Donald Trump has not been alone in his crusade to make a grotesque mockery of conservatism. He’s had a lot of help, and most of that help has come from the supposed “leaders” of the very movement he seeks to destroy.
A whole host of prominent figures made enormous amounts of money pretending to be spokesmen for the cause, only to sell it down the river when the sentient pile of driftwood known as Donald Trump came floating by. These past few months have been a horrific bloodbath, as many famous and once-respected conservatives have gutted their credibility for a chance to latch themselves to Trump like barnacles on the Titanic. Some of these ideological hustlers may have, at one point, truly believed in the principles of which they’ve so handsomely profited, but when the principles finally jeopardized the profits, they did not hesitate to choose the latter over the former.
Donald Trump was able to co-opt conservatism and slap his name across the front of it, like he’s done with so many hotels and casinos and dozens of other defunct companies, because those entrusted with defending and protecting it retreated at the first sign of resistance. They hid from the populist mob or grabbed their pitchforks and joined in. And when conservatism suffers the same fate as so many of Trump’s bankrupted ventures, we will have these cowards to blame.
As unpleasant a task as it may be, I think we need to identify the traitors and remember their names. We do this not out of spite, but in keeping with the Bible’s many warnings about false prophets. Scripture urges us to “expose the unfruitful works of darkness” (Ephesians 5:11) and avoid becoming partners with those “who deceive with empty words” (Ephesians 5:6). Colossians implores us not to be “taken captive by deceit.” We’re warned in 2 Timothy that the time will come when people will not want to hear the truth, so they will surround themselves with frauds who tell them what their “itching ears want to hear.” I believe we have arrived at that moment, and it is now urgent that we specifically identify these frauds and false teachers. This is not a fun or polite process, but it is necessary, so we must get on with it.
When the Trump phenomenon is over — whether that happens in the primary or the general, or after eight years of a totalitarian Trump rule — it’s crucial that we not allow these craven opportunists to pick right up where they left us. We may forgive them if they seek our forgiveness, but we cannot forget, and we cannot rely on their leadership again. These conservatives can be entrusted with the duties of leading the movement no more than a burglar can be entrusted with the duties of caring for your house when you’re away on vacation. It’s a matter of prudence, not revenge.
Unfortunately, the list of prominent conservative “leaders” who abandoned every hint of conservatism the moment Donald Trump came knocking is far too lengthy to list here in full. All I can do is acknowledge a few who’ve gone to considerable lengths to flaunt their lack of integrity and moral courage:
Sean Hannity
Although I’ve never found Hannity to be terribly interesting, now that his Fox show is nothing more than a ritual adoration ceremony for Donald Trump, it’s become intolerable. Hannity relentlessly fawns over Trump and refuses to challenge him on any of his myriad lies and inconsistencies. Trump has even used Hannity’s show as a platform to praise Planned Parenthood and repeat false, progressive claims that “abortion is a small part of what they do.” Hannity did not challenge him on those assertions. He does not challenge him on anything.
Meanwhile, as Trump receives no criticism from Hannity no matter how many times he mocks the disabled, brags about his adultery, smears his opponents, spews vulgarities, etc., Hannity has not held back in criticizing Trump’s Republican opponents for their “stunning” and “beyond the pale” critiques of Trump.
Ann Coulter
She released a book about immigration right around the time Trump came onto the scene and started calling Mexicans rapists. She decided to use the Trump phenomenon as the greatest book promotion vehicle in history, campaigning for him and claiming the reality TV character is a sign that “God hasn’t given up on us yet.”
Funny that Coulter mentioned God considering she’s become a social liberal in recent months, frequently lashing out at ”pathetic” “p*ssy” pro-lifers who fail to worship her new idol. Trump could perform abortions in the White House, she says. Trump can do whatever he wants. Speaking of God, I wonder if Coulter thinks God approves when she rants about the “f**king Jews” (anti-Semitism appears to be a prerequisite for admittance into the Trump fan club) and explicitly calls for violence against Trump protesters. To say Coulter has gone off the rails would be a monumental understatement. Indeed, one wonders if she was ever on them to begin with.
