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Local Republicans need to stop supporting President Trump
letter to editor

Editor, Manteca Bulletin:

Pat Buchanan has a Democratic quote in his article of 7/17/2018 about Trump and Putin: “Republican Patriots: Where are you?” Republican Joe Walsh rose to this challenge: “I am a tea party conservative, that will never change. But Trump was a traitor to this country today. That must not be accepted.” (7/16/2018)

Buchanan ends his article with a quote from Patrick Henry. The full quote is important as it clarifies Henry’s resistance to autocrats: “Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell and George the Third may profit by their example.” If this be treason, make the most of it.” (5/29/1765) Buchanan, Trump and Putin all share the belief that the West can only be saved by devaluing democracy.

Buchanan embraces autocrats: “… democracy seems everywhere to be losing its luster. Russia and China, which have embraced autocratic capitalism, have attracted admirers and emulators by the seeming success of their strongman rule. 

President Trump, seeing the way the world is going, welcomes to the White House Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, whose army dumped over the elected government and jailed thousands.

Following a disputed (Turkish) referendum … Trump phoned his congratulations to …  Erdogan who described democracy as a bus you get off when it reaches your stop.” (Buchanan, 4/21/2017)

Conservative patriots are adding their voices to Walsh’s: “Not only did President Trump fail to speak the truth about an adversary; … (he) failed to defend all that makes us who we are—a republic of free people dedicated to the cause of liberty at home and abroad. John McCain, 7/16/2018

“President Trump’s decision … claiming a moral equivalence between the United States and Russia … undermines our national integrity and impairs our global credibility.” (Mitt Romney, 7/16/18)

In my opinion local Republicans, including our representative Jeff Denham, need to follow the examples of George Will, Steve Schmidt and most recently Chris Gagin and support democracy first. They need to emulate Patrick Henry’s courage in modern terms: “I will never support Trump again. If that makes me a NeverTrumper, so be it. (Walsh, 7/16/2018)


Léo Bennett-Cauchon

Manteca