STU BURGUIERE Verified account
@WorldOfStu Here’s my ‘holy crap I was wrong about
@realDonaldTrump and his chances’ post
http://ow.ly/gdBF302uoGZ Stu BurguiereMay 3 · Congratulations to Donald Trump and his supporters. As a sports fan, viewing it only through the lens of an unlikely victory, I'm completely amazed he was able to pull this off. I'm not enough of a historian to make such pronouncements, but this might be the most amazing political achievement in history.
I certainly wasn't alone in thinking he had zero chance to win the nomination, but that doesn't make me less wrong. I mean - really freaking wrong. I seriously believed he had no chance. None.
In 2004, I remember Howard Dean having that gigantic lead before Iowa and then watching it disappear. I remember taking the lesson from that campaign that literally anything can happen in politics, and that I shouldn't let myself make pronouncements without qualifying levels of probability assigned to them. Oops.
The most common question that I will be answering over the next 6 months will be:
"Now, that Cruz is out, will you support Donald Trump?"
My answer is this:
I'm insulted that you would even ask.
Absolutely, unequivocally, without a millisecond of hesitation:
Hell. No.
Never.
I am completely #NeverTrump, as I have been since Erick Erickson made me aware of the term.
If you think that I would vote for a man, who I believe would be horrible for the Constitution, the country, and the people who live here-- then you think very little of me. I can understand that, and probably deserve it in many ways, but not this one.
I could list the seventy-five zillion reasons that I would never vote for Donald Trump, but I've been listing them for a year. I've made my argument, I've lost, and I can sleep at night knowing that I never bent my principles despite the fact it would have been easier to do so.
While I know this post is longer than anyone wants to read, let me address your specific questions and points in a fancy Q&A format:
Q: Do you think Cruz should have dropped out?
A: Not especially. While every conceivable path under normal circumstances has been erased after Indiana, I would have preferred that Cruz wind down campaigning and stick around in case Trump actually does start shooting people on 5th Avenue.
Q: Are you proud of yourself for supporting Cruz?
A: Well, I'm proud of Cruz. And while I wish it ended differently, I'm proud of the campaign he ran. Was it perfect? Obviously not. But, everyone listing all the things he should have done differently should probably bring that list to the 15 other candidates he defeated. I've said this many times, but despite the fact that I wanted him to win, I honestly never believed he would get this far. I just figured it would have been some establishment guy who wound up beating him. Which in some ways, did come true after all.
Q: HAhHAHAAAHAHAAHA YOUR GUY LOST HAHAHAHA
A: That's not a question. But, yes. He did. Here's a little secret though... my guy always loses. If my guys were winning, our country wouldn't be as screwed up as it is.
Q: So, who are you going to vote for? Hillary?
A: No. You can also call me #NeverHillary. I don't know who I will vote for at this moment. I will now enter a lengthy research period to find a third party candidate. Maybe a high profile person will enter the race, but more than likely I will vote for someone who has little to no chance of winning. That does not bother me at all. My vote is very personal, and I don't put my name on people so that I feel like a winner. I've seen myself without a shirt on. I never feel like a winner.
Q: What does this mean for the party?
A: If this party would nominate someone like this, I want nothing to do with it. Whatever idea I had been holding on to that the Republican party had any value, took its last pathetic breath in Indiana. RIP. I'll still vote for individuals that I believe in that happen to be running with the albatross of an (R) after their name, but my default position is now Libertarian. I get it. I know when I'm not wanted.
Q: What happens on the show?
A: Well, the radio show is ultimately Glenn's show, and he'll make those calls. What I do know is that we will not suddenly come around to thinking that Trump is a good option. He will not change his principles and start supporting an authoritarian just because he won a primary.
At the same time, there is little value in continuing the constant criticism of Trump. You know where we stand. We don't exist to annoy you (surprisingly). Honestly, I'm bored with telling you how much Donald Trump sucks. He does. A lot. And that's what a primary is for. We've had a year to argue about who is a better option for the future of this country.
Donald won. Good for him. (Bad for us.)
We'll still cover the news, and be honest about it. But, the focus will likely shift to places where a difference can be made- in Congress and on certain local races.
Q: What did you drink tonight?
A: Moscow Mule(s). Seems fitting.
Q: Did this seriously happen?
A: Yes. America has decided it wants to choose between Hillary Clinton and a Hillary Clinton donor.
Q: Are you done?
A: One more.
Q: What did you learn from all of this?
A: Can I skip this one?
Q: No.
A: Ok. Fine. In every mediocre political drama, the candidate that loses steps up and says something to the effect of "We fought hard. And it wasn't our time. But, I have supreme faith in the American people to make the right decision."
I don't. Not anymore.
Even with the skeptical eye that I bring to the party, I still overestimated the American people's capacity to care about the Constitution and policy. The thought that this guy has been able to win over so many people, is completely perplexing to me. It seems impossible to me that anyone could take him seriously.
After 2008 and 2012, I realized that celebrity and hype could win over the left. It is with complete displeasure that I have realized that the right is susceptible to the exact same thing.
I've been told that what I need to understand is that people are mad. They're not thinking about policy or the Constitution-- they're just angry. That's what this is about.
Respectfully, that is not something that I need to understand. That is something you need to cure. Making poor decisions out of anger is not an instinct that I intend to coddle.
I am not your safe space.
The bottom line is that I wish this had turned out differently.
But, there's always vodka. Created for moments just like this.
Did I say Congratulations to Donald Trump yet?
