We conservatives are often accused of being against more than we are for. We are against abortion, against same sex marriage, against big government, against socialized medicine, against public sector unions...etc., etc., etc. We are good at telling the world what we are against--it is when we have to tell you what we are for that it gets a little trickier.
Such is the case with #NeverTrump. Now don't get me wrong--I genuinely loath Donald Trump. I have gone from incredulous amazement that he has garnered a single vote to deep disgust for his antics, his vulgarities, his bragging and his narcissism. The man is an unabashed racist, a misogynistic bully and a fascist. He would take our current president's level of disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law to new heights. Trump is the worst boss, worst relationship, worst relative, worst person we have ever known rolled into one bloated combo.
So I too am #NeverTrump--like many others I would rather not vote than stand before God and explain why I threw my support behind this vile, vulgar buffoon. I am against Trump, just as I am against abortion and same sex marriage and big government because Trump is destructive to our society and repugnant to our national sense of decency, I stand with my fellow true conservatives in saying that I will never support him--ever. But as with all other negative positions in life, #NeverTrump is not an end in itself. The question becomes--what, or who, am I for?
The title of this post came from a tweet circulating this week. #NeverTrump is not on any ballot--pick a candidate. My candidate is Ted Cruz. I heard Ted Cruz speak in August of 2014 at Americans for Prosperity in Dallas. It was an amazing experience. Cruz spoke for about 30 minutes with no notes and no teleprompter. He is a compelling speaker who makes a compelling case for conservatism. He lays out a convincing map of what needs to happen to restore America to a constitutional republic. Before I heard him speak I respected him; after I heard him speak I realized he could actually become president.
So, in the vein of answering those who say that conservatives are great at articulating what they are against but not what they actually support I will tell you why I am FOR Ted Cruz. I am FOR Cruz because I believe that our nation should be governed by the Constitution of the United States. I am FOR Cruz because I believe that small, limited government best serves our nation. I am FOR Ted Cruz because I am against Agenda 21, the United Nation's plan to impose totalitarianism disguised as climate change prevention. I am FOR Ted Cruz because I believe the sovereignty of the United States is paramount and because I believe that Americans should not be tried in the World Court for actions in our own borders, because I believe in the necessity of protecting the bill of rights and specifically our First Amendment right to freedom of speech, assembly, press and religion and our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Ted Cruz has openly and publicly stood on the right side of each of these issues, both before becoming Senator and since. Therefore, I stand with him.
I am FOR Ted Cruz because I believe that in keeping with the fifth and sixth amendments of the bill of rights no American shall be detained or deprived of life or liberty without the right to counsel and trial. Ted Cruz agrees--that is the reason he consistently votes against the reauthorization of the National Defense Authorization Act which contains provisions allowing indefinite detention of American citizens.
I am FOR Ted Cruz because I believe that marriage laws should be left up to each state to decide for itself. While I am opposed to same sex marriage I recognize that many in our society are not. I believe that each state should have the right, by the vote of the people, to pass their own laws regarding marriage. States with populations supporting same sex marriage should be allowed to have it and states with populations that oppose same sex marriage should have the right to reject it. But no population that objects to same sex marriage should have same sex marriage forced on it.
I am FOR Ted Cruz because I believe that the government has no right to force me to buy health insurance or to fine me if I don't. I do not want single payer health insurance; I do not want Obamacare. I believe that I can take care of myself better than any bureaucrat ever will.
I am FOR Ted Cruz because I believe that personal character and responsibility matter. I believe that a decent man with a nice family who professes Christianity will make a better president than a foul-mouthed swindler who brags about his affairs with married women, humiliated his own wife of many years with a very public affair with a younger woman, cheats people out of their savings by promising to make them wealthy and brags about his sexual prowess on a debate stage. I believe that the president sets the moral tone for the nation, and we need to choose carefully what tone we choose to set.
I am FOR Ted Cruz because we are electing a president--not crowning a king. We need a man who understands this is a job (and in the words of that great movie, Dave, only a temp job at that.) I am voting for a man who understands that he is being hired to serve the people, not to reign over us.
I am FOR Ted Cruz because #MakeDCListen is not just a hashtag for me. I believe that the government of the people by the people for the people needs to listen to the people while defending and protecting the constitution of the United States of America. This is an important distinction from the Trump crowd who supports government for the people by the people of the people no matter how egregious or in error that will may be at any given moment.
I am FOR Ted Cruz because I am not an Anarchist or a Nihilist. I have no desire to burn down the Republican party or the United States. I do not love chaos--I am not aching to see Armageddon. I want to elect a man who can do the job and restore the rule of law--not a man who will destroy us. I want to leave America a better place for my nieces and nephews and I believe Ted Cruz is the man for the job.
Since the moment he announced he was running, we have been hearing that Ted Cruz cannot win. To date he has won six states. As of early this morning he was separated from Donald Trump by 70 delegates. Yet, all pundits have dismissed him. Fox News is astoundingly rooted in Trumpism. Headlines yesterday from Fox basically said that although Ted Cruz had a good day, Trump will win for sure. I had to go to NBCNews.com to find a story that acknowledged what a feat Cruz's victory yesterday actually was. Cruz not only won Kansas by 25 points and beat Trump soundly in Maine, he moved up 12 points in Louisiana. One article I read this morning said that while Trump was leading double digits in early voting in Louisiana, Ted Cruz won the vote that came in yesterday. That is a major achievement for a candidate who has been written off by everyone.
Populism is appealing. The will of the people sounds great. But the will of the people has to be tempered by the law and justice and common decency and morality. Otherwise we have mob rule. In 1789 in France the will of the people was to send everyone in the aristocracy and all aristocratic sympathizers to the guillotine. In the 1930's in Germany the will of the people was to punish Jews--and ultimately to send six million people to their deaths. In the Middle East right now, the will of many people is to support ISIS--the terrorist group is very popular with ordinary Middle Easterners because they equate ISIS with strength. Any student of history knows that the will of the people is often to do what they perceive is best for them at everyone else's expense. Populism can and has led to terrible crimes against various minority populations at various times in human history. The fact that most people were on board did not make what happened right.
Last night Jeanine Pirro said that the two man race that is emerging is a contest between conservatism and populism. She is an open supporter of Trump and says plainly that Ted Cruz can't win on a national stage. I agree with the first part of her statement--this is a contest between a dangerous mob rule mentality bent on anarchy and revenge versus the rule of law and order and a return to constitutional principles. I disagree strongly that Ted Cruz can't win this fight. He showed yesterday that he can--he can win from Kansas to Maine and back again if Americans who are disgusted by Trump's vulgarity and fascism will rise up and go vote.
#NeverTrump is a great hashtag, but it's not on the ballot. Vote for the constitutional conservative.
Alexandra Swann has a master's degree in history with emphasis on the French Revolution. Her novel, The Planner about an out of control, environmentally-driven federal government, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information, visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net.
