Will Rahn wrote recently in for CBS, ‘Why #NeverTrump Failed.’ He writes:
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Let’s say you’re reading an article about a man who raised a pit bull for the purpose of entering it in dogfights. He teaches it to be mean, to attack mercilessly. He makes it strong, feeds it red meat. And then one day this pit bull mauls him. Would you have any sympathy for that man?
This is not a charitable way of looking at the conservative #NeverTrump movement, but it’s what I keep returning to when I think about why it’s been so unsuccessful. It’s a movement led by conservative opinion leaders, media personalities, and Republican consultants — the people who really run the GOP, or at least did before Donald Trump came along. The base they’ve stoked has turned on them, and they’re upset. But they’d be a lot more sympathetic if they’d cop to the fact that they are largely responsible for his rise.
This kind of talk has been making the media rounds ever since Ted Cruz dropped out of the race following Trump’s big Indiana primary win. Joe Scarborough on ‘Morning Joe’ sneered the #NeverTrump movement had been reduced to a dozen or so people on Twitter. Even in Politico they have written the obituary for the #NeverTrump movement:
The Never Trump moment is over.
While a small group of Republicans has wrung its hands raw over the choice between the GOP’s nominee and Hillary Clinton, the party’s firmament – social and intellectual conservatives, the lobbyist and donor class, powerful operatives and outside groups – is increasingly getting in line behind Donald Trump.
Both examples are a complete misunderstanding of what the #NeverTrump movement is about and are 100% wrong on the origins of this movement. Contrary to what they’re saying, the #NeverTrump movement did not start with a cadre of DC insiders, media personalities and consultants. In addition, it was never started with the intent of “stopping” Donald Trump from getting the nomination or winning the general election.
I recognize the inclination of some to attach #NeverTrump to people within the “GOP establishment” as it creates a nice easy target for blame since the whole thing apparently “failed.” What better way to highlight the Trump juggernaut by pointing how an organized movement designed to stop him has spectacularly flopped?
The roots of #NeverTrump started on Twitter. Not as a means to stop Trump but to issue a call that Trump is an unacceptable choice to lead the Republican Party. The hashtag was created by Aaron Gardner, a political consultant far from the bowels of Washington DC in the Colorado Springs area. I asked him what was behind starting #NeverTrump:
“60% of the GOP primary voters rejected Donald Trump, as was said of Fight Club, it was on the tip of everyone’s tongue. I just gave it a name. For months myself and many others were warning of the danger of Trump and #NeverTrump was the culmination of those months of warnings finally going mainstream with conservative influencers then joining the fight.”
“The fight” in this case is educating people as much as possible about Donald Trump. For most of the people who are part of this movement, it isn’t so much about the ideological differences people have with Donald Trump. People were well aware of the ideological differences they had with Mitt Romney in 2012. Many conservatives held their nose to vote for Romney because of the policy differences. Still, there was never a question regarding Mitt Romney’s fitness for being President of the United States.
Fitness for office, more than anything is what drives the #NeverTrump movement. Donald Trump simply put, is not fit to be President of the United States. The overwhelming majority of those believe the same about Hillary Clinton.
It is there where the rubber meets the road. The call has come from Republicans that the time to unite around the presumptive GOP nominee is here. Some of these calls have come from some of the people who stood out early in declaring Donald Trump was not a viable option for the GOP. Rick Perry at one point said Donald Trump was a “cancer on conservatism” but now backs Trump for President 100%.
And why? Because Hillary Clinton would be a “worse” President than Donald Trump? That may very well be true, but since when have we been reduced to voting for the lesser of two evils? If I believe both Hillary and Trump are unfit to be President, why on earth would I support one just because I like him/her less than the other? That’s like being offered two cars to drive, neither of which have brakes but one also has a crack in the windshield. Would you jump behind the wheel of the one without the crack?
Trump will go on to officially claim the nomination. For all we know he could go on to win the election. It’s not impossible especially considering what we have seen Trump do thus far. But #NeverTrump has not failed. It will live on and people will use it as a rallying point to say matter what happens, they will not vote for Donald Trump.
