OPINION:
Let’s just start by saying this: If Donald Trump wins or loses this election, it will entirely be on him.
But that’s not saying he couldn’t use a little help. From all Republicans.
Where the #NeverTrump crowd may be having an impact is among the undecideds — a crucial voting bloc that will determine November’s outcome. For the composition of the undecided pool of voters is far different than in prior years, Wall Street Journal/NBC News polling shows.
This year, undecided voters include far more upper-income and Republican-leaning voters from suburban and metropolitan communities, and compose a larger share of the electorate than in years prior, consisting of about 13 percent of all voters compared to 8 percent last year, The Journal reports.
“These are not less-engaged, weakly partisan people,” Republican pollster Bill McInturff told The Journal. “They’re better educated people who lean Republican, who don’t like Trump and have zero use for Hillary Clinton, and they’re sort of paralyzed and frozen right now.”
The challenge for Mr. Trump is to get these people off the fence and in his court — if he does, he has a real shot at the White House. This is where the #NeverTrump crowd could be so helpful.
Well-respected leaders like Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former presidential contender Mitt Romney and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush could be really influential with this undecided crowd. They don’t have to endorse Mr. Trump, just tell their supporters they plan on voting for him because the alternative — Mrs. Clinton in the White House — is unconscionable.
Talk show host Mark Levin came around this week, telling his listeners although he doesn’t agree with all Mr. Trump says or does, he will be voting for the man. This makes a difference.
The news media and Mrs. Clinton’s team like to report and highlight the discontent within the Republican Party. They would prefer it if these undecided voters remained on the fence, or didn’t vote at all. That’s why whenever a #NeverTrump Republican writes and editorial blasting Mr. Trump, Mrs. Clinton’s team is quick to republish it as a press release. The New York Times devoted a full-page graphic in its Sunday paper to GOP members who have turned against Mr. Trump.
What if this wall of resistance came down? Chipped away piece by piece? The undecideds in this election may be swayed.
Mr. Trump, for his part, seems to be listening. He’s run a disciplined campaign within the last several weeks and has come across as presidential in his trips to Mexico and Detroit. He’s studied up on issues concerning immigration and the military. His tax plan resembles the Republican House majority’s blueprint.
No, Mr. Trump’s not the most perfect candidate, but he’s far better than Mrs. Clinton, whose actions have put national security at risk. Not choosing between the two — when the White House and Supreme Court is at stake, and no other candidate has a chance of winning — is political malpractice.
These #NeverTrumpers believe both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump are bad choices, and they’re right. The polling clearly shows high unfavorables for both. But they’re what we got. It’s OK to vote for the least bad candidate.
Like Hugh Hewitt put it Wednesday: “One of these two doctors is going to operate on you … you don’t care which has left more people dead on table?”
I do, and that person is clearly Mrs. Clinton. Her actions — whether it be Benghazi, setting up her private email server, her faulty Russian “reset button” — have all put this country’s national security at risk.
The #NeverTrump crowd are making these anti-Hillary arguments to undecided voters, they just aren’t giving them a realistic alternative. It’s no wonder why so many undecideds are on the fence — they may be looking to their former GOP leaders or opinion-makers for guidance, and they’re getting nothing.
The undecideds are going to shape this election. It’s too bad Republicans aren’t doing all they can to prevent another scandal-filled Clinton White House.
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