socialist Democratic Party (e.g. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez).  Not resting his argument just on the child separation issue, Boot offers other reasons to vote Democrat:

"...a vote for the GOP in November is also a vote for egregious obstruction of justice

 

No example is provided; you just need to take his word on it.

 

...rampant conflicts of interest

 

No example is provided; you just need to take his word on it.

 

...the demonization of minorities

 

Trump has been hard on illegal immigration and that is often equated with anti-Hispanic because the vast majority of illegal immigrants are from Latin America.  Trump did indeed speak ill of MS-13 gang members, who deserve demonization.  Boot is embracing the Democrats tactic of conflating Trump's comments against MS-13 to all immigrants.

 

...the debasement of political discourse

 

Really?  How many times did Democrats accuse Republicans of being Nazis and racists?  Yes, Republicans have usually refrained from such talk even when Democrats accused them of being fascists, sexists, bigots, homophobes, etc.  I had a family member intimate that I might be racist because I opposed Obama.  Clearly, if Obama had been white, I would have been in favor of higher taxes, more regulation, and weak foreign policy.  The political discourse was debased decades ago but Trump is the first Republican President to punch back twice as hard.  Trump adopted the tactics of Democrats and none of the Washington Elite is going to forgive him for that.

 

...the alienation of America’s allies

 

Do you remember how Obama abandoned ally (Mubarak in Egypt) after ally (Poland & Czech Republic) after ally (Israel was always at fault and the Palestinians were blameless for 8 years) and tried to embrace enemy (Iran) after enemy (Russian Reset) after enemy (Cuba!), all to no avail?  Trump is trying to get NATO to pay their treaty obligations in defense; if that alienates them, they deserve it.  While Obama tossed allies overboard to the sharks, Trump insists allies do their part in swabbing the deck.

 

...the end of free trade

 

There is no free trade.  The US has trade deficits with most trade partners.  While the US moves toward free trade, our trade partners game the system to create a trade imbalance in their favor.  Trade with China is $375 billion in their favor, Mexico is $71 billion, Japan is $69 billion, Germany is $65 billion, and Canada is $18 billion.  He who pays the piper calls the tune.  The US is paying and if each of these deficits were cut in half, those nations would still be getting the better of the deal.  Trump is going to use his leverage (cf. The Art of the Deal).

 

...and the appeasement of dictators.

 

And you think the Democrats are the way to fix that?  The party that sided with the mullahs in Iran's 2009 Green Revolution and then gave billions in cash to the mullahs in the wake of the unenforceable and counter-productive Iran Deal?  The party that canceled a missile defense agreement with Poland and the Czech Republic to placate Russia?   The party that favored Hamas and the Fatah over Israel?

 

Like Will, Boot is a longtime insider who sees an outsider upsetting the apple cart.  Trump is like no president before.  Unlike most previous presidents, he has worked and thrived in the private sector.  The private sector will not long suffer detrimental policies and money-losing propositions.  If we are in deficit on trade, let's renegotiate.  If allies aren't paying their share (i.e. NATO dues), let's send a collector.  If regulations are choking economic growth, let's repeal them.  If conservatism is about limiting government, we haven't had it this good since Reagan.

 

If you think the boat is going the wrong direction, you try to correct course, you don't jump off the boat and yell "I hope you sink!"  This is what Will, Boot, and other Never Trumpers have done.