Dear Republican primary voters,
In just a few weeks, I’ll be voting with you in the Republican presidential primary. I’m a millennial conservative who — like many of my peers — has a libertarian streak. But I’m as frustrated as many of you with our party leadership and government in general.
In my living memory, I’ve seen nothing but ever-growing, ineffective government from politicians of both major parties. Massive increases to the debt, prolonged warfare, government abuse of the Constitution and continued injustices have characterized the new millennium. Much of the Republican party is concerned with immigration and international trade flows in an increasingly globalized world. These are the challenges the next president must face and act upon.
But as we choose our nominee, we ought to be wary of one man: Donald Trump. The vocal front-runner isn’t running for president to address the aforementioned challenges. He’s running for personal power — he’s his own special-interest group.
Trump wants to be our tyrant, not our president. It’s evident in his errant beliefs and his abhorrent behavior.
Trump isn’t a fan of the First Amendment. His assaults on the freedoms of speech, press and religion say it all. He wants to “open up” libel laws so he can go after journalists or other critics who dare speak out against him. His campaign has intimidated — and allegedly assaulted — members of the press. His openness to mandatory identification for Muslims or closing of certain mosques reeks of a totalitarian violation of the freedom of religion. And his openness to the use of violence to silence protesters at his rallies is rather frightening. What happens when people disagree with him publicly once he’s elected? Free speech and open dialogue is one of our most essential liberties.
When it comes to your Fifth Amendment property rights, Trump favors a crony capitalist abuse of eminent domain by the government to help redistribute private property to companies and other individuals. He tried desperately to force a woman to give up her very house through eminent domain to build a limousine parking lot. He has defended eminent domain for economic use frequently, including in the debates.
Trump’s foreign-policy plans demonstrate his fundamental misunderstanding of the presidency. His “Mexico will pay for the border wall” plan not only fails to address how most undocumented immigrants enter the country, but also how international relations work in the civilized world. Trump thinks he can just intimidate other countries with his “rebuilt” military. We probably shouldn’t be surprised considering his lavish praise of Vladimir Putin or his admiration of how the Chinese government handled the Tiananmen Square “riot.”
His approach to trade deals is fascinating, considering he seems to think that his administration will just be able to spend the amazing gains he claims he can get. Does he know that the presidency doesn’t control all the economic wealth in the country?
Trump belittles people who dare challenge him. His vicious attacks on journalists for their disability, gender or fact-checking should indicate the kind of man he is. His criticisms of whole races or religions should be of concern to an increasingly diverse America or anyone concerned with effective foreign policy. His blanket insults show a lack of substance, not a disdain for political correctness.
Trump is a deceiver. Many of his political beliefs have completely reversed in the past few years. He has gone from a mostly Democratic donor to almost entirely a Republican one. He has said himself, “I’m very capable of changing to anything I want to change to.” His supposed comments to The New York Times about changing his immigration stances and his previous business practices relating to immigration all demonstrate his hypocrisy on just one issue. I could go on and on about Trump’s hastily changed positions on taxes, guns and life.
The candidate who claims to be a political “outsider” is one of the biggest special interests in politics; Trump donated millions to both Republicans and Democrats. By cutting out the middleman (politicians), Trump can save money as he pursues his own self-interests.
If you’re still leaning toward Trump, consider this:
Many of you desire an outsider who isn’t a member of the Republican establishment. Yet they support John Boehner’s golfbuddy and a major donor to the establishment of both parties.
Many are tired of special interests on both sides of the aisle. Yet Trump has been a special interest for years, lobbying and suing to pursue his own interests at the expense of everyday Americans.
Many want someone who isn’t a career politician. Yet they flock to someone who changed his party affiliation, support and fundamental beliefs to run for president. Someone who has consistently lied and belonged to the elite establishment.
Many want a conservative in the White House. But Trump is anything but a conservative. True conservatives have pointed this out, and his record is obvious enough.
Many want to stop an inflow of undocumented immigrants, slow globalization and restrict free trade. Yet Trump has benefited his whole life from immigrant workers (legal and illegal) and free trade with foreign countries. He talks about his international business success and how he’s just playing by the rules. But should you really trust him to work against his own business interests as president?
If he was true to his beliefs, he would practice them personally. He shouldn’t need a law to tell him to not hurt American workers in his business practices. But he’s a chameleon, telling you one thing, practicing another and waiting to change his opinion to get something he desires. As president, he’s free to pursue policies beneficial to his businesses — which won’t be in a blind trust — not you.
You see, Donald Trump doesn’t give a damn about you. He enjoys being in his elite circles, running his businesses and gaining power. He’s using you to propel himself to the nomination. That’s why he has you take an oath to himself. That’s why he claims he deserves the nomination even without a majority of votes or delegates. That’s why there’s few details to his plans beyond dictatorial action and bluster. That’s why he’s creating a cult of personality.
Maybe you don’t care about his beliefs or his integrity. For you, it’s all about the general election and the legions of Democrats Trump can rally to the Republican standard. You want to stop Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. But every reputable poll has shown that Trump is the worst candidate to do that. He loses virtually every single time. (You don’t hear him bragging about these polls.) And when his outrageous soundbites from his illustrious career hit the airwaves in a blistering campaign of negative advertising, his slim chances slip to absolutely nothing.
Sean Hannity, Breitbart News and Trump’s army of Facebook commenters can keep banging their drums and heralding the “Trump train,” but they miss the simple truth: Trump would almost certainly lose in November. That means Clinton or Sanders will appoint justices next term — not to mention control the single most important political office in America.
The GOP and its politicians need a serious overhaul — but giving control of the party to a wolf in sheep’s clothing isn’t the way to do it. His nomination would certainly lead to a considerable conservative walkout. A Trump campaign would have a tremendous negative impact on down-ballot elections, possibly giving the Democrats a majority of the House and Senate, plus the presidency.
Is that what we want? Someone who pretends to share our views and costs us four more years of lost Supreme Court appointments, stagnant wages and bigger government?
Now is the time for choosing between liberty and tyranny. If you’re a conservative or a Republican, the choice should be easy: the two candidates not named Trump. Right-wing statism is no better than left-wing statism. This primary isn’t over. Vote for a candidate who actually shares your values and isn’t just another special interest.
Matt Dragonette, opinion editor, is an accounting and government and politics major. He can be reached at mdragonettedbk@gmail.com.
