Principled Opposition to Trump and Trumpism Is as Necessary as Ever

With Donald Trump returning to the presidency, it is necessary to oppose him because of his lack of fitness, his unprincipled and non-conservative policies, speech and acts, and to oppose those who enable and support him. Center-right conservatives must now take on the responsibility of serving as the loyal (to the Constitution) opposition, standing for conservative principles while opposing non-conservative policies, whether they are advanced by the left or Trumpist populist far right, while working with anyone to advance conservative policies. Contrary to the opinion of anti-anti-Trumpists, opposition to Trump has never meant opposing policies we conservatives agree with, but we do maintain that any president would have favored certain non-controversial policies, and any qualified principled center-right Republican president would have supported good conservative principles, without the taint of Trump. There is overlap between anti-Trump conservatives and others against some of Trumpism, the populist mix of protectionism, nativism, isolationism and appeasement of aggression, which are policies shared by some on the left and the far right, sometimes for the same, and other times for different reasons. There are additional Trumpist policies and practices that are against conservatism, such as authoritarianism, undermining the independence of the judiciary, violating the rule of law, violating federalism, rewarding and punishing businesses for their political expression, and imperialism. But Trump’s poor character is the root of the problem. It is disturbing that someone who dodged the draft through fraud will become the Commander in Chief, who committed election fraud will hold public office, who inspired an insurrection against the United States will hold federal office, who stole top secret documents will have access to intelligence, and who welcomed and accepted interference from a hostile foreign power will be the Chief Diplomat. Trump’s New York conviction for election fraud and sentencing still stand, but his federal criminal cases for attempting to overthrow his 2020 election loss and stealing classified documents and trying to cover it up have been dismissed for various dubious constitutional interpretations, but without prejudice, meaning they can be raised again after he leaves office. At any point, Congress can vote by a simple majority that Trump is ineligible for federal office under the Insurrection Clause. State prosecutions for Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election may continue, and the several civil judgments against him and his business also still stand. As Trump violated both the domestic and foreign Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution in his first term, there will be a legal effort by at least one private organization devoted to public ethics to force him to disclose his income and at least to disclose, or to divest himself of his conflicts of interest. There will be legal resistance to Trump’s wasteful anti-migrant policies that violate liberty and put peoples’ lives at risk, both from business interests, private secular and religious organizations, as well as federal and state political opposition from across the ideological spectrum. The Catholic Church and other Christian organizations are advocating for refugees seeking asylum, especially from religious persecution. These religious organizations oppose the inhumane treatment of migrants, especially for people who have lived in America for decades and are not a threat, and they especially oppose breaking up families, or deporting parents whose minor children have never seen their parents’ country of origin. They favor fining migrants present illegally, instead of deporting them. Democratic state elected officials are embracing federalism to prevent the concentration of power and to provide a critical check versus an autocratic federal executive with a loyalists in the majority in the other two branches of government. The Democratic state officials will resist Trump’s unconstitutional or illegal policies, and policies they disagree with. Democratic Governors formed an organization to push back against Trump’s policies and to dialogue with Republican State officials, as there is much common ground to oppose violations of federalism and other unconstitutional and illegal policies. There is also some pushback against some of Trump’s policies from Republican federal officials in the Congress, both by anti-Trump conservatives and even Trump supporters, but I shall address my next post to these matters. All these loyal opposition efforts are in addition to those by both organized anti-Trump conservatives that I shall also post about, and public opposition from across the political spectrum. The dangers from such an unfit, unprincipled person in the most powerful office in the world are clear and present and necessitate constant vigilance and civic participation. This blog is among the sources of information and opinion that are as needed as ever to overcome this threat. Please continue to visit it regularly.