Letter to the editor:
The 2018 choice for conservatives: Elect Democrats or cripple the GOP for a generation
How conservatives vote in 2018 could determine whether the GOP maintains control of Congress and whether the Republican Party completes its transformation to the Party of Trump. In Indiana — with the GOP holding seven of nine House seats and a supermajority in the Statehouse — conservatives (especially suburban women) have the power to either embrace Trump’s values or reject his corrosive “us vs. them” politics.
The stakes for the nation, our state and our two political parties couldn’t be higher. The outcome of the 2018 election will determine whether we retreat further into the abyss of anti-intellectualism, intensified culture wars, self-dealing corruption and bigotry that are at the core of Trump’s values. Among the consequences: erosion of our financial security, weakening of our democratic institutions, degradation of our environment, and decline in our role as leader of the free world and champion of human rights and the rule of law.
The alternative is to check Trump’s values and give our nation and its two political parties enough time and space to regroup and chart a path forward that preserves American values. The challenge for both parties is to figure out how to balance individual rights with a social contract that promotes mutual obligations in the new era of globalization and changing demographics.
So far, Republicans in Congress have refused to come to the rescue of either their country or their party. Our seven representatives, along with Sen. Todd Young, have kept silent despite widespread Cabinet-level corruption; persistent divisive stoking of the culture wars, the decline in healthcare coverage along with rising prices; failure to defend the nation against Russian cyberattacks on our electoral system; and President Trump’s lack of any moral compass (as evidenced by his embrace of racism, his pathological lying, his inhumane immigration policies and his refusal to listen to expert scientific, economic or diplomatic advice).
One might ask why any conservative in his/her right mind would vote to give control of the House or Senate to the Democrats? There are two main reasons.
First, divided federal government at this moment in our history is the only mechanism to hold President Trump accountable, check his abuse of power, and limit further damage by Trump’s ill-considered, radical policies.
Second, both political parties, but especially the GOP, desperately need the time and space to regroup. The parties need to formulate a new social contract for the 21st Century that responds to the legitimate fears, anger and discontents of voters, and charts a path forward that preserves American values. For the GOP, defeat in 2018 is necessary to recapture the soul of the Party from Trump.
So, here’s the existential question for conservative voters.
Are you willing to give Democrats temporary control over the House and/or Senate as an emergency safeguard to preserve core American values, protect our democratic institutions and reaffirm our Founders’ vision of checks and balances government?
Or, are you willing to give President Trump two or even six more years of unchecked power to further divide the country into tribal factions, further weaken our democratic institutions at home and further degrade our leadership role abroad — all while ensuring the Republican Party remains fractured and out of power for a generation?
For those conservatives and Republicans who are uncomfortable with Trump’s values and are conflicted over his radical policies, there is only one right choice for the 2018 election: elect as many Democrats as possible to check President Trump’s abuse of power and buy enough time and leverage for the GOP to escape from the twin traps of Trump’s tribalism and unilateralism before it’s too late.
Les Zwirn
Indianapolis
