March 22, 2023
By Gary Bauer
As you know, I have not made any endorsement or announcement about who I support for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. I know many of you haven't made up your minds either. (And, of course, American Values does not support or oppose candidates for political office.) But I do want to warn you about a trap that some people are falling into.
Some are concerned that Donald Trump's "drama" distracts from the conservative message, and they worry that if he is nominated, Republicans be stuck with all that drama again.
Yes, it's true that Trump periodically says things in ways that makes it easy for the left to cause controversy. But if you really think about it, most of the drama of the Trump years was the result of his commitment to stop the left's "fundamental transformation of America."
The "drama" is because the left hates what he's trying to do. Let me remind you of what has transpired.
For years, there was the Russian collusion drama in all its forms, a totally made-up hoax by the left.
There was the drama of Trump constantly being labeled a "racist" and a Nazi-sympathizer. Again, more lies.
But that's the same drama the left has used against every conservative president and presidential candidate since 1964. They were even more over-the-top against Trump because he was winning more minority votes.
There was drama because he wanted to build the wall to secure our borders.
There was drama over phone calls to foreign leaders because the left was terrified about what he might discover. Can you imagine the drama if we had the transcripts of a call between demented Joe Biden and a foreign leader? (Some foreign leaders won't even take his calls!)
There was drama because Trump resisted the left's efforts during COVID to change voting procedures in ways that made cheating easier.
There were three rounds of massive drama because Trump actually did what previous Republican presidents often failed to do – appoint pro-life constitutionalists to the Supreme Court. (Trump's justices are also Christians.) And that infuriated the left.
There was drama because for four years he pressured our European allies to get off the backs of the American people and start paying their fair share for their own defense.
There was drama because he resisted the radical green movement and made America energy independent for the first time in decades.
In short, the "drama" isn't about Trump, but the left's reaction to Trump.
The Neo-Marxist Left
Now, the list of things that the neo-Marxist left is doing that should cause drama is many times longer.
It's clear that Joe Biden and his family took massive amounts of money from communist China.
His open borders policies are dangerous (see below) and deadly.
The left constantly condemns America as "systemically racist."
Biden says you are "cruel" and "sinful" if you want to protect children from being exploited by the radical transgender movement.
The left is threatening free speech and waging war against religious liberty.
But for most of the country, it doesn't seem like there's any drama because the mainstream media and Hollywood aren't upset about any of that.
Here's what I suspect so many of us just don't want to admit: We are in a very dramatic, consequential moment in American history. This is not the Eisenhower or Reagan years. Our constitutional Republic is in danger.
Anyone nominated by the GOP who is right-of-center will in short order appear to be "stuck in drama" because the left will demonize them.
I don't want to mince words here: The neo-Marxist left is a threat to freedom. It intends to force you to kneel and become a slave to its demands. That was obvious during COVID, when our free speech rights were restricted, when our churches were closed and when our jobs were threatened.
And if you resist the chains of neo-Marxist slavery, they will use every tactic possible to portray you as "controversial," "racist," "extreme," etc., etc.
But in reality, they are the extremists waging war against freedom and normalcy.
A final point: Ron DeSantis has done a great job in Florida. But he is very fortunate in that he has large, friendly majorities in the Florida House of Representatives and Senate. He doesn't have to face a major fight every time he tries to pass a conservative reform. And the Tallahassee press corps is nothing compared to the national media.
It is inconceivable that any conservative will find a similar situation in Washington, D.C., if they win the election. Any conservative president will be in the middle of constant drama, under constant attack from the left -- unless that so-called "conservative" surrenders to the left on all the important battles.
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