Donald Trump is the death of the Republican Party
Photo by Shelby Tauber
Sometimes, there are moments in our lives that signal the end of an era and the beginning of another. Watching our children take their first steps, or accepting that our parents are taking their last. Stealing our first kiss at the prom, or letting go of a love that wasn't meant to be. In each instance, we take measure of who we are and what we are and accept that life is not about the destination but is instead about the journey.
I am a Republican. That is not just a label to me. It is who I am. I believe in limited government, lower taxes, a muscular national defense, self-reliance, a culture of life, protection of the Second Amendment and thoughtful pragmatism for the betterment of our society. My very DNA is imbued with the Reaganesque qualities of strength, courage, common sense, fortitude and wisdom. And yet tonight, as I look into the eyes of my children during their nighttime stories, I am afraid.
Tonight, the political party that I have cherished and revered for all of my life has chosen as its standard bearer a buffoonish, clownish, orange, carnival barking snake oil salesman to represent me and my family in front of the entire world.
The political party that I have affirmed and have aligned myself with for the past three decades has nominated a man who has soiled the sacred honor of our armed forces by belittling and besmirching the good name of our military heroes. He has denigrated and misogynistically maligned every woman in America. He has ridiculed and made sport of those with physical and mental infirmities. And he has categorically attacked and savaged those who share a Hispanic heritage with my children by claiming that they are rapists and murderers.
From a policy perspective, this man has promised to raise taxes, usher in an age of abortion on demand, appoint liberal activists to the Supreme Court, solidify Obamacare as the health care standard of America, require all states to adopt Common Core for their education standards and reduce the rights of Americans to keep and bear arms.
The man my party has chosen as its nominee brags about his serial infidelity, has defrauded innumerable hard-working American citizens, is cruel, unpleasant and narcissistic and is unfit to hold the office to which he aspires. And yet here we stand, tonight, cold and alone, knowing that this freakish caricature represents the Republican Party.
No! I will not do it. My children, my family and my country cannot accept that Donald Trump represents me — a true Republican. Donald Trump is a disgusting blight upon the American Experience. He is hateful and ugly and a disease to be eliminated. I will not vote for him, and I will work tirelessly to ensure that he is never the representative of the Republican Party that I stand for.
Others shall claim that we must unify in the name of the party. To them I would say: If Trump is the standard bearer of the party, then I am no longer a member.
Will I vote for a Democrat? Of course not. But I shall never stand with a bigoted, orange, buffoonish, ignorant ape as my representative.
Tonight, in the face of the inevitable, I shall accept my fate. But as God is my witness, I will never relent to injustice, fear, ignorance or anger. I teach my children to stand strong in the face of foolishness and ire, and if I cower now, at this moment, I am no better than those who have made this moment possible. As for me and my house, we shall remain Republicans — as Reagan, not Trump, intended.
