It’s time for #NeverTrump’s childish tantrum to end

Stopping Trump comes from supporting Hillary Clinton – and there are absolutely no options outside of her. It’s really that simple.

{mosads}Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard has lead the #NeverTrump movement on the Right. Sen. Ted Cruz, at the GOP convention, appears to have joined the #NeverTrump Train, refusing to endorse the official nominee at his own convention, and telling convention-goers to “vote your conscience.” Jeb Bush and John Kasich are both still #NeverTrump, as Kasich even refused to attend the convention in his home state.

Rick Wilson, Republican strategist and general in the #NeverTrump army, has tacitly supported Clinton. In a March New York Times interview, Wilson stated that “at the end of the day, I believe that President Clinton would be less damaging to the Republican Party than President Trump.” He did, however, add that he would “not vote for Hillary, and I will not vote for Trump.” Wilson wrote a piece for the New York Daily news titled “The upside of President Hillary Clinton,” although the article avoids endorsing Mrs. Clinton. Wilson, in this article, once again claims that he “cannot personally vote for Mrs. Clinton.” Mr. Wilson, I understand your intentions are good, but by refusing to vote for Mrs. Clinton you make a President Trump all the more likely. I don’t want to hear about your “conservative principles” anymore. It’s time to wake up.

Despite the collective hatred and utter disdain for Trump these Never Trump men hold, not one of them has acknowledged reality, agreed to put partisan politics aside and vote for the proven yet problematic moderate: Hillary Clinton.

It’s now or never for the self-described “true conservatives” who would never vote for a charlatan such as Trump, despite his holding the nomination of their cherished party.

The Never Trump movement appears to be stuck in some imaginary fog where “voting your conscience,” as Ted Cruz put it, has no actual meaning. If “voting your conscience” isn’t voting Trump or voting Hillary, what is it, voting Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor whose poll numbers hover in the single digits? The Never Trump movement has repeatedly said that it is vital to vote – but if you refuse to vote for Trump and Clinton, who are you actually voting for?

This ignorance of reality is emblematic of the childish nature of the Never Trump movement. If you supported any-non Trump GOP candidate, maybe with the exception of Ben Carson, chances are you side with Mrs. Clinton on more issues than Mr. Trump. Yet, due to personal distaste for Mrs. Clinton coupled with anti-Democrat partisan beliefs, these folks refuse to mourn their party, embrace reality, and move on. They claim that their principles are too sacred to vote for Mrs. Clinton. This position is nothing less than nonsense.

Nobody is asking you to like Hillary Clinton, give her money, retweet her, or enthusiastically tweet #ImWithHer. But, if you are anti-Trump, she is the only option left. Enough of Gary Johnson or some mythical third party. Presidential candidates don’t have to fit your cookie cutter set of ideals. You have two candidates, and you pick the one whose ideals are closer to yours. You may despise Hillary, and you have every right to do so. But, if you occupy a space within the Never Trump movement, and you truly want America to succeed and stay afloat, you should put your own false sense of moral superiority aside, be an adult, and vote for Mrs. Clinton.

---

Charles Diringer Dunst is a rising Junior at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., where he is studying World Politics. He can be followed on Twitter at @CDDUNST.