Letter to the editor: The unfortunate existence of Donald J. Trump

Donald Trump is not a conservative; he is a populist iconoclast. Unfortunately, he and his enthralled supporters, quite possibly at no deliberate intention of their own, are doing irreparable damage to the very Party under which they have claimed to operate.

Please understand, I am not a secular progressive, nor am I a liberal — in any sense of the word. I am not a Hillary Clinton supporter, nor am I a subscriber to “democratic” socialism, or any version of socialism whatsoever.

I am, however, a social conservative, a supporter of free-market capitalism and largely free trade, an advocate of the reallocation of power to small, local and state governments and a strict interpreter of the U.S. Constitution and the original intent of the Founders. By the very nature of my political ideology, I am cautiously cognizant of the potential negative consequences certain precedents initiate and subsequently galvanize.

My greatest fear for a Trump nomination, of which there are many, is that the precedent established would utterly redefine conservatism, altering its reputation into something it is not. In doing so, its legitimacy would be destroyed and another dramatic redefinition would be required for a recovery of not only the Republican Party, but also the country as a whole. The implications of a Trump nomination are boundless.

Please consider the fact that Trump does not have support from a majority of Republicans, rather, he consistently garners a mere plurality. I avow that a brokered convention, as potentially inconvenient, nontraditional and dividing as it may be to the Republican Party, in comparison, will be far less damaging, long-term, than a Trump nomination.

If you think the negative results of a Trump nomination cease after a landslide election loss for the GOP, think again. The precedent that would be set regarding the perception of the Republican Party would remain unchanged until another equally drastic movement arises. Generational changes would be required, and conservatives are not the best political ideologues to manage these. But it is not too late. Do not unintentionally predetermine a regret so great that a retrospective justification cannot not suffice. Think before you vote.

Sincerely,

Derek Chancellor

Public Administration graduate student at USD