The Die-Hard Republicans who say #NeverTrump

[Scottftlc]

Well, they damn sure know that putting one of the donors in charge is the height of idiocy.

We may find out today if that's correct or not.  The ordinary Americans are voting in 11 states...the voters will us.

[Right_in_Virginia]

When a demagogue like Trump comes along, it shakes me to the core because I have seen what happens to societies that, in desperation, turn to demagogues.  I honestly believe Trump could be a very, very dangerous man who steers this country to a dark place.  And I would hate myself for being part of the rabble that enabled him.  So for now I am going to cling to the hope that my party comes to its senses before I am stuck with a personal ethical dilemma of monumental proportions.

I respect you, your opinion and your writing talent, but feel the need to remind you that America in 2016 is not Germany in the 1930s.  If anything this is America in 1980. 

I also don't think Trump is a demagogue.  Donald Trump explains his positions and presents rational arguments for why he holds them:   Unchecked illegal immigration, international trade deals that do not help the US economy and US worker, revamping the US military for victory in the 21st century, declaring ISIS an out-and-out enemy of the US and joining with like-minded allies to destroy it, the role of Assad--a bad guy--in Middle East stability, explaining to Congressional Republicans how the art of the deal can lead to the implementation of Republican policy--even if it's one step at a time.

This list of positions are what I consider to be "the big ticket items".  And judging by Trump's support, the majority of Americans agree with me--and I think  on some level you do too.  Granted, this primary season is unlike any in recent memory.  It's brash, loud and made for TV.  The Republican frontrunner is not like Bush (any of them), Dole, McCain, or Romney.  Trump is self-confident, aggressive and loud.  And he has awakened a dispirited electorate.   Good for him - - - and good for us.

I do not completely understand the personal ethical dilemma of monumental proportions you are facing.  But I do wish you luck and offer my assistance and support as you move through it.   

[sinkspur]

Nobody's done more for equality than the guy who felt the need to say that the judge who ruled against him is Hispanic

[massadvj]

I respect you, your opinion and your writing talent, but feel the need to remind you that America in 2016 is not Germany in the 1930s.  If anything this is America in 1980. 

I also don't think Trump is a demagogue.  Donald Trump explains his positions and presents rational arguments for why he holds them:   Unchecked illegal immigration, international trade deals that do not help the US economy and US worker, revamping the US military for victory in the 21st century, declaring ISIS an out-and-out enemy of the US and joining with like-minded allies to destroy it, the role of Assad--a bad guy--in Middle East stability, explaining to Congressional Republicans how the art of the deal can lead to the implementation of Republican policy--even if it's one step at a time.

This list of positions are what I consider to be "the big ticket items".  And judging by Trump's support, the majority of Americans agree with me--and I think  on some level you do too.  Granted, this primary season is unlike any in recent memory.  It's brash, loud and made for TV.  The Republican frontrunner is not like Bush (any of them), Dole, McCain, or Romney.  Trump is self-confident, aggressive and loud.  And he has awakened a dispirited electorate.   Good for him - - - and good for us.

I do not completely understand the personal ethical dilemma of monumental proportions you are facing.  But I do wish you luck and offer my assistance and support as you move through it.   

Very thoughtful post, RIV.  In the end, I will likely go ahead and vote for Trump, if for no other reason than that stated by libertbele: the SCOTUS is at stake in this election.  Still, if my instincts about Trump are correct, I am going to regret my vote almost as much as I regret the one I cast for GWB.

It may well come down to who we want on the Supreme Court: Barack Obama or Ted Cruz.

[Wingnut]

In the end, I will likely go ahead and vote for Trump, if for no other reason than that stated by libertbele: the SCOTUS is at stake in this election. 

And good Sir, therein lies the rub for me also.  Were it be, our current SC aligned well in a conservative "healthy" majority, I wouldn't think twice about voting against the petulant man-child.  The risk is too great.  Hopefully there is still time.

[ABX]

Max Lucado just joined #NeverTrump. He said if he doesn't see a major change in his heart, he can't in good conscious vote for him if he is the nominee.

[alicewonders]

It may well come down to who we want on the Supreme Court: Barack Obama or Ted Cruz.

That's a no-brainer!

[sinkspur]

Speaking of brains, think Trump is smart?

[HonestJohn]

I must say this campaign is causing me to really evaluate my convictions, and ask myself some hard questions.  I have often wondered what I would have done at the flex points in history.  For example, prior to the Civil War would I have been a Democrat or a Republican?  Had I been alive in Germany during the 1930s, would I have gone with Hitler?  These are big questions for me because I am a former radical leftist, so I know that I can be susceptible to false propaganda that tugs at the emotion.  This is the reason I chose to ground my political philosophy in the reasoning of Locke, Jefferson, Hayek and Friedman, and the legal manifestation of that reasoning, which is the Bill of Rights.  Thanks to a paradigm as simple as "Life, Liberty, Property" I know what I stand for and what I believe in.

Now all of a sudden I am to support a man who in the recent past has supported various types of gun control (a violation of the right to Life), taking away the civil liberties of Muslims (a violation of religious liberty), changing the libel laws so that the press will be less free to write what they want (a violation of free speech), and increasing government authority in eminent domain (a violation of individual property rights).  And that is just the tip of the iceberg with this man.  There is simply no compatibility with Trump's point of view and classical liberal philosophy.  None.  If he is the nominee of the Republican Party I will be at a loss as to what to do.

When a demagogue like Trump comes along, it shakes me to the core because I have seen what happens to societies that, in desperation, turn to demagogues.  I honestly believe Trump could be a very, very dangerous man who steers this country to a dark place.  And I would hate myself for being part of the rabble that enabled him.  So for now I am going to cling to the hope that my party comes to its senses before I am stuck with a personal ethical dilemma of monumental proportions.

Thank you for writing this; it is my generally my opinion as well.

[HonestJohn]

We may find out today if that's correct or not.  The ordinary Americans are voting in 11 states...the voters will us.

No, the politically savvy of each party are voting in 11 states.  The ordinary American is not, as they wait for the general.  And even then, half of them can't be bothered to vote at all.