Imagine that in 1980 the United States had decided to respond to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan by unilaterally retiring all U.S. strategic nuclear forces. Would we still be talking about the fall of the Berlin Wall, or would the world be a much worse place? Most Patriots know the answer to that obvious question.

Yet when it comes to political disagreements, which leftists take as a license to slander all Republicans — even moderates like John McCain and Mitt Romney — the folly of unilateral disarmament is much harder to shake. For some reason, in some quarters of the GOP, Donald Trump’s fighting back draws more criticism than the vile and disgusting smears leftists have used for decades.

People wonder why Trump won the Republican nomination and ultimately the presidency. One place a lot of them should look is the GOP establishment. For years, far too many Republican “leaders” failed to stand up for the Patriots slandered by the Left.

Opponents of gun control are routinely labeled child-killing domestic terrorists. Think we should secure the border? Phony charges of racism were on the way. Want to address a school-lunch program that isn’t working? Then you’re okay with “kids eating crap.” Want to reform entitlements like Medicare and Social Security so those will still exist for future generations? You’re going to push grandma off a cliff. In each case, the silence of establishment Republicans spoke volumes to American Patriots.

The thing is, these constant slanders didn’t start when Trump won, and they didn’t just affect votes in elections. These lies also gave “permission” for some to abuse power against grassroots conservatives. After all, if any Republican, whether moderate or conservative, is the next incarnation of Adolf Hitler, then stopping him is such a moral imperative that the rules don’t apply. Or it can justify threats or violence.

Yet the establishment didn’t seem to act. When the IRS targeted the Tea Party, where were McCain and Romney? The former Republican standard-bearers — all too quick to attack Trump — were silent about the abuse. It wasn’t just the IRS. When rogue prosecutors in Wisconsin used the state’s “John Doe” laws to target conservatives, establishment types did nothing. It fell to David French (then of National Review) and our Arnold Ahlert to shed light on these abuses. The grassroots groups were left on their own, and no action was taken.

Even now, as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo abusively leverages financial regulations to force banks and insurance companies to boycott the NRA, there is very little, if anything, being said and much less done. Even when Cuomo brazenly declares his intention to bankrupt opponents of his anti-Second Amendment agenda, far too many establishment Republicans seem unable or unwilling to make