It is a bizarre election year. "Establishment" Republicans are at a loss right now to figure out how to deal with the fact that Trump will be the party's nominee. Some are reluctantly getting on board. Others are holding back and others are openly opposing him. A few are even contemplating the asinine idea of running a third party candidate which would guarantee a Clinton victory.
I think they are missing the boat. A Trump candidacy may not be what is best for either the party or the country, but it is a reality. So what does a person do when reality is in conflict with what we desire? There are a few choices, but the only one that makes any sense is to make the best of it. Reality will not change and flailing one's arms in protest just looks pathetic.
The thing that "establishment" Republicans should consider is just how liberating this election has become. Everybody knows Trump does not represent very many traditions of the GOP. Trump himself and his supporters know this. The media knows this. The liberals even know it. Because everybody knows it, there is no harm in embracing just those positions with which they do agree. They can criticize his non-conservative positions and even tear him apart on those things but still endorse his candidacy.
I've been having fun with this already. My liberal friends don't know how to handle it. They thought they were going to get to beat me up (figuratively of course) on a number of Trump positions. I just listened to their derision and let them rant. When they stopped, I got to say, " You're right. That position doesn't make any sense. I'm still voting for him and I'll do so enthusiastically."
It takes all the wind out of their sails when I do this. They thought they had the "gotcha" moment, but because I have never been a Trump fan, I am under no obligation to defend those things with which I disagree.
The trick is to figure out one or two things you like about Trump. In my case, I like his position on the 2nd Amendment and I'm pretty sure he would do things to the Federal bureaucracy that just could never be done by anybody else. That, combined with the prospect of Hillary appointing Supreme Court justices is enough for me. Any damage he does to trade policy, foreign affairs, or anything else can be fixed later. To me, a Trump presidency is worth it even though I think he is an egotistical buffoon.
See what I mean by liberating? With previous GOP nominees, I felt like I had to defend their actions, words and decisions. I don't have to do that now. I can agree with his detractors when he does or says something stupid. It takes away their arguments. They are left stammering because they can't call me a brain-dead Trumpster. They can't argue with me because on the few issues with which I agree with him, they can't say I'm wrong. They have no answer.
The mainstream GOP needs to figure this out quickly. Don't defend positions that you think are wrong. Just say he is right on enough issues to earn your vote. The Democrats can't do the same. They can't seriously look at Hillary and defend the outrageous levels of corruption that she brings. They can't even point to successful policy positions that she holds because everything she has touched has turned out poorly. Even the minimum wage issue just got pulled out from under them by Trump's flip-flop (which was idiotic by the way).
In a strange way, this might be the best thing to happen to the GOP if they embrace it. The have had to defend the likes of Romney, McCain, Bush and Dole for a generation. Even when each of those took positions that were clearly pandering to the mainstream media, they had to be defended. They had to defend them when they looked foolish. They had to defend them when they strayed from conservative principles. There is no need for that this year.
Don't worry about defending Trump... Let Trump defend Trump. He's pretty good at it. Focus only upon those issues with which you do agree and let the rest roll off your back. Whatever damage he does can be undone in the future. The damage he would do is nothing compared to the damage Hillary would do with a couple of Supreme Court appointments and the continued damage done by the criminal levels of corruption.
