Between Trump and Biden, what should real Republicans do?

Commentary

Three “moderate” former GOP senators outline all the reasons real Republicans should not vote for Trump. But, spinelessly, won’t tell those real Republican voters what to do on November 5.

The Washington Post published an Op-Ed this week titled, “Between Trump and Biden, what should real Republicans do?” The story was co-signed by three former Republican senators, John Danforth (Missouri), William Cohen (Maine) and Alan Simpson (Wyoming).

Danforth, a self-described “political moderate,” served three terms in the Senate and, after his Senate career, briefly as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Cohen, the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant who owned the Bangor Rye Bread Co., served in the House of Representatives for six years and the Senate for 18 years. Described by David Halberstram as a “Republican moderate from Maine and “something of a maverick centrist,” Cohen served as Secretary of Defense in (Democratic) President Clinton’s second term. Simpson, who I actually met at the CNN studios in San Francisco as he was leaving from his appearance and I was getting ready for mine*, represented Wyoming in the United States Senate from 1979 to 1997. Simpson was a moderate conservative who supported abortion rights and voted against a ban of late-term abortions (but did not support an exception for physical health, only for life-threatening conditions). Until 2017, Simpson, at 6’7″ held the title as the tallest U.S. senator in history.**

*Really happened. I had a +/- 5 second appearance on CNN in 1996 commenting about advertising on the Internet, a controversial topic back then. Looking back at that clip I have to admire my prescience. (BTW, much to my wife’s dismay, I still have that shirt and tie!)

**In 2017 at 6’9″, Luther Strange was appointed to the Senate from Alabama succeeding Jeff Sessions who had been appointed U.S. attorney general in Trump’s first administration. Neither Sessions nor Strange have been heard from since. “ROLL TIDE!)

I guess these three, plus Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger and a few others, are what might be described as part of that ever shrinking group of “real” Republicans.

So, what do these real Republicans think about the choice of Biden or Trump? Did they help struggling GOP voters by providing some direct advice as they speculated that many are “considering staying home, writing in a name of their own choosing or voting for a man they don’t really want to see in the White House?”

Not really.

After jabbering on about important issues, issues they characterize as the “five principles that historically have defined our party, issues like the:

The Constitution:

• We are pledged to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Our allegiance to the Constitution includes acceptance of the vote of the people, obedience to the decisions of our courts and support for the peaceful transfer of power…

The Union:

• Since the time of Abraham Lincoln, ours has been the party of the Union, of holding a fractured country together as one indivisible nation. That remains our purpose today. Americans come from many different backgrounds and interests, yet we are one people. We stand against the divisive tactics of both right and left that divide “us against them” by exploiting emotions of grievance and rage…

Fiscal responsibility

• In recent years, Republicans have joined Democrats in abandoning that responsibility. The profligate explosion of our national debt is a legacy of weakness that future Americans must inherit. We renew our historical commitment to a sound economy…

Free enterprise

• We support the private sector as the source of prosperity against big government interventions such as high protective tariffs and price controls…

Peace through strength

• We believe that a peaceful world depends on a strong United States that is steadfast in opposing the aggression of Russia and other hostile regimes and is unwavering in our support for our allies…

…They decided to form a new organization, “Our Republican Legacy,” a group that “will be a catalyst for a movement to reassert traditional Republicanism against the populist version it has become under [wait for it] Donald Trump.”

So, these ex-politicos, with nothing to lose, who should have had no fear about Trump retribution, outlined five key issues which anyone with a clear thought in their head would score, Biden: 5; Trump: 0. And all they could say to those beleaguered GOP voters is, “we will not tell people how to vote in 2024 or beyond.”

To which I say, “Why not?” Why not show some courage? Why not show you’re not spineless like the Trump sycophants who are showing up at his “election interference”*** trial?

***I refuse to label this trial the “hush money” trial. Yes, Trump paid hush money to cover up his indiscretions, but to what end? To interfere with the election!

Why, if these moderate, real Republicans fear “a continuation of the populist version it (the GOP) has become under Donald Trump,” did they not go out on a very substantial limb and say, “for this election at least, as we’ve laid out, Donald Trump is a danger to our nation, a danger to democracy, a danger to the world. In the real world****, you only have a bilateral choice, Trump or Biden. Be realistic. Be a real Republican. Voting for Trump in 2024 is not a vote for a real Republican. It’s a vote for a dangerous, unhinged, wannabe despot. So, just this once, don’t worry about the “R” or the “D.” If you really love this country, if you can’t fathom an end to democracy as you’ve known it, if you’re a real Republican, swallow your GOP pride and vote for Biden. Because if you don’t, if Trump wins, there will no longer be a Republican party about which you can be proud.

****A real world does not include Robert Kennedy Jr. Ask his family.