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The cult of Donald Trump

By Scott Tibbs, August 9, 2016

I wonder if some Donald Trump cultists are secretly hoping that Hillary Clinton is elected President and are trying to sabotage Trump's campaign from the inside.

There is a principled conservative case to be made for voting for Donald Trump. His history aside, he has advanced some conservative policy proposals in this election. Mike Pence is by far the most persuasive argument for voting for Trump. Pence represents a steady hand, a wide knowledge of public policy, a strong Christian faith, and a principled conservative stance on issues. There will be good people within the Trump administration that may be able to tempter his worst instincts. None of that can be said about Hillary Clinton.

However, calling me a liar, a traitor to my country and a danger to my family because I will not be voting for Trump is absolutely not how to make your case. That is not how rational political actors make an argument for their favored candidate. That is how a cult treats those it views as heretics. This kind of cult behavior will not only fail to convince me to vote for Trump, it will harden my determination to never vote for the man. You might as well be campaigning for Hillary Clinton.

If you have an argument to make, then make it. Personally attacking me, calling me names, falsely attacking my motives and spreading false accusations about me will not work. It will harden my opposition to Trump and increase the volume of that opposition. I am not going to be bullied, intimated or browbeaten into supporting a man who has a long history of supporting policy I vehemently oppose, is a complete moral degenerate, and is emotionally unstable. I am going to vote for every other Republican on my ballot, but I will never vote for Donald Trump.