Joshua Claybourn: Why GOP should listen to Never Trump
EVANSVILLE
– The 2016 election was a resounding success for Indiana Republicans.
Outgoing governor Mike Pence is the new vice president, Eric Holcomb
will be the next governor, and Republicans won all other statewide
races, including state education superintendent. Like the federal
government, the Indiana Statehouse is firmly controlled by Republicans. For
the party brass and thousands of Republican political and policy
advisors, the incentive will be to celebrate the victories, congratulate
themselves on strategy, and rest on the laurels of a fresh victory.
Undoubtedly, the Trump/Pence wave carried the day and is driving the
Republican Party. So why should they ever again listen to Never Trump Republicans they might view as losers? That
line of thinking would be a strategic blunder. Trump’s victory appears
to be based more on a rejection of Clintonism and liberalism than an
embrace of Trump’s ideology. Mitt Romney got 60.9 million votes and
lost, while early returns show Donald Trump has 59.1 million votes and
is winning. Trump also received less than McCain’s popular vote total in
2008 and came up short of Obama’s winning 2012 vote totals in all of
the battleground critical swing states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin,
Michigan, Iowa, and Ohio. Indiana Republicans didn’t ride a
wave of Trump support. Instead, they rode a wave of anti-Clintonism
thanks to Democrats staying at home.
Source: Howey Politics