Bill O’Reilly
He pretends to be a tough and objective journalist, but his prostrations to Trump have been sickening to behold, never more than when he boasted about all the times he and Trump had milkshakes together or when he attempted to rationalize Trump’s plan to murder women and children.
Laura Ingraham
She is among the first to burn a “RINO” squish at the stake, yet she pounces like a mother lion protecting her cub whenever anyone whispers a word of criticism about Trump’s infinite departures from conservative principles. Suddenly, Ingraham the Conservative Purist is okay with an authoritarian liberal becoming the GOP nominee, because he “captures the imagination of the people.” This is the sort of nonsense Chris Matthews said about Barack Obama in 2008. It turns out conservatives have several Chris Matthews’ of their own, just as we now have an Obama of our own.
Sarah Palin
Palin is a carnival barker who used the Tea Party to stay relevant long past her expiration date, and then betrayed it when the spotlight drifted in Trump’s direction. Palin helped get Ted Cruz elected back when she was pretending to be a grassroots activist. But her activism was revealed to be as phony as her “middle-class hockey mom” shtick when she stabbed Cruz in the back and slandered her old friend at Trump’s behest.
Fox News
All the other dull, blathering Trump sycophants on Fox News, like Andrea Tantaros and Eric Bolling and Kimberly Guilfoyle and other various Trump shills who’ve now taken to declaring that “principles don’t matter.“ The Fox morning show team hands airtime to Trump whenever he demands it, and they sit in admiration listening to him blabber on like infatuated school boys pretending to be interested in what the pretty girl in class is saying. But they’re of course not as bad as Joe Scarborough over on MSNBC, who was recently caught on camera taking instructions from Trump about what questions he can ask.
Trump and his groupies complain that Fox is “unfair” to him, but those of us who haven’t had our brains cooked by Trump fever recognize that, with the exceptions of Megyn Kelly, Bret Baier, Greg Gutfeld and a few others, the entire network slobbers over him like a cheerleader fainting when the varsity quarterback asks her to the prom.
A whole host of prominent figures made enormous amounts of money pretending to be spokesmen for the cause, only to sell it down the river when the sentient pile of driftwood known as Donald Trump came floating by. These past few months have been a horrific bloodbath, as many famous and once-respected conservatives have gutted their credibility for a chance to latch themselves to Trump like barnacles on the Titanic. Some of these ideological hustlers may have, at one point, truly believed in the principles of which they’ve so handsomely profited, but when the principles finally jeopardized the profits, they did not hesitate to choose the latter over the former.
Donald Trump was able to co-opt conservatism and slap his name across the front of it, like he’s done with so many hotels and casinos and dozens of other defunct companies, because those entrusted with defending and protecting it retreated at the first sign of resistance. They hid from the populist mob or grabbed their pitchforks and joined in. And when conservatism suffers the same fate as so many of Trump’s bankrupted ventures, we will have these cowards to blame.
As unpleasant a task as it may be, I think we need to identify the traitors and remember their names. We do this not out of spite, but in keeping with the Bible’s many warnings about false prophets. Scripture urges us to “expose the unfruitful works of darkness” (Ephesians 5:11) and avoid becoming partners with those “who deceive with empty words” (Ephesians 5:6). Colossians implores us not to be “taken captive by deceit.” We’re warned in 2 Timothy that the time will come when people will not want to hear the truth, so they will surround themselves with frauds who tell them what their “itching ears want to hear.” I believe we have arrived at that moment, and it is now urgent that we specifically identify these frauds and false teachers. This is not a fun or polite process, but it is necessary, so we must get on with it.
When the Trump phenomenon is over — whether that happens in the primary or the general, or after eight years of a totalitarian Trump rule — it’s crucial that we not allow these craven opportunists to pick right up where they left us. We may forgive them if they seek our forgiveness, but we cannot forget, and we cannot rely on their leadership again. These conservatives can be entrusted with the duties of leading the movement no more than a burglar can be entrusted with the duties of caring for your house when you’re away on vacation. It’s a matter of prudence, not revenge.
