David French is Right

He is right about the problem, and also about the solutions.
First, it is absolutely vital that conservatives stay firm in their opposition to Trump. For at least a generation, the Left has been arguing that American conservatism is shot through with racism, sexism, and xenophobia. And now millions of Americans will face the difficult task of rebutting charges of hateful bigotry while supporting a man who gives aid and comfort to avowed racists, incites violence, and can’t even consistently disavow the Klan. Trump is the destroyer of conservatism, and he will taint all who take his side....

Fifth, the best solution for rolling back the extraordinary growth, power, and increasing corruption of the federal government is the convention of states, the Article V remedy for a runaway president and an out-of-control Congress. If two-thirds of states submit an application for a convention to propose constitutional amendments, then any proposed amendments can be ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures — circumventing the federal government entirely.
I think conservatives can demand of our elected representatives a pledge to impeach and remove Trump, should he be elected, at the first sign of illegality or abuse. It would be healthy to formalize opposition to Trump in this way. For one thing, it would put him on notice that he will have no leeway as President. For another, it would help draw a distinction between Trump and those conservatives down-ballot that would minimize the damage to conservatism as a philosophy. It would be a firm expression of disapproval combined with a positive remedy. It would be a rejection of his viciousness, especially towards women, which I expect will only intensify in its ugliness as he campaigns against Ms. Clinton.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wait, to make the conservative movement stronger you are suggesting Republicans be ready to pounce on a Republican president that defeated all his primary opponents thoroughly at the ballot box despite strong headwinds from the media and the party itself? That they invalidate the will of the people (should he be elected president) and hold the Republican president to a ridiculously higher standard than the current POS of the opposing party still in office?

This will make the conservative movement stronger?? That will destroy the movement entirely and see the liberals empowered as the right wing fragments into European-style single-issue third parties.

I'm at a loss to understand how various intelligent people that I normally agree with seem to have a pathological hatred of Trump. Where has all this anger been during the disaster of the Obama presidency? During the disgusting reverses in US military and foreign policy that have been entirely self-inflicted by a neophyte and his cabal of boot lickers in the NSC? During the targeting and destruction of various industries, the targeting of the press that dared to investigate him, and the outright treason committed by his own cabinet members? All that gets a pass, but by God we better be ready to impeach a president Trump the minute he takes the oath?

Its just bizarre. I don't understand it.

- Krag


Grim said...

I don't think I can reasonably be accused of having given President Obama a pass.

The truth is that French is calling for something I've been calling for for years now -- a constitutional convention to sharply limit the power of the Federal government, or to dissolve it outright. It's something that made sense to me in 2009, and if anything makes even more sense as we ponder a Clinton or Trump presidency.

ColoComment said...

You may be right, of course, but I'm wondering about the benefit of one's opening move being a stark statement of adversarial position.
Reminds me of Mitch McConnell's statement about Obama's SC justice nomination: I agreed with McConnell's stance, but think it better if he had kept his thoughts to himself while quietly massing troops (just in case.)
A threat of impeachment might just be received by a President Trump as a gauntlet throwdown. Why risk that? Why not wait and see how a President Trump might conduct himself? For all anyone knows, the "deal maker" might make a conciliatory visit to the Capitol the first act of his administration....

Grim said...

I think it may be necessary to accept that conservatism has lost at the Federal level permanently. President Trump isn't going to pursue a conservative agenda. If the Federal government isn't going to sweep our way of life away, we're going to have to cut out a space in which we can live according to our values.

So why not live according to our values? Joel is right about Trump's calls for murdering the families of terrorists being a war crime. We should make clear that we won't stand for it. This isn't about winning the Federal game anymore, because Trump proves that conservatives can't even win in the Republican party at the national level.

It's about standing up for what's right, and if that's what we're doing, we should do it. President Trump may be the choice of the voters, but we still have moral duties to uphold our principles. I'm suggesting we should make clear that, even if he is elected, we're going to do just that.

douglas said...

Wait, to make the conservative movement stronger you are suggesting Republicans be ready to pounce on a Republican president that defeated all his primary opponents thoroughly at the ballot box despite strong headwinds from the media and the party itself?"

If by thoroughly you mean by consolidating majorities in primaries later than any candidate in recent history, and before that winning with mere pluralities, and losing more states than any GOP nominee since Ford against Reagan in 1976, and that's without this dragging out to the bitter end. There have also been murmurs from some establishment GOP that 'they can work with Trump'. He's faced a stiff competition, but I'd say he got as much help as Ford in 1976, at least. Particularly from Fox News and many talk radio and talking heads of the right. He seems to have had less of a headwind with the MSM also. I can guess why. The party was largely against him, but in the interest of attempting to preserve the party apparatus, has fallen in line for the most part, when they could have kept encouraging candidates to stay in and take it to the convention, so not as strong a headwind as he certainly might have had.

Eric Blair said...

So called "Conservatives" (and honestly, I don't even know what that word means anymore) aren't in any position to demand anything at this point.



Grim said...

Well, thanks to the magic of gerrymandering, "conservatives can demand of our elected representatives" even if nobody else feels like listening to us. Impeachment starts in the House.