McMullin is the best option for conservatives tired of Trump
On Nov. 8, 2016, Evan McMullin will not be voted in as the next president of the United States. He does not have nearly enough money, power or support to come even close to the 270 electoral votes required to be elected.
Yet, he may receive a few precious votes — enough to prevent a Donald Trump victory, and just enough to prove to the Republican Party that the candidate they chose was ill equipped to represent conservatism in the U.S.
McMullin has the necessary experience to recover the dire situation in the Middle East caused by Hillary Clinton’s failed tenure as secretary of state. He served 11 years in the Central Intelligence Agency as a field agent, putting himself in dangerous circumstances to defend America from enemies abroad.
He then served as a senior advisor in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, followed by a stint as chief policy director of the House Republican Conference.
More important than his experience is that he represents what the Republican Party should become — a party based not on populist, nationalistic rambling but on real conservative principles.
The democrats, and Clinton, have found themselves almost certainly winning this November because they managed to capture centrist, moderate voters turned off by Trump’s radical views.
Although Clinton has been subjected to an incredible amount of criticism, she has managed to almost surely win based off the fact that the Republicans somehow managed to find an even worse candidate.
This election should be a wake up call to Republican leadership to start empowering principled conservatives who believe in rationally limiting governmental powers, keeping the economic market free and protecting the sanctity of human life.
Voting for McMullin is not a vote to elect him president. It is a vote toward a return to common sense conservatism.
McMullin is not a man of the alternative, nationalistic right. He is empathetic to the needs of the lesser privileged and believes in common sense criminal justice reform that will help minority men and women across the country.
He believes in common sense immigration reform. He strives to protect the border and ensure that the U.S. can prevent the massive flow of heroin, cocaine and other black market goods that come flooding in from Mexico.
That being said, he understands that building a wall is not feasible, and in the words of his official website, “If someone says Mexico is going to pay for it, they may as well try and sell you a degree at Trump University.”
McMullin believes in a path for legal citizenship that would not tear apart families through mass deportation, but ensure illegal immigrants can stay in the U.S. given they earn the right to do so.
McMullin, like many conservatives, believes abortion to be wrong. But instead of demonizing women who make the understandable decision to abort a pregnancy in order to save the cost of raising a child, McMullin believes that young women should receive access to services that will prevent unwanted pregnancy in the first place, and help if an unwanted pregnancy occurs anyway.
These are all sensible views that reflect a principled conservative agenda, more so than the current Republican candidate. Republicans who find themselves unhappy with either major candidate should consider voting for the only true conservative in this year’s race.
Republicans will almost surely lose the presidency this November, and they will continue to do so if they repeatedly cater to the ultra-nationalist and populist views of Donald Trump. If the Republican Party hopes to survive, they must begin catering to moderate voters.
Although McMullin will not be the nation’s president, he can be a symbolic vote for right wing voters who want to see the Republican Party represent a principled conservative vision of the future.
Sam Balas can be reached at [email protected]