For Republicans, a Vote for Trump Is a Wasted Vote: New at Reason

Some anti-Trump conservatives worry a vote for a third party candidate is a wasted vote. But a vote for Donald Trump is a wasted vote.

A. Barton Hinkle writes:

First, Trump is not a conservative. He changes positions on abortion more often than he changes his socks. The same goes for gun rights. And many other issues. He opposes free trade. He recently suggested he might abandon NATO allies to Russian aggression. He knows nothing about the Constitution—and cares even less.

For years, conservative activists have insisted that GOP candidates like Mitt Romney and John McCain lose elections because they are not conservative enough. Yet compared to Trump, Romney and McCain are Barry Goldwater and William F. Buckley rolled into one. Not only is a Trump administration unlikely to press conservative priorities with any consistency, it seems likely in some cases to push strenuously against them.

“But what about the Supreme Court?” Trump supporters ask. “Hillary Clinton will appoint liberals; say what you will about Trump, at least he will appoint conservatives.” Will he? He released a list of some nominees he might consider. Big deal, and good luck holding him to it. Trump is the only figure in public life who lies more often and more brazenly than Clinton does. Why should anyone put credence in a list?

The second reason a Trump vote is a wasted vote is neatly summarized by something Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky wrote more than a decade ago, about torture: “Investigation is a subtle process, requiring patience and fine analytical ability, as well as a skill in cultivating one’s sources. When torture is condoned, these rare talented people leave the service, having been outstripped by less gifted colleagues with their quick-fix methods, and the service itself degenerates into a playground for sadists. Thus, in its heyday, Joseph Stalin’s notorious NKVD (the Soviet secret police) became nothing more than an army of butchers terrorizing the whole country but incapable of solving the simplest of crimes.”

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