It has long been a widespread accusation that some Republicans are, themselves, hardly conservative at all. Some harbor views and advocate for policies that are so out of line with mainstream conservative thought that they became known as “Republican in Name Only” – or, unaffectionately, “RINOs.” After Trump appeared on the national political stage, a new offshoot was born; the “Never-Trumper.” So desperate are these people to ensure that the former president does not return to the White House that they are not just refusing to endorse or vote for him, but they have endorsed his Democrat opponent, Kamala Harris. And a few of them are doing everything they can to make sure she wins in November. Such a drastic choice from supposed conservatives says far more about them than it does about Trump.
Former Republican Representatives Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Liz Cheney of Wyoming have backed Harris in her presidential bid. Cheney’s father, Dick, who, of course, served as George W. Bush’s vice president, has also endorsed the Democrat VP for president.
Helping Kamala – Just to Hurt Trump
Kinzinger, like Cheney, was hand-picked by former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to serve on the Jan. 6 Committee – which sought to portray the events of that day as an attempted insurrection and pin the blame squarely on the 45th president. Also, like Ms. Cheney, Kinzinger’s embrace of the Democrats’ “get Trump” campaign sidelined his political career. In 2022, he chose not to run for reelection. Meanwhile, Cheney never got the opportunity to defend her seat after losing her primary by a wide margin to Trump-endorsed Harriet Hagerman.
Kinzinger even addressed the 2024 Democratic National Convention. He panned the GOP as “no longer conservative.” More recently, he told the Washington Examiner: “I think the only way that the Republican Party will wake up again is to recognize Trump is not a winning formula.” That sentiment was echoed by Craig Snyder, the director of [Nikki] Haley Voters for Harris. The Examiner reported, “Snyder believes a decisive loss [for Trump] is the only way for the party to move forward and rebuild.”
Cheney, when she was in the House, aligned herself with Trump on more than 90% of her votes. So it seems clear that, ideologically, she is not all that far away from the former president. In 2020, Cheney referred to Kamala Harris as “a radical liberal” – and yet now she supports the VP’s White House bid.
It would be one thing for some Republicans to say they are not voting for Trump in November because they are uncomfortable with his populist agenda – or if they felt that Trump was taking their beloved party in the wrong direction – and, to get rid of him, they were willing to vote for his Democrat opponent because he or she was fairly moderate. Having a moderate Democrat in the White House for four years, they might believe, would be a price worth paying for the restoration of their vision for the GOP.
That appears to be a more difficult proposition with Kamala Harris, though, who has so far in her campaign ditched her previously held positions on topics such as fracking and immigration, seemingly to curry favor with the electorate. As Liberty Nation News’ Executive Editor Leesa K. Donner astutely noted:
“Harris has done a volte-face on so many issues that it’s impossible to know where she currently stands on any of them. This either makes her one of the least ideologically driven candidates ever to run for president or someone who does not want to tell the American people what she believes in. Perhaps she doesn’t even know.”
Educated speculation is rife that the far-left progressives within her party will do everything they can to keep the Republican Party from ever again winning congressional majorities or even the White House. A case in point is the recent effort regarding the filibuster.
Prominent Democrats – including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) – have made it clear that, with a Senate majority come January 2025, they will move to kill the filibuster – essentially rendering a Republican minority completely powerless. President Joe Biden and many of his supporters in Congress have also talked about packing the Supreme Court and appear to be looking for ways to remove conservative justices from the bench. That is far easier said than done, of course. But with a Kamala Harris White House leading a Democrat trifecta, the implausible could become the possible.
A Permanent Political Wilderness
It is by no means fanciful or hyperbolic, then, to suggest that by the time a President Kamala Harris is running for a second term, her Republican challenger – whoever that may be – could find themselves facing practically insurmountable voting math. Not only that, but the GOP will be lucky to maintain a decent-sized minority in either chamber of Congress, never mind regaining majorities.
So, the reality is that, despite anything Mr. Kinzinger or any other Never-Trump Republican says, the GOP may well not have the opportunity to redefine itself or even be an influential political force if it fails to win the White House in November – and that would be just as true if someone not named Trump had won the GOP nomination. It could take generations for the Republican Party to “move forward and rebuild” – assuming that would even be possible.
