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By Scott Tibbs, April 30, 2018
I am a supporter of President Donald Trump, and I think he has done a good job as President thus far. However, Trump is not my Messiah. Therefore, blind support of the President is not and will never be a litmus test for me in evaluating Republican candidates in either the primary or the general election.
But the cult of Donald Trump is still out there, and I saw this recently in a Republican primary for Congress. (I am removing the names here, as that is not the point.) A challenger accuses the incumbent Republican of being a "Never Trumper," which is complete and utter nonsense. The incumbent voted for Trump. Never Trumpers did not vote for Trump. In fact, that was the entire point of being #NeverTrump.
What the incumbent did is support another candidate in the primary, and disagreed with some of Trump's policies and rhetoric headed into the general election while still saying he would vote for Trump. It is absurd to argue that someone who expressed disagreement with the rhetoric and policies of a candidate they support is actually against that candidate.
I have voted in 17 general elections over the last 22 years. Of all of the candidates I voted for, there have only been two times I have voted for someone I agree with 100% of the time. Both of those times, I voted for myself. Demanding 100% total support is not normal or reasonable. That is a cult mentality. It is idolatry and blasphemy, and it is terribly wicked. Repent, or face the wrath of God.
Are we really going to be smacking people because they supported someone else in the 2016 primaries? Really? Because we should just give up then. Let's tear down the entire Republican Party and replace it with a party built around a cult of personality. Of course, that is not a long-term plan for political success.
Can we please be real here? The majority of Republican voters in the 2016 primaries voted for someone other than Donald Trump. He won the nomination with a plurality of voters, not a majority. Are we really going to say someone is not qualified unless he was with Trump from the beginning? Even Trump himself does not agree with that. Mike Pence encouraged voters in Indiana to vote against Trump, but wound up being Trump's running mate anyway! Now Pence is the Vice President.
This is not political disagreement. This a cult mentality. When a candidate endorses this kind of idolatry, you can count on me to support his opponent. I have zero patience for cultists.
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