Unfortunately, the list of prominent conservative “leaders” who abandoned every hint of conservatism the moment Donald Trump came knocking is far too lengthy to list here in full. All I can do is acknowledge a few who’ve gone to considerable lengths to flaunt their lack of integrity and moral courage:
Sean Hannity
Although I’ve never found Hannity to be terribly interesting, now that his Fox show is nothing more than a ritual adoration ceremony for Donald Trump, it’s become intolerable. Hannity relentlessly fawns over Trump and refuses to challenge him on any of his myriad lies and inconsistencies. Trump has even used Hannity’s show as a platform to praise Planned Parenthood and repeat false, progressive claims that “abortion is a small part of what they do.” Hannity did not challenge him on those assertions. He does not challenge him on anything.
Meanwhile, as Trump receives no criticism from Hannity no matter how many times he mocks the disabled, brags about his adultery, smears his opponents, spews vulgarities, etc., Hannity has not held back in criticizing Trump’s Republican opponents for their “stunning” and “beyond the pale” critiques of Trump.
Ann Coulter
She released a book about immigration right around the time Trump came onto the scene and started calling Mexicans rapists. She decided to use the Trump phenomenon as the greatest book promotion vehicle in history, campaigning for him and claiming the reality TV character is a sign that “God hasn’t given up on us yet.”
Funny that Coulter mentioned God considering she’s become a social liberal in recent months, frequently lashing out at ”pathetic” “p*ssy” pro-lifers who fail to worship her new idol. Trump could perform abortions in the White House, she says. Trump can do whatever he wants. Speaking of God, I wonder if Coulter thinks God approves when she rants about the “f**king Jews” (anti-Semitism appears to be a prerequisite for admittance into the Trump fan club) and explicitly calls for violence against Trump protesters. To say Coulter has gone off the rails would be a monumental understatement. Indeed, one wonders if she was ever on them to begin with.
Bill O’Reilly
He pretends to be a tough and objective journalist, but his prostrations to Trump have been sickening to behold, never more than when he boasted about all the times he and Trump had milkshakes together or when he attempted to rationalize Trump’s plan to murder women and children.
Laura Ingraham
She is among the first to burn a “RINO” squish at the stake, yet she pounces like a mother lion protecting her cub whenever anyone whispers a word of criticism about Trump’s infinite departures from conservative principles. Suddenly, Ingraham the Conservative Purist is okay with an authoritarian liberal becoming the GOP nominee, because he “captures the imagination of the people.” This is the sort of nonsense Chris Matthews said about Barack Obama in 2008. It turns out conservatives have several Chris Matthews’ of their own, just as we now have an Obama of our own.
Sarah Palin
Palin is a carnival barker who used the Tea Party to stay relevant long past her expiration date, and then betrayed it when the spotlight drifted in Trump’s direction. Palin helped get Ted Cruz elected back when she was pretending to be a grassroots activist. But her activism was revealed to be as phony as her “middle-class hockey mom” shtick when she stabbed Cruz in the back and slandered her old friend at Trump’s behest.
Fox News
All the other dull, blathering Trump sycophants on Fox News, like Andrea Tantaros and Eric Bolling and Kimberly Guilfoyle and other various Trump shills who’ve now taken to declaring that “principles don’t matter.“ The Fox morning show team hands airtime to Trump whenever he demands it, and they sit in admiration listening to him blabber on like infatuated school boys pretending to be interested in what the pretty girl in class is saying. But they’re of course not as bad as Joe Scarborough over on MSNBC, who was recently caught on camera taking instructions from Trump about what questions he can ask.
Trump and his groupies complain that Fox is “unfair” to him, but those of us who haven’t had our brains cooked by Trump fever recognize that, with the exceptions of Megyn Kelly, Bret Baier, Greg Gutfeld and a few others, the entire network slobbers over him like a cheerleader fainting when the varsity quarterback asks her to the prom.
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