{"id":2152379,"date":"2024-01-18T06:38:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T11:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/like-trump-or-not-republicans-must-accept-the-reality-of-the-imperfect-candidate\/"},"modified":"2024-01-18T06:45:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T11:45:05","slug":"like-trump-or-not-republicans-must-accept-the-reality-of-the-imperfect-candidate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/like-trump-or-not-republicans-must-accept-the-reality-of-the-imperfect-candidate\/","title":{"rendered":"Regardless of personal opinions on Trump, Republicans must acknowledge the imperfect candidate&#8217;s reality"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flike-trump-or-not-republicans-must-accept-the-reality-of-the-imperfect-candidate%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2152379&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Iowa Voters Chose\u200d Trump<\/strong><\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Political purity contests are\u200c fantastic for social \u2064media and cable news, but not so great\u200b for conservatives \u2063who prioritize winning over perfection. On Monday, Iowa voters chose \u200cTrump, despite all his flaws. They didn\u2019t just \u200bhand him a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-and-pence-held-dueling-rallies-for-perdue-and-kemp-on-eve-of-georgias-gop-gubernatorial-primary\/\" title=\"Trump and Pence Held Dueling Rallies for Perdue and Kemp on Eve of Georgia\u2019s GOP Gubernatorial Primary\">razor-thin victory<\/a>,\u2064 it was more like a historic tsunami.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Why \u200cdid \u200dthey do that? DeSantis is more \u2062normal, Haley can bring the much-coveted college-educated\u2064 suburban women that CNN is\u200d infatuated with,\u2062 yet they broke hard for Trump. Are they blind to Trump\u2019s flaws? His\u2063 legal\u2063 situation? Nope. It\u2019s that they have decided perfection\u200c isn\u2019t \u2063the goal.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1733010304\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f08b343a546173fe6981aa68484b443c fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f08b343a546173fe6981aa68484b443c\"><\/div>\n<p>I have been\u2062 wearing\u200d the GOP hat since \u2063I could \u200bvote. Don\u2019t get\u200d me \u200cwrong, I have donned the \u200cjersey of my \u2063favorite primary candidate every four \u2062years, but I have\u2063 never taken off my hat. My \u2063voting record reflects that philosophy: Bush, Dole, Bush x 2, \u200bMcCain, Romney, Trump\u2063 x 2. I am not\u2064 the first person to say \u2064this, but\u2062 for me, electoral politics is\u200d purely transactional. I don\u2019t need a friend, parent, pastor, therapist,\u2063 role model, hero, or \u2063savior when voting for a politician. My vote is cast for who \u2063is aligned closest to\u200b my\u200b views at every stage, \u200cfirst in the primary and then in the\u2064 general.<\/p>\n<p>Who makes \u200bit out \u200bof the primary isn\u2019t solely up to me \u200bor you. We are presented \u200cwith a binary choice at the end of each \u200dcycle for the general\u200d election, and none of my personal\u200b choices \u200chave ended \u2062up being the \u2064eventual\u200b nominee on the\u200b GOP side \u2063in my\u2062 voting life (except Trump in 2016). But as stipulated, we have to vote on who is left \u2062standing, with our GOP\u200c hat on, not the jersey of an individual candidate. \u200dIt\u2019s like going to a steak house, \u200cand the waiter \u2063says they are out of Japanese Wagyu. You don\u2019t become a vegan. You ask for the filet mignon. If that\u2019s gone, order the hamburger, not \u200cthe tofu.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Perfect Is the Enemy of Good<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Perfect candidate? Please. No\u2064 such thing. We are a complicated people, all\u2062 of us, and\u200d our preferences are equally complex. My perfect candidate would be a mash-up of \u2063Donald Trump (foreign policy, media\u2062 relations, energy policy),\u2062 Gov. Ron DeSantis (hiring \u2062cabinet members, results-oriented \u200cgovernance, and\u200c homelessness),\u200c Sen. Rand Paul\u2062 (all things health\u2064 and federal spending), \u2062Steve\u200c Forbes (flat tax), Sen. \u2063Ted Cruz (border, constitutional issues, and judges), Dr. Ben\u200c Carson (servant leadership, welfare state, and abortion), Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (military-industrial\u200d complex \u200dlobby and armed forces\u2062 recruiting),\u200b Mark Cuban (reduction of\u200d federal \u200bagency workforce, technology implementation, and AI \u200cmatters),\u200d Secretary Hillary Rodham \u200cClinton (Diplomat protection\u2064 and earthquake rebuilds \u2026 joking of course), and \u200dan open slot for law enforcement-related issues.