The Cancer of Trumpism May Be Too Deeply Set in

The third anniversary is approaching of the moment Donald Trump rode that gaudy, golden escalator down to announce to the waiting world that he was throwing his hat in the ring. He’d be running for the presidency on the Republican ticket.

I remember two things about that day.

First, I remember wondering why somebody who was obviously a Democrat – in spite of his feud with President Barack Obama, over the “birther” issue – was suddenly running as a Republican.

Second, I laughed, seeing this as one of those novelty shots at the presidency. This was a reality TV huckster with bad hair. He was a punchline from the 1980s and it was unlikely this would receive any notice during what was a crucial election season. There was too much on the line. Barack Obama had disrespected, maligned, and attacked the Republican party and the conservative movement for eight, long, despicable years. Now it was our turn to grab the reins of power and bring smaller government and commonsense reforms to the nation.

His rhetoric was divisive. His debate performances were laughable.

While a packed stage of worthy candidates gave substantive, informed answers to the questions asked of them, Donald Trump scowled and rambled through every performance.

It was obvious he was out of place. He had nothing to offer.

When asked what conservatism was, he said it was about conserving.

Um… yeah. Ok.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio had to explain to him – on the debate stage – what the nuclear triad was.

With all of this, the embarrassment of knowing this orange-hued clown was occupying the same stage as such accomplished men, when you checked online polls after each debate, Trump was somehow always shown as having “won” the debate.

At first blush, it made no sense. After a bit, it became clear that Donald Trump had supporters, and those supporters would flood the online polls, even before the debate was over, and declare him the winner, no matter what he said or how miserably he performed.

Russian trolls?

From what we know now, and how they operate, it’s very likely that they did flood those online polls.

Donald Trump was succeeding in an arena where he had no experience, and with people who should have expected – craved – better.

My initial support went to former Texas Governor Rick Perry. He had executive leadership experience, leading the 12^th largest economy in the world, was both fiscally and socially conservative, and was the very picture of presidential grace.

In July 2015, Rick Perry broke the war of words that had been going on between he and Trump down to one, graphic, nuclear attack.

While speaking at a forum organized by the Opportunity and Freedom PAC:

“The White House has been occupied by giants,” Perry said. “But from time to time it is sought by the small-minded – divisive figures propelled by anger, and appealing to the worst instincts in the human condition.”

“He offers a barking carnival act that can be best described as Trumpism: a toxic mix of demagoguery, mean-spiritedness and nonsense that will lead the Republican Party to perdition if pursued,” Perry said. “Let no one be mistaken – Donald Trump’s candidacy is a cancer on conservatism, and it must be clearly diagnosed, excised and discarded.”

He was right. Every word was clear, concise, and on-point.

My heart sank the day Perry withdrew from the race. We had lost a giant, a true statesman, yet, the cancer was allowed to continue on, festering, rotting away the party and the conservative movement.

I was disappointed when Perry chose to support Trump as the candidate, given what he’d said about Trump.

If he was awful for the party and for the nation then, he hadn’t suddenly gotten better.

I was disappointed, but I got it. I knew many who opposed Donald Trump’s presence in the race. They fought against him during the primary season, but when he was declared the candidate, they threw their hands up, admitted defeat, then reasoned that he was better than the specter of a Hillary Clinton presidency.

They were “NeverTrump” until it came down to what they believed to be their only option – vote for Trump or allow Hillary to win.

What we’re now seeing is that just winning wasn’t enough for Trump or his minions. The introduction of Trumpism into the bloodstream of America, and the Republican party is worse than even Perry’s words spelled out.

I’m telling you all of that to tell you this.

I have a friend running for a soon-to-be-vacant seat in Congress. He’s a family man of good character. He’s accomplished, Christian, fiscally and socially conservative. I’m not in his district, or even his state, but given the chance, I would actively campaign for him.

I witnessed the poison of Trumpism rise up against him today, and that has prompted me to speak out.

My friend was not a supporter of Donald Trump, in the beginning. He, like me, was a supporter of Rick Perry. He was “NeverTrump” until he wasn’t.

For me, opposing Trump was based on his character and my belief that as a corrupt and immoral man, he could not be a just or moral leader. He was abhorrent to my faith, so I chose to stand on my trust in God and vote for neither of the “big two.” It’s not that I wanted a pastor as president, or even a devoted, outspoken Christian. I did, however, want a man of good character and moral fiber. Trump possessed none of that.

My friend supported Trump in the general election. He wanted to see Hillary Clinton defeated, recognizing that, he dropped the “Never” and did what he felt was right.

The fervor around Trump is no longer just politics. It is something else, and it has nothing to do with conservatism or even “making America great again.”

It’s all about exalting a king.

I watched a social media exchange where my friend was being attacked, not for his ideas or platform as a candidate, but because of his lack of fealty to Donald Trump.

I saw old Facebook posts from early 2016 brought up, where my friend still referred to himself as “NeverTrump,” as he declared the need to support Ted Cruz in his state, during the primary.

One of my friend’s opponents in the race had kicked off this by attacking him earlier this week for being insufficiently loyal to the Trump agenda.

And I watched as my friend tried to explain his position, now, as it matters, and thought to myself: Do these people not understand that his goal is to represent their state, and if Trump does something that could be detrimental to the citizens of that state, as their representative, his job will be to stand up to the president, not just rubber stamp whatever he says?

No matter the party, we should never send representatives to either of the co-equal governing branches who will only be there to assure more power to the presidency. The House and Senate were meant to be the checks and balances against the executive branch. If our representatives are not thinking of our needs when they arrive in Washington, who do they represent?

This is the poison of Trumpism, and it is frightening.

I don’t remember the same rabid desire to protect George W. Bush, no matter what he said or did, from the rank and file Republican populace.

I saw it from the left, when it came to Barack Obama, but that’s what we were supposedly working to get away from, this time around.

The Trumposphere has been broken down into some sort of blood cult. You can’t just “join” Trump’s Temple. You apparently have to have been there from the beginning.

Where will these people go and how will they react when there is no more Trump? He is not guaranteed a win in 2020, if he even lasts that long. They’ve burned bridges, and burned the conservative movement to the ground.

It’s a scary time for those of us who have remained faithful to the principles that we’ve always held. We’re watching a war for the soul of the nation, where there are no good guys, and regardless of who comes out on top, we’ll be forced to live in a tattered world when they’re done.

I’m hoping for the best for my friend.

I’m hoping for the best for every politician who is still fighting the good fight, in spite of this damnable age of Trump (I’m looking at you, Senator Sasse).

As I’ve watched politicians, pundits, and even Christian leaders burn their principles and morals at the orange altar, it’s hard not to become sickened by the stench rising off of their offerings.

For those of us who are Christian, conservative, and enduringly NeverTrump, we’re going to have to pray our way through this. If only just a seed, somebody is going to have to be here to rebuild the conservative movement in the coming years.

And if it becomes apparent that this nation will crumble under the weight of the kakistocracy, then we will have to comfort ourselves with the fact that it is only a temporary existence, to begin with.