A representative example of incisive Trump supporter logic…
Erick Erickson is a prominent and respected conservative blogger, talk show host and political commentator. He is so far right of me he would probably think I was Lenin’s Ghost. Erickson was one of the first conservatives to figure out that Donald Trump lacked the character to be President: his misogynist attacks on Megyn Kelly were enough for him. (For the record, I knew Donald Trump lacked the character to be President about 20 years ago.) Now Erickson has written a thorough and much-needed message to other conservatives that begins…
I will not vote for Donald Trump for President of the United States even if he is the Republican nominee.
He is an authoritarian blending nationalist and tribal impulses, which historically has never worked out well for the nation that goes in that direction or the people in that nation.
Gee, I wonder what historical figure Erick might be referencing?
The rest of his essay is excellent, though progressives, Democrats and others will blanch at Erickson’s policy beefs with Trump. That’s irrelevant, though: he’s not writing to people who already would gnaw off their feet before they would vote for Trump or any Republican. Erickson is trying to wake up conservatives and the Republican Party, and remind them of their ethical duty, at the risk of alienating some of his own audience.
Some other highlights…
“At a time when so much is on the line for people of faith and conservatives, Donald Trump believes judges sign bills. He said so himself in the Houston, TX debate, while lying about the jurisprudence of Justice Samuel Alito.”
***
“Donald Trump will not win in November. Period. End of story. But, on the off chance Satan pulls a grand slam out of hell and Trump were to do it, he would be an authoritarian despot, deeply destructive to the ideals of this nation and the constitutional principles of the republic, and he would destroy the remains of the Republican Party and much of the conservative movement as conservatives whore themselves out to be close to power.”
***
“It is absolutely important to disclose that we will not support Trump in the general election now. It shows that we are not sore losers whose nominee preference did not win, but rather are stating that if Trump does get the nomination, we will not support him and are making our declaration with enough time to stop him if his supporters listen to reason.”
***
“Explicitly stating our opposition, before he secures the nomination, will not stop people from saying we cost him the nomination. But in the historic record it will be clear we saw the rise of an authoritarian jackass, rejected him, and gave people ample time to heed the warnings before jumping off the cliff.”
***
“If Trump supporters choose to proceed, history will show what they will never concede — his defeat is on them, not us. With the rise of an authoritarian menace to our republic, it is important to go on record now, while he can be stopped, that we will play no part in his rise.”
Clear, brave, unequivocal and true.
Bravo.
Ethics Alarms 
I hope this is heard and listened to, but I really think the system has become so corrupt that it won’t matter. Republicans don’t represent me, the Tea Party doesn’t represent me, Democrats and Socialists have never represented me. I have no candidate in this race. I’m almost certain there is no current candidate who has the skills to be President. And this is a time that calls for a strong and able leader who knows what the United States is supposed to be. And if there were, he or she could not get elected.
Unfortunately, I don’t think this article is going to have much impact. I duplicated my post on the earlier thread today on my Facebook page, and I’ve been receiving some, I, interesting replies. One of my friends, who I will not publicly name or shame, stated that if trunk has the Washington establishment, the globalist Republican elite, and the liberation theology Pope all opposing him, he must be doing something right. Therefore, he will be standing hardcore with Trump come November, just like he stood with Ross Perot in 1992. This is the kind of thinking we are up against.
What is truly scary to me is that some of my intelligent friends are planning to vote for this jerk. Maybe what’s behind it is anger over where this country has gone, especially during the Clinton and Obama administrations. So now they are planning to support the new Mussolini. Arrrggg!!
There is no such creature as “Intelligent friends who intend to vote for Donald Trump.” Impossible. If the so intend, they can’t be intelligent, and if they are intelligent, they can’t intend to do it.
I dk. One friend I’m referring to has a Ph.D from a prestigious University and is considered an expert in his field of History. Perhaps, he’s just messing with me, but I don’t think so. I think of many intelligent people who signed on with Stalin or Hitler.
Who Goes Nazi
Good read for anyone who worries about the rise of the populists like Obama, Trump, or Sanders…
Good.
If only someone would write an analogous article about Hillary Clinton…
Jack’s written tons of them, Michael.
You’re kidding, right???
Remember this? How quickly they forget…
A Brief Statement Regarding Hillary Clinton And Ethics Alarms
An ethics professor just wrote to announce that he was ceasing to follow the blog because
“you have become a one note Hillary basher and compromised your disinterest.”
1. I do not bash Hillary Clinton. I accurately point out her serial unethical conduct and statements. I am an expert in non-profit ethics, and her foundation is unethical. I an an expert in government ethics, and her conduct in relation to both her foundation and her State Department e-mails was unethical. I am an ethicist, and she could not get through her first substantial interview without multiple deceits, misrepresentations and lies. Pointing these out, especially when the news media is not doing its job, is my duty and mission. Apparently a lot of people don’t know this woman is unethical. I am obligated to enlighten them if I can.
2. My main area of scholarship and my personal passion, is leadership and the American Presidency. The Democratic Party, to its shame, is trying to make this unqualified and corrupt woman President of the United States. Naturally this is of deep concern to me, as it ought to be for every American.
3. Even considering this, the blog has hardly been all-Hillary. I just checked: there have been exactly three Hillary-themed posts in the last 50. FIFTY. Five-O. Gee, sorry, Professor, that the ethical corruption of the presumptive President of the United States occupies my ethics blog’s attention 6% of the time.
4. The Clintons’ master strategy for escaping all of their schemes and deceptions is to deny, obfuscate and throw up smokescreens until the public gets sick of the controversy, and tunes out. It’s a good, if cynical strategy, but it won’t work with me.
5. I will cease writing timely blogs about Hillary’s Clinton’s unethical conduct when
She stops lying.
The new scandals, schemes, and cover-ups stop materializing.
The news media starts doing its job.
The public shows sufficient comprehension of how corrupt she is.
She is no longer running for President.
And not before.
See also https://ethicsalarms.com/?s=Hillary+Clinton
I’m waiting for that professor to now tell me I’m obsessed with Trump.
Unfortunately, though Hillry is a budding tyrant also… Bernie at his heart may not be, but then again all blitheringly silly idealists of communism start out hopeful…then somehow on the road to paradise, secret police, gulags and purges always seem to happen.
So it would probably be useful to have 2 articles of like tenor. Covering pretty much 100% of the Democrat options…
I suspect Michael is looking for an “analogous article” — meaning a leftist with similar prominence as Erick Erickson has on the right — to write a similar article against Hillary.
I’d say Ron Fornier, who is a well respected center-left columnist, has done that more than once.
Newsflash: Senator Sessions has endorsed Trump.
This year’s GOP is striving to lose everything, it seems.