When Principles are Trumped by Expedience
By Andrew Barisser
Vast swathes of the Republican Party have now sided with Donald Trump. Where once he was lampooned and ridiculed as a playboy, as a buffoon, as a philanderer and a repugnant human being, Trump has been embraced by his erstwhile critics. It has been a sad process to watch this transmogrification of Republicans into slavish followers. It is the most transparent victory of expedience over principle imaginable.
Every Republican who endorses Trump is sealing his own doom in the eyes of the future. When this experiment has ended in disaster in November (or heaven forbid in 2020 or even 2024.. dear god), out of the wreckage will be wrought a terrible lesson. Those who supported Trump at this moment will have egg on their face. It’s like supporting the Iraq War in 2003: popular at the moment, disastrous in hindsight.
Even if Trump wins (which as a libertarian I fervently hope does not occur), his acts as President will reflect on those who supported him. They will have to live with his bluster, with his ignorance, and with the full range of consequences at the fingertips of the American President. History will mark his supporters as essentially cursed.
It is extraordinary to watch the transition of the media discourse around Trump. Where once he was a joke and a crass, vile human being, even within conservative circles, now he is treated with some degree of seriousness and respect. The tone around him has shifted entirely. When he was weak other Republicans felt comfortable highlighting his many obvious faults: his wretched attitude towards woman and Mexicans, his ignorance of policy, his repugnant demeanor, the list goes on. But now that he is in a position of strength, most Republicans have come to heel. They are biting their tongues or, worse yet, willfully forgetting the truths they once knew. This last case scares me the most, that people can will themselves to forget their own principles when they become inconvenient.
Look at the contrast between the reception by Republicans who need favors versus those who no longer need favors. Former Republican nominees loathe Trump. They don’t need the party anymore so they are free to express their thoughts. In contrast the party rank-and-file are like pawns on the chessboard; their only strength comes from within the party structure, thus they may entertain no independent thoughts. The fault lines of power have never before been rendered so explicitly.
The defiance of Cruz and Kasich in not endorsing Trump then becomes all the more commendable. They certainly aren’t winning any points. What they’ve done has made them (particularly Cruz) deeply unpopular. But at least they won’t be morally tainted by Trump like the rest. In fact they may look quite good a few years from now.
The supine willingness of politicians to bend with the wind should be seen foremost as a dire statement on human nature. It is all the more disturbing coming from those candidates who blow the most hot air, like Chris Christie, who loved to cultivate the image of himself as a tough man. But really he is the most vile of creatures, the one who kicks those below and kisses up to those above. So many juicy facets of human nature have been revealed in this election.
Party Unity is No Moral Defense
Many argue that, while Trump may be off-putting, the party must be unified to defeat Hilary Clinton. Or they say that, while they know that Hilary is terrible, Trump is an unknown quantity, thus he may be the better bet. I reject these arguments. The unity of the party is only a means to an end. If that end is flawed, the means do not matter. The unity of the party will only be misdirected if it is harnessed in the hands of this egotistical madman.
History will be the Judge
Trump’s genuine supporters will be remembered as merely severely misguided. It is the flock of opportunists who have truly enabled Trump that will be the most cursed. As they follow the magnetic pull of power, these erstwhile Republicans have disavowed any previous claim to rectitude. They have exposed the utter primary of expedience over principle in politics.
Note: I’m a Libertarian who wishes he could have voted for Rand Paul. I voted for Mitt in 2012. I’m not even a liberal and I want Trump to lose!
