Take a deep breath and get some perspective, people. This primary season does need to be a fight, but it does not need to be World War III. Yeah, primaries should be tough and test the mettle of the candidates, but let’s remember that we eventually have to get together and rally behind a nominee to take the White House back. Those SCOTUS victories happened because we won, not because we went down in glorious defeat because we liked some politician too much or too little to deign to vote for the guy who beat the guy we preferred. Winning in 2024 is the goal; who wins is secondary.
The Trump strategy is clear – DeSantis must be crushed and pronto so Trump can glide to an easy nomination. That’s not a criticism – that’s just an obvious fact. And DeSantis’s strategy is the converse – survive long enough to come back and win. Fine. Great. The race is going to be hard and harsh, but the Dems will not be gentle with the winner. This is a time of testing. But let’s all remember that at the end of this primary season we need to jump in with the team and come on in for the big win. Here’s a fact, and for some people it might be hard to swallow but open up that gullet. Trump and DeSantis are on the same side. We can live with either Godzilla or King Kong winning – compared to the disaster of Crusty II. Yeah, each side has its reasons for preferring its guy, but one of them needs to win in 2024. That’s all that matters, or all that should matter.
That said, people are getting pretty wild. Some are losing their damn minds. Primaries are emotional events and people can cross the line from aggressive to destructive. I had a close friend who supports Trump express genuine anger to me over one DeSantis attack. Hugh Hewitt and Mark Levin, who like each other, tussled. And I got ticked off too – some dork influencer associated with Team Trump decided to announce on behalf of MAGA that American veterans should be ashamed of serving in our wars. Really? But I do not hold the Trump/MAGA/American First voters responsible for the ravings of some overage adolescent who imagines himself edgy. And I have no doubt Trump himself loves the troops – that ridiculous lie about him calling troops “losers” and “suckers” was transparently stupid, especially in light of how Trump held generals and admirals in far too much esteem. But this is the kind of nonsense that only helps the enemy – the damn communists.
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We need to keep our heads here, people. Though in any fight emotions will run high – sometimes my do – let’s keep some perspective. Let’s get beyond being ticked off and get focused on what’s real. Here are some basic principles I am trying to apply during this primary season, and maybe you might want to do the same. Or not. I’m not the boss.
For me, I think Ron DeSantis is best situated to win the general election, and electability is my number one factor. I think Trump has too many people who irrationally hate him and I do not see a path for him to win the swing states. But I’m not telling anyone what to do or who to support. You’re an adult – you decide. No one, least of all Republican voters, needs some pundit demanding they conform. My job is to say what I think. Your job is to decide what you think.
I will say what I think no matter what. You can agree, disagree, or whatever. If this makes you hate me, okay – that’s dumb but do as you please. And you are free to think I am getting boatloads of cash from campaigns or other nefarious actors, to which I say “I wish – where’s all that sweet, sweet shill money at?” I have received exactly two things from any campaign – Trump sent me a note on a copy of a column that was critical of him and I have a signed DeSantis ball cap. Now I’m off to retire in luxury to my South Pacific island lair.
If you were my friend before we disagreed about who is the best candidate for 2024, you are still my friend. I will remain so until you decide otherwise. Disagreeing with me does not make me hate you. I am a lawyer – literally everyone I talk to on the job disagrees with me. If you want to make it personal, that’s your choice. I’m cool with whoever you support even if I think you are wrong. Even if you like Asa Hutchinson, because he’s just weird.
Relatedly, I think both Trump and DeSantis voters are patriots and are generally genuinely good people. There are a few idiots out there, but there are always idiots in any human endeavor. I think that idiots are the exception. We may disagree in the primary, but we are on the same side.
I like hearing good arguments, including for candidates I do not think are optimal. In fact, we need to hear them. Just as I was writing this, someone sent me some intelligent points in support of Trump I had not heard before. I told this person to write it up and publish it. I have a number of friends who can make a solid case for Trump – they should! This is a primary. Point out the other guy’s flaws and weaknesses. If he cannot adapt and overcome, he should lose. We should not fear clashes, conflict, or disagreement. We should avoid gratuitous scorched earth warfare because, again, we have to come together afterward to save the country.
I will point out sloppy thinking, hack cliches, and other nonsense. If you assert that DeSantis loves Soros or indulge in that crap about Trump dissing our troops, I will tell you that you are being dumb. Because if you say things like that, you are dumb, or you think the rest of us are dumb.
I am going to vote for whoever wins the Republican nomination. DeSantis. Trump. I’ll even swallow hard and vote for Chris Christie if he wins, or Nikki Haley, or that dude no one ever heard of from West Dakota. Yeah, Asa, too, by Cracky. I am a Republican – I will vote for the nominee. Everyone is better than Biden.
There, that’s what I think. Now let’s go have a primary that does not end up looking like the climax of “Oppenheimer.”
Follow Kurt on Twitter @KurtSchlichter. Get Inferno, the seventh book in the Kelly Turnbull People's Republic series of conservative action novels set in America after a notional national divorce, as well as his non-fiction book We’ll Be Back: The Fall and Rise of America.
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