RINOs would rather destroy the Republican Party than support Trump.

Frankly I’m less concerned about the party than I am about the nation. The Republican Party led by Bush, Romney, Boehner, Ryan, McConnell, McCain, Graham and their followers has left the people a long time ago. We the People have given the Republicans large majorities in the House and control of the Senate. What have they given us the voters in return? Broken promises, timid actions or no actions; complete cave in to Obama’s unconstitutional agendas; and a cavalier attitude that the establishment has the power and the people who put them there be damned.

Now we have an opportunity to reverse the unprecedented damage to our economy, to our values, to race relations, to our world leadership, to our health care system, to our military, to our Constitution and to our freedom and what do our RINO leaders do? They squander the opportunity because the people have chosen an outsider who is not one of them to be our standard bearer in the race for president. They would support Hillary Clinton either openly or tacitly rather than Donald Trump.

Let me be clear. I was not a Trump supporter. I’m a strong constitutional conservative and as such I supported Ted Cruz and to a lesser extent Marco Rubio, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina. I donated to campaigns, made phone calls and tried to drum up support for my candidates, but I lost.

So what do I do now? I suck it up and support  the best choice going forward. Do I support a criminal who has become a multimillionaire without ever holding a job outside of government? A former secretary of state who has left our foreign policy in shambles? Or do I support a man who has undeniable leadership capabilities and lots of flaws? Do I vote for a continued journey down the road to destruction of our values and our Constitution? Or do I take a chance on Trump? It’s a no-brainer.

The RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) and the “brainy” pundits that back them give many of reasons for not supporting Trump, many of which are tied to policy statements Trump has made. Let’s examine a few:

1. Trade war with China: I have listened to Trump very carefully and he has never said he wants to start a trade war with China. He has said that China is killing us on trade and is hurting us by stealing our intellectual property, hacking our government computers and turning a blind eye to North Korea’s war mongering. Trump is a threat to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wing of the Republican Party, the very same wing that all of the RINOs are charter members of.  

China needs our markets. Without our markets their economy goes south. The chamber needs trade with China because of the obscene profits their low-wage factories in China guarantee them. Trump is exactly right that our “leaders” have negotiated bad deals with China, but the reason is not because they are stupid; it’s because it is in the interest of the chamber and the establishment of both political parties to negotiate deals that favor themselves and not the nation they are supposed to represent. Trump will be very clear with China — clean up your act or your markets are going to suffer.

2. Putin remarks: Trump has referred to positive statements made by Putin regarding Trump. He has said that he can get along with Putin. For this he has been lambasted by pundits like Charles Krauthammer, George Will and Bill Kristol — establishment members all. There is no doubt in my mind that Trump will be exponentially stronger toward Putin than would Clinton and her reset button. Putin knows and respects strength. Does anyone out there think Clinton will project more strength than Trump?

3. NATO dissolution: Trump’s critics in the establishment are aghast that he would dissolve NATO. They lament their predicted upcoming Russian annex of the Baltic States if NATO is dissolved. A couple of points: a) Trump has never said he would even consider dissolving NATO; b) he has said and very astutely that WE the USA are basically keeping NATO afloat financially and that in the future other members (the very same members who are the prime recipients of the NATO shield benefits) need to step up and pay their fair share.

We cannot afford to pay for everything any more. We have debt spiraling out of control and our infrastructure needs rebuilding. This fantasy that there is no end to our money has got to be recognized, and Trump not only recognizes it — he will fix it. I only hope he takes a similar view regarding the billions of dollars we flush down the United Nations rat hole as well.

4. Ford, Carrier, Nabisco and Mexico: The establishment derides Trump’s concern regarding our companies moving to Mexico and mocks his statements regarding fixing the problem. They say that Trump does not understand the separation of powers in the Constitution and they make the point that he alone cannot reverse this exodus.

DUH! Trump is not an imbecile. He is a leader. A strong American leader can bring Congress to its heels and pass legislation that will bring these companies back and stop future outflow. He will prod Congress to pass legislation that gives businesses incentives for keeping jobs in America and disincentives for sending them overseas. And unlike Obama, he’ll do it within the constraints of the Constitution, not through illegal and unconstitutional executive directives.

Lindsey Graham, Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, P.J. O’Rourke, Bill Kristol, George Will and Charles Krauthammer need to wake up to reality. The rank and file will not put up with another sell out. If the establishment abandons the people again, this time it will be the last straw. The camel’s back will break and the Republican Party will go the way of the Whigs.

The establishment needs to join with GOP Chairman Reince Priebus and millions of rank and file Republicans and support Donald Trump. Don’t destroy the party of Lincoln. If you do, you will help destroy the freedoms that conservative Americans hold dear.

Richard J. Crouse is a resident of Bigfork.