As Donald Trump has maintained strong leads in primary states like South Carolina, some observers like Matt Lewis have begun to speculate about what it would be like if this guy actually became president. I still believe (and fervently hope, for the sake of the republic) that Trump has no chance of becoming president, but I am reluctantly starting to realize that he could indeed win the Republican nomination. If that is the case, “Republicans” (whomever they may be) will have squandered any shot at the presidency for 2016. I still like to think that people of good sense will unite and stop Trump’s reality show from relocating to the White House.
What is more interesting to me than the unlikely prospect of a Trump presidency, is what his nomination might do to the already-fragile links between the GOP and the people whom I have often called “paleo evangelicals.” These folks are not liberals in any sense, but they have been disheartened by the paltry results produced by the thirty-five year alliance between white evangelicals and the GOP. They have squirmed as the GOP has repeatedly nominated candidates (like Mitt Romney) with weak credentials on issues that matter most, such as the right to life for unborn children.
Read Full Article »