A Principle of Three
How do decent and sensible people regard endorsements for and from the 45th president?
Yesterday, U.S. Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) spoke a truth:
We’ve gone from a time when the Tea Party stood for conservative principles, for constitutional principles, to a time where the [populists] have taken over the Republican Party and are really advocating things that I believe are very dangerous.
[...]
[W]e’re at a time in American politics, that I am not going to lie on behalf of my presidential candidate, on behalf of my party. And I’m very sad that others in my party have taken the position that, as long as we get the White House, it doesn’t really matter what we say.
The Hill newspaper provided the following context:
Buck has criticized some members of his party for promoting false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Trump. Buck, who voted to certify the 2020 election results, withheld support from Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) when he was running for the Speakership last fall over concerns he had with Jordan’s actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Buck announced on November 2 that he would not seek reelection. As The Hill reported at the time, the 45th president responded with a characteristically scornful comment on his social media platform:
Good news for the Country! Congressman Ken Buck of Colorado, a weak and ineffective Super RINO if there ever was one, announced today that he won’t be running again, which is a great thing for the Republican Party.
The meaning of “RINO” (Republican in Name Only) in the funhouse mirrorworld of MAGA politics is a fit topic of study. So too are the meanings of “ineffective” and “effective,” “conservative” and “Republican.” One gets a sense of the distortion from their use with respect to Buck. A social media post that the 45th president put up the day before yesterday can enrich one’s understanding:
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert is a Proven Conservative and Effective Leader who delivers for Colorado, and our America First agenda…Congresswoman Lauren Boebert is a trusted America First Fighter, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Colorado's 4th Congressional District!
There is poetic symmetry in this pair of recent pronouncements. Ken Buck is the current representative of Colorado’s fourth congressional district. Lauren Boebert, having abandoned hope of reelection in her own third congressional district, is now running in a crowded Republican field to succeed Buck.
One need not agree with any of Buck’s policy or political positions to appreciate the stark contrast between his character as a champion of American democracy and that of Boebert – an ally of the 45th president – as a saboteur of it.
These reflections remind me of a guest essay that appeared in the Denver Post in October 2022. The author, John Brackney, self-identifies as conservative and has been a prominent figure in Colorado politics for many years. Following distinguished service in the active duty Army and Reserves (he twice received the Meritorious Service Medal), Brackney compiled an impressive record of public service as a civilian:
John was elected for a first term as Arapahoe County Commissioner in 1996. In 1999, he was re-elected to a four-year term and served as chairman in 2000. He then served as chairman of the Arapahoe County Public Airport Authority (Centennial Airport), and as president of the Arapahoe County Water and Wastewater Authority. Director of Public Policy at the South Metro Denver Chamber from Jan 2003-April 2004. Later on, he served as the President and CEO and member of the Board of Directors of the South Metro Denver Chamber from April 2004 to March 2014.
The context of Brackney’s column was the 2022 midterm elections. In it, he said of the 45th president that his assaults on our democracy render him “ineligible to ever participate in our republic again.” Below is the passage from the essay in which that assessment appeared:
Let’s be clear: One person is responsible for Jan. 6, the rise of contemporary political hate groups, and our ability to remain a constitutional republic for centuries to come: Donald J. Trump. The former president must be thoroughly removed from the Republican Party and all respectable discussions in public policy.
As to criminal intent or civil liability, that is not our concern; it is for investigators, prosecutors, judges, and juries to decide his culpability if any. But as to public policy influence in America, he should have none. Zero. Nada. Zilch. Nothing.
When a person is willing to sacrifice our system of governance (yes, our constitutional republic is founded on representative and direct democracy) to ensure that he remains in power, nothing else matters.
You may like or oppose his views on immigration, race relations, foreign policy, abortion, gay rights, taxes, his style, communication techniques, willingness to take it to the “enemy,” and on and on, but none of that matters.
You may despise President Joe Biden and the war that has started on his watch, his lax approach to securing the southern border, his tax and spend policies, his bumbling gaffes and his strong criticism of MAGA Republicans, but none of that matters.
Former President Donald Trump is ineligible to ever participate in our republic again.
He was willing to use whatever means necessary to retain power against our current laws, and that is reprehensible. We must ensure that he never has access to any credible power again in the United States. Do this out of love of country, not hate for the man.
Brackney suggested that responsible citizens require that candidates answer this question: “Will you vote for Trump if he is the Republican nominee?” Continuing, he wrote, “If the answer is yes, then you’ll know much about that candidate’s lack of knowledge about America and the importance of respect for our Rule of Law.”
Tomorrow, on Super Tuesday, 15 states accounting for 36 percent of delegates to the Republican National Convention will hold their primaries. At the conclusion of this voting, the 45th president will have secured the requisite majority of delegates (1,215 out of a total available 2,429) to sew up the Republican nomination to become the 47th president.
Consider the question that Brackney urged citizens to pose to candidates. There is no question whatsoever that Lauren Boebert would affirm her intention to vote for the 45th president. The same holds true for the other candidates vying with her for the Republican nomination.
John Brackney, like Ken Buck, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and many others who reject the MAGA takeover of the Republican Party (see also the page of organizations that are partners to one called Principles First), remains a principled conservative.
The future of democracy in the United States – and perhaps beyond – depends on a critical mass of Americans standing up for principle. We all have a role to play in this.