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    • Should Republicans vote for Kamala Harris? No, and here’s why.
    Washington

    Should Republicans vote for Kamala Harris? No, and here’s why.

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

    Republicans who don’t like Donald Trump should instead work to banish him from the Republican Party.

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    Former Republican Lieutenant Governor of Georgia Geoff Duncan made a surprise speech at the Democratic National Convention last week, urging Republicans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.

    Despite his policy differences with Harris, Duncan urged voters to recognize the significant threat that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump poses to our republic.

    “Our party is behaving more like a cult these days,” Duncan said, “a cult that worships a criminal thug.”

    I agree with Duncan’s views on Trump, but I disagree with his suggestion that Republicans should pivot and vote for Harris. Instead, I suggest we stay out of the presidential race entirely to show our disapproval. However, I understand why many conservatives feel compelled to vote for Trump.

    I am not voting for Trump, but I understand why other Republicans

    Faced with two candidates who are completely unfit for the presidency, I will abstain. My position on this issue has not changed for years, and I do not see how it could change before the election.

    Trump has done nothing to change my opinion of him. I will most likely vote Republican and not vote for either Trump or Harris as presidential candidates.

    I will use my vote to send a message to the Republican Party that they do not deserve my support as president or that of other conservatives who refuse to vote for Trump. I would rather do that than use it to benefit either candidate.

    Dear Kamala Harris: We need more than just vibrations to know what you are up to

    In my opinion, Trump’s actions after the 2020 election should prevent him from holding public office again. But I understand why other conservatives feel they have no other choice.

    Although the policies of the Trump administration deviate somewhat from conservative principles, ideological bridges are far easier to achieve than those of a possible Harris administration.

    While I believe a Trump presidency is dangerous, would-be political tyrants like Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, pose a significant threat to conservative beliefs. Trump is dangerous because of his disregard for the rule of law. A Democratic administration is dangerous because of the political damage it would cause.

    Harris is proposing genuinely socialist economic policies, such as price controls, and is trying to restrict the Second Amendment more than any president before her. And her vice president-elect doesn’t even believe in freedom of speech.

    Trump loves to lie: Since Donald Trump became president, crime has gone down. He insists on lying about it.

    The expansion of government power and the associated curtailment of civil liberties pose a real threat if the Democrats push through their wish list of proposals – to such an extent that it is likely to disqualify any voter who resembles a conservative, regardless of their opinion of Trump.

    Republicans who don’t like Trump should instead work to rid the GOP of him.

    Trump’s embarrassing defeat in 2020 should have ended his political career, but he found a way to survive by claiming election fraud. His cult base naturally believed his lies and tied the Republican Party to Trump for at least two more terms, even after Republicans failed to get their red wave in the 2022 midterms.

    I have little reason to believe that Trump won’t do the same thing this time if he loses again. He’s already laid the groundwork for it.

    We Republicans who oppose Trump believe that Republicans can only endure so many defeats before they finally return to something resembling conservatism. But from what I’ve seen from Trump’s supporters over the past eight years, no amount of defeat can betray their loyalty to him.

    Frankly, I don’t know which is the more direct path to ridding our party of Trumpism. A win cements his conservative streak as the future of the Republican Party, while a loss means he will likely run for a fourth term in 2028. Ultimately, Republicans must decide.

    What I do know, however, is that conservatives who want Trump out of the party don’t have to vote for Harris. We must do the difficult work of building a conservative alternative to MAGA after this election.

    America is unfortunately faced with Trump’s influence on American politics. Those looking for a quick fix are ignoring the problems that got us into this situation in the first place.

    Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.

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    Madoc Meredith
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