Dump Trump at the Convention

Ritual mass suicide, a collective murder-suicide pact with the country, the Titanic meets the Hindenburg… Call it what you will, but the nomination of Donald Trump in Cleveland later this month could well be the most devastating thing to ever happen to the Republican Party, from both an ideological and electoral standpoint. Any Republican candidate for president who looks to be in danger of losing Utah and Kansas, is beginning to trail by double digits both nationally and in swing states such as Florida, and is outraised by his Democratic opponent 40-to-1—and yet still blindly discusses the possibility of winning in Maryland and California—is actively pursuing electoral suicide.

The only question is whether the party will sacrifice itself, along with dozens of strong candidates across the country, in an attempt to satisfy the roughly 11% of registered voters who supported Trump in the primary.

Trump may have eagerly claimed the mantle of “presumptive nominee”, but the fact remains that he will not be the official nominee of the Republican Party until the 2,472 delegates vote on the floor of the national convention. And until then, the delegates that will be gathering in Cleveland have an opportunity to avert disaster for both party and country, salvage the House and Senate majorities, and possibly keep alive the possibility of denying the White House to Hillary Clinton.

But it all depends on a little bravery on the part of those delegates, and the nomination of someone other than Donald Trump to be the standard-bearer of the Republican Party.

All the delegates have to do is pass a rule allowing each of them to vote their conscience when the time comes to nominate a candidate for President. Many of the roughly 1,500 delegates bound to Trump under the current rules would leap at the opportunity to back another candidate, one possessing both principles and electoral viability.

It hardly matters at this point who the alternative nominee might be. Much of the early primary season, when it was most possible to stop Trump before the convention, was wasted in debating which of the possible alternatives was the most acceptable. Scott Walker or Ted Cruz, both of whom have been discussed as possible draftees by the convention, would be excellent choices, but we are to the point where almost any alternative would be better than Trump. If John Kasich is the only other candidate to enjoy the support of a majority of delegates, then so be it. If Jeb Bush or Jim Gilmore see a surge in support at the convention, then I’d wholeheartedly endorse either one, remembering that the alternative of Donald Trump would be a thousand times worse than nearly any other possible nominee.

Trump and his allies believe they have the nomination sewn up. Delegates to the convention should remind them that it ain’t over till it’s over, and show that the GOP won’t be taken over by a liberal, repulsive con artist without a fight.