Since Ted Cruz suspended his campaign the last great hope for true conservatives is extinguished. The American people have made their choice, and populism and mob rule are the order of the day. People like Mark Levin, Glenn Beck, and others have been telling us that Ted Cruz was the candidate that we, as conservatives, have been waiting for.
This cycle the legacy of Ronald Reagan has been evoked more than once. Like Ted Cruz joked to CNN's Anderson Cooper, one cannot go into Washington without meeting dozens of statesmen with a tattoo of Ronald Reagan somewhere on their person. However the true legacy of the great president was ignored by many who touted his name this cycle.
The legacy of Ronald Reagan is not that of a obnoxious semi-reformed Democrat, as many would have you believe. The legacy of Ronald Reagan is equal rights for Americans under the Constitution. The legacy of Ronald Reagan is the idea that it is not the place of government to take care of the people. Indeed, the legacy of Reagan is the same as the founding values of the Republican party itself.
Instead this cycle the system was perverted. Populism pushed the RNC to endorse a candidate or risk being ripped apart. The RNC is a private organization that has the right to endorse the candidate they see fit. The people use to have to wait until after the parties caucused and chose their representative to run in the general. It was then the people chose between candidates from opposing parties in the general election.
The fact that the RNC is a private organization helps protect the values of the party. If the party were subject to the people that would mean that moderates or even liberals could hijack the party, just as Donald Trump has.
Trump has an unfavorable rating of somewhere around 65% according to the Real Clear Politics. This summer in the general election after Donald Trump presumably secures the nomination, he will face off against Hillary Clinton, who herself has an unfavorable rating of 55% also according to Real Clear Politics. These two percentages are disastrous for the 2016 election.
This November record numbers of Republicans will stay home for simple fact that there is no candidate for them to vote for. This cycle the idea that not voting is somehow irresponsible is untrue. For too long conservatives have been told to abandon their own values and vote for the good of the party.
This election it won't be conservative voters turning their back on the party or the process, it will be the RNC, the establishment turning their back on conservatives and traditional values. There is simply no conservative option this election.
In the mind of the true conservative, Trump himself a progressive populist with very liberal views is bad for the country. Hillary a self proclaimed "modern progressive" is bad for the country. So the true conservative can vote for neither. If the lion's escape at the zoo, one does not let the tigers out to take care of the lion problem.