<\/p>\n<p>Notice who isn\u2019t on my mash-up list: Bush \u200c(both), Dole, McCain, or Romney, yet I voted for them anyway because \u2062all of \u200bthem\u2062 were better than \u2063the alternative. If Haley were \u2062to become the nominee, she would have my vote. No offense to <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/media\/4367335-tucker-carlson-nikki-haley-donald-trump-vice-president-pick-reason-to-oppose-ticket-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tucker Carlson<\/a>, but Haley as vice president or president is infinitely \u2064better than the alternative. I won\u2019t like it, \u200dbut I will do\u2064 it. Your list of \u200bwhat makes an ideal candidate is different,\u2063 and that\u2019s to be \u200bexpected. We are rugged and\u200d unique individuals, but (hopefully) \u2062united in a larger purpose of living in a great country that is \u2064prosperous and\u200d peaceful.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The\u2063 Right\u2019s Purity\u200b Tests<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Ann Coulter is wicked smart, she\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/0-2uSG1xUEg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">correctly\u2062 predicted<\/a> Trump would be\u2063 the\u2064 likely nominee \u200din June\u2063 2015 to \u200cmuch \u2064laughter\u2062 on \u200bBill Maher\u2019s show\u2063 and among \u2062professional political \u2064pundits. Her 2007 \u2064book, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Godless-Church-Liberalism-Ann-Coulter\/dp\/1400054214\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Godless: The Church of Liberalism<\/em><\/a>, \u2062was both brilliant \u2063and prescient in many ways. She isn\u2019t helping the average voter with the rants about Trump not living up to her political purity tests. Trump is deeply flawed,\u200c but he isn\u2019t alone in that\u2063 space.<\/p>\n<p>All charismatic leaders are\u200d flawed. \u200cThat\u2019s the nature of\u2063 the beast\u2064 when we only have humans\u2064 to nominate. I\u2062 agree with much \u2063of \u200cwhat she detests about\u2063 Trump, but let\u2019s remember that come Nov. 6, 2024, a flawed \u2063individual will be presiding over our great nation, and it might as well \u200dbe one who is closer to \u200dour\u200d values \u200cthan not.<\/p>\n<p>One thing \u2063is certain,\u2064 when a president (or any politician really)\u200b is termed out \u200dor loses office, his \u200cmost ardent supporters \u200chave\u2063 a list of things they didn\u2019t like about his \u2062administration. It makes no difference which side you\u2062 are\u200b on or who the person was, guaranteed \u200byou weren\u2019t as\u2063 happy \u200cwith them when it was over as you were when\u200d it began. Political perfection is a myth, useful for those \u200dprofiting off covering the races\u2063 but unproductive for the citizenry.<\/p>\n<p>What does that mean for conservatives now post-Iowa? \u2062Love Trump, hate Trump, or indifferent to Trump, it\u2019s\u2064 becoming clearer by the day he is the likely \u200bGOP nominee. If the DeSantis and Haley voters refuse to \u200dback\u200c him in the general, we deserve four more years of Democrat ineptness.<\/p>\n<p>Does that\u2064 mean we get four\u2064 years of\u200d conservative bliss? Not\u2063 a chance. Trump moves\u2064 back into \u2062the White House dragging\u200d all \u2062his known baggage.\u2064 We will get four years of chaos to be sure, but if he can stem the tide at the border, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-reps-ted-budd-stephanie-bice-propose-blocking-national-petroleum-reserve-sales-until-biden-stops-assault-on-oil-development\/\" title=\"Exclusive - Reps. Ted Budd, Stephanie Bice Propose Blocking National Petroleum Reserve Sales Until Biden Stops Assault on Oil Development\">lower energy prices<\/a>,\u2064 reverse inflation, make\u200c mortgages more affordable, and \u200bunentangle \u200bus in Ukraine, it\u2019s worth it to conservatives.\u2064 It\u2019s not perfect, but it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> \u200b How did Trump&#8217;s ability to connect with a specific group \u2062of \u200dvoters contribute to his appeal in\u2062 Iowa \u2064and other \u2064states?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Its. She\u200d understood\u200d that \u2064Trump\u2019s appeal was not based on\u2063 his ideological purity, but on his ability to connect \u2062with a specific group \u200cof \u2064voters who felt ignored and left behind \u200bby the \u200cpolitical \u200cestablishment. \u2063This group of voters, which includes many working-class\u2064 Americans in states like Iowa, saw \u200dTrump as a champion for their interests and a disruptor of the status quo.<\/p>\n<p>The fact is, many conservatives in Iowa and across the country have become disillusioned with the\u2063 Republican \u200bParty and\u200c its inability to deliver \u2063on their promises. They have watched \u2062as \u2062politicians like Jeb \u2063Bush\u2062 and Mitt Romney failed to effectively challenge the\u2064 left and enact conservative\u2064 policies. They \u200dhave seen the Republican\u2063 establishment dismiss their concerns and label them as\u200b out-of-touch\u200d or racist. And they have witnessed the media and cultural elites relentlessly \u200dattack their values\u2062 and beliefs.<\/p>\n<p>In\u200d this context, Trump\u2019s flaws and \u200ccontroversies pale in comparison to \u2062the larger issues \u2062at stake. Iowa voters chose Trump because they believe he is the only one who\u2063 can effectively fight for \u200btheir\u200b interests and push \u2062back against the forces that seek\u200c to\u200b undermine their way \u2062of life. They may not \u2063agree with everything\u2064 he says\u2062 or does, but they see\u2063 him as a leader who \u2063is not afraid to take on the establishment and stand up for what he believes in.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, Iowa voters understand that \u200cin \u2063politics, compromise is necessary. \u2062They know\u2063 that no candidate will ever be a \u2063perfect match\u200c for their ideals, and that they must make difficult choices in order to advance their agenda. They recognize \u2063that winning \u2063elections is essential to achieving\u200c their goals\u200d and that sometimes, they must support a candidate who \u2063may not align perfectly\u200c with their values but who \u2063has \u2063the best chance of getting elected and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/speaker-of-the-house-race-takes-shape-as-2nd-prominent-republican-announces-candidacy\/\" title=\"2nd Prominent Republican Joins Speaker of the House Race\">enacting conservative policies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately,<\/p>\n<p>Iowa voters chose Trump because they believe he is the best option available \u2063to them. They see him as a leader who\u2064 can deliver results\u200c and shake up the \u200cstatus \u2062quo. They \u2063are \u200cwilling to overlook\u2062 his flaws because\u200c they prioritize winning over perfection. And\u200c they have made \u200ba pragmatic calculation that supporting Trump is the most effective way to advance their conservative values and\u200d interests.<\/p>\n<p>As the 2022 midterms \u200band the 2024 presidential election\u2062 approach, it will be \u2063interesting to see \u200chow Iowa voters \u2064and conservatives across the country navigate\u200d the political landscape. Will they \u200bcontinue to prioritize\u200c winning\u2063 over purity? Will they rally around a candidate \u200bwho \u200cmay not\u2062 be their ideal choice but who \u2062has the best chance\u2062 of defeating their opponents? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain: Iowa voters have shown that they are \u2062willing to make tough choices and support candidates\u2062 who \u200dcan bring about real change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Political purity contests are ideal for social media and cable news, but not for conservatives focused on winning rather than perfection. Iowa voters defied flaws and handed Trump a monumental victory, not just a narrow one. The question remains: why did they choose Trump over DeSantis, who may be more suitable<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2524,"featured_media":2152380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2152379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2152379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2524"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2152379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2152379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2152380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2152379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2152379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2152379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}