Greetings. Yes, even the greeting is difficult to write. I don't want to sound hypocritical by saying, "Dear Republican Friends," because some of you aren't that dear to me anymore, by your own choice. So we'll leave this here. I know reading something that doesn't agree with your politics has become intolerable to most of you. Try to stomach this one, and hear me out. As much as I have to listen to the news media repeat all of Donald Trump and Ron Desantis' talking points, you can bear with this for the fifteen minutes it will take you to get through this.
Let's Talk About Where Your Party is Headed, After Trump's Waco Rally
It appears that actually winning the Presidency is no longer the goal of your party, or your apparent leading candidate. Glorifying a seditious, or treasonous, attack on the United States Capitol has told us everything we need to know. He's not aiming for election, he's aiming for a fraudulent coup because he knows he can't win enough votes to win. He might as well just come out and say that he'd like to set the constitution aside and become dictator, since that was the gist of his rambling, boring address on Saturday.
That's not going to happen. If you nominate him as your party's candidate for President, if that's his message, and he made it clear on Saturday, he is going to lose. Frankly, I think he opened the door for almost anyone else to win the GOP nomination if they decide to give it a try and run as a traditional, Reagan-Bush-Romney style Republican candidate. He'll derail that by running third party and ruining those chances but if he gets the nomination, your party is through, anyway.
I'll agree that there are millions of people in this country who have fallen victim to its lack of quality public education, the selfishness that has come with its prosperity and have little capacity for the truth. Selfishness and greed have eroded the value that Americans once placed on community and patriotic sacrifice that has allowed a base to form a MAGA party, draining the GOP of its resources, energy and leadership. Trump stays in the news cycle and lives off of their support.
But there are millions more, including millions who voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, who see how bad this has become, and are, at the very least, not going to turn out to vote him back in, if they don't actually cross lines and vote for the other party. A growing number of Republicans are now doing just that. Ever heard of Nicole Wallace? The Lincoln Project? Michael Steele? Steve Schmitt? In the polls and at the ballot box, a growing group of self-identified Republicans, in double digit percentages now, are declaring they've had enough of Trump and are moving on.
Trump's age and sharpness of mind have to be a concern to any of his supporters who watched clips from that rally. Using the term "mental sharpness" in any way with Trump is an oxymoron. He's a horrible public speaker at any rate, but it was clear that his mind wasn't always with his mouth at multiple points during his speech. I'll laugh at you if you ever bring up Biden's age and sharpness of mind to me again.
But here's the bottom line, and if you don't get anything else out of this, get this--if the content of that Waco rally really is what his Presidential campaign is going to be about, then it is absolutely guaranteed to lose the 2024 election, and I don't think it will even be close. He offered absolutely no vision for any patriotic, freedom-loving American to vote for, and they won't. He excited his base, which, according to the most accurate measurements, doesn't exceed 25% of the electorate. If that's what his campaign is going to look like, he just united and motivated the whole democratic party constituency. They'll gain votes because of Trump's despicable display, and a lot of disgusted Republicans will simply stay home. On the other hand, this fired up his opposition, and motivated them to move toward their voting booth quickly.
And to my Fellow Christians Who Still Support This Insurrectionist
Trump's lawlessness and anarchic rhetoric is contrary to the nature of God and to every principle of the Christian gospel.
"Do not be mismatched with unbelievers," said the Apostle Paul, writing to the Christians in the church at Corinth, "For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship is there between light and darkness? What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? "
There is nothing either patriotic or Christian in the events of January 6. That's a display of lawlessness as open and evil as anything we've seen in this country since the Civil War. His display and glorification of it is a slap in the face of God. It's not possible to be loyal to the carefully crafted worldly image of Trump and have experienced the spiritual transformation to righteousness that comes from the Christian gospel. The two things are opposites and Trump's lawlessness is not just anti-Christian, it's also anti-American.
For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ into licentiousness and deny our only Lord and Master Jesus Christ. Jude, v.4
Separating your politics from your faith doesn't work here, since licentiousness and evil have infiltrated the politics, making them hostile to genuine Christian faith. Christians shouldn't be choosing political leaders whose lifestyle and image stand in contrast to the spiritual transformation and righteous living preached by the Christian gospel. Trumpism and Christianity are opposites. To be loyal to one requires abandoning the other.
Indictments Appear to be Inevitable
Trump is a criminal. And the crimes he committed while President, and while running for President the first time, will lead to indictments, prosecutions and hopefully, convictions. They will, at least, if we are a nation where the rule of law prevails without exception, which is what we claim. This is an issue that goes to the very heart of the Republican party's credibility. It cannot claim to be the party of laws if it is the party of criminally incompetent leadership in the White House. This will have dire consequences for your party at the voting booth, which is why we are hearing all of this shrieking and flapping lips over "stolen" elections and "massive voter fraud." He can't win a legitimate election so he is setting things in place to steal one illegitimately.
And a big part of that plan includes you, because he believes you, his core supporters and his loyal base, are too stupid and too ignorant to discern and come to grips with the truth. His contempt for your intelligence is bottomless. And you empower him by responding exactly in the manner he expects.
Maybe he's right and you are not capable of handling the real world, which includes the responsibility for being informed in order to protect, preserve and defend our democracy. If you believe in the law, and you are a patriotic American, then you will acknowledge that the investigations into Trump's criminal activity are a reality in a nation that believes in the rule of law, and the outcomes will be fair. If he is convicted, then patriotic Americans who believe in this country and its ideals will accept that outcome, support it and move on. Justice will be done. If you can't accept that, then my suggestion is that you find another country that is more compatible with your worldview and move there as fast as you can get there. As we have heard so often from you, this is America. Love it or leave it.
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