In a contest between nationalists and progressives, the founding vision is nowhere to be found.
This is an opinion article from the editor, expanded from a segment of the April 24th issue of From the Hawk’s Nest, a bi-weekly newsletter.
There needed to be someone who stands for the principles of limited government with established credibility and broad appeal on the ballot this fall. I don’t think any good can come from ceding the presidential ballot wholly to two different flavors of big government quasi-authoritarianism.
Lest we forget, Trump is a symptom of a bigger problem. Defeating Trump while feeding the Leviathan of big, centralized government and the expanding imperial presidency only fuels Trump-ism. There’s no kumbaya moment waiting for the conservative movement in the aftermath of a Trump defeat if the Democrats receive a mandate to do all the things that fueled the anxiety of Trump voters in the first place.
There’s no guarantee that a Biden Presidency gives us a principled conservative Republican candidate in 2024. In fact, it’s just as likely that Republican voters double-down on their fears and on populist nationalism by putting forward a true-believer who could present a far worse threat to the health of our Republic than our current reality-tv president who’s just playing a role.
If some independents and moderates feel comfortable with a vote for Joe Biden, then more power to them. But let’s be honest and recognize that there will be a lot of Democrats who will interpret such a vote as a vote for progressivism, for big government, for pro-Roe justices, for the green new deal, for abolishing ICE, et al.
After all, honest observers know that Trump’s only real mandate was served on day one of his presidency (he wasn’t Hillary). But that’s not how he, his surrogates, or his supporters interpreted what was, frankly, a weak plurality of support. Haven’t we had to deal with a constant barrage of demands to support the wall, Muslim bans, and trade wars because “how dare you stand in the way of the people’s will”?
If Biden gets well over 270 electoral votes and receives the support of well over 50% of the popular vote, do you really think he, his surrogates, or his supporters are going to qualify that as just wanting to get rid of Trump? That’s just not how politicians work. When the Biden agenda starts rolling out, and independents start speaking out against it, the election results will be thrown in our face. You can take that to the bank.
So, no matter who wins this fall, whether we get four years of Sleepy Joe or a second-term of the Trump Circus, there needed to be a place for voters to check the box so that the American people and their leaders know there’s still a substantial group of principled independents who are not on board with a big government scheme, regardless of which party gets to be in charge of it. Surrendering the ballot to a lesser-of-two-evils decision has only assured that whichever “evil” comes out of this circus with the prize will completely disregard any and all opposition because “the people have spoken.”
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