GOPLifer, 22 July 2016:
Chairman
Cuzzone:
We
come together in political parties to magnify our influence. An organized
representative institution can give weight to our will in ways we could not
accomplish on our own. Working with others gives us power, but at the cost of
constant, calculated compromise. No two people will agree on everything. There
is no moral purity in politics.
If
compromise is the key to healthy politics, how does one respond when compromise
descends into complicity? To preserve a sense of our personal moral
accountability we must each define boundaries. For those boundaries to have
meaning we must have the courage to protect them, even when the cost is high.
Almost
thirty years ago as a teenager in Texas, I attended my first county Republican
convention. As a college student I met a young Rick Perry, fresh from his
conversion to the GOP, as he was launching his first campaign for statewide
office. Through Associated Republicans of Texas I contributed and volunteered
for business-friendly Republican state and local candidates.
Here
in DuPage County I’ve been a precinct committeeman since 2006. Door to door
I’ve canvased my precinct in support of our candidates. Trudging through snow,
using a drill to break the frozen ground, I posted signs for candidates on whom
I pinned my hopes for better government. Among Illinois Republicans I found an
organization that seemed to embody my hopes for the party nationally.
Pragmatic, sensible, and focused on solid government, it seemed like a GOP
Jurassic Park, where the sensible, reliable Republicans of old still roamed the
landscape.
At
the national level, the delusions necessary to sustain our Cold War coalition
were becoming dangerous long before Donald Trump arrived. From tax policy to
climate change, we have found ourselves less at odds with philosophical rivals
than with the fundamentals of math, science and objective reality.
The
Iraq War, the financial meltdown, the utter failure of supply-side theory,
climate denial, and our strange pursuit of theocratic legislation have all been
troubling. Yet it seemed that America’s party of commerce, trade, and pragmatism
might still have time to sober up. Remaining engaged in the party implied a
contribution to that renaissance, an investment in hope. Donald Trump has put
an end to that hope.
From
his fairy-tale wall to his schoolyard bullying and his flirtation with violent
racists, Donald Trump offers America a singular narrative – a tale of cowards.
Fearful people, convinced of our inadequacy, trembling before a world alight
with imaginary threats, crave a demagogue. Neither party has ever elevated to
this level a more toxic figure, one that calls forth the darkest elements of
our national character.
With
three decades invested in the Republican Party, there is a powerful temptation
to shrug and soldier on. Despite the bold rhetoric, we all know Trump will
lose. Why throw away a great personal investment over one bad nominee? Trump is
not merely a poor candidate, but an indictment of our character. Preserving a
party is not a morally defensible goal if that party has lost its legitimacy.
Watching
Ronald Reagan as a boy, I recall how bold it was for him to declare ‘morning
again’ in America. In a country menaced by Communism and burdened by a
struggling economy, the audacity of Reagan’s optimism inspired a generation.
Fast-forward
to our present leadership and the nature of our dilemma is clear. I watched
Paul Ryan speak at Donald Trump’s convention the way a young child watches his
father march off to prison. Thousands of Republican figures that loathe Donald
Trump, understand the danger he represents, and privately hope he loses, are
publicly declaring their support for him. In Illinois our local and state GOP
organizations, faced with a choice, have decided on complicity.
Our
leaders’ compromise preserves their personal capital at our collective cost.
Their refusal to dissent robs all Republicans of moral cover. Evasion and
cowardice has prevailed over conscience. We are now, and shall indefinitely
remain, the Party of Donald Trump.
I
will not contribute my name, my work, or my character to an utterly
indefensible cause. No sensible adult demands moral purity from a political
party, but conscience is meaningless without constraints. A party willing to
lend its collective capital to Donald Trump has entered a compromise beyond any
credible threshold of legitimacy. There is no redemption in being one of the
“good Nazis.”
I
hereby resign my position as a York Township Republican committeeman. My
thirty-year tenure as a Republican is over.
Sincerely,
Chris
Ladd
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