OPINION:
A half-century of conservative dedication to the GOP is being threatened by a Rockefeller Republican, all the way down to the man’s recently spouted views, inherited wealth and bad manners. Far too many putative leaders have been seduced by the populist siren song of raw appeal. Donald Trump has filled a leaderless vacuum — but at the cost of abandoning principle.
Mr. Trump understandably exploits frustration with congressional timidity, as well as an unending string of compromises. There is admiration for his attitude and boldness, as his scattershot views are almost beside the point. It is hard to see how a movement that has contempt for the aggravating but comparatively middling compromises of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, former House Speaker John Boehner, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan embraces a leader whose heresies far surpass anything these men have contemplated. It’s also curious that “establishment” types are closer to making peace with Mr. Trump than is Sen. Ted Cruz.
For all his alleged courage, Mr. Trump offers no hope of weaning too many Americans from government goodies. So the federal Leviathan will continue to grow unabated. Under Mr. Trump’s lead, voters appear no closer to understanding the stakes.
More troubling is conservative embrace of the ’man-on-horseback’ panacea. This stage has been set by the Reagan hagiography industry of renaming public landmarks and producing a best-seller a year extolling some previously underreported aspect of the 40th president. Reagan acolytes have gone far beyond overcorrecting the slanderous and long-discredited caricature of him as “an amiable dunce.” This is un-republican hero worship.
Unquestionably electoral appeal matters when picking a standard bearer. Conservatives Robert Taft, John Ashbrook, Phil Crane, Phil Gramm and John Ashcroft, to name a few, had nearly perfect voting records but fell flat as candidates. The “invisible primary” process winnows the field. But if leadership involves some mass appeal, it must also include worthy content. Not every populist stampede is wise. Mr. Trump offers a fool’s gold, drawing far too many respectable takers.
GREGORY C. MCCARTHY
Burke, Va.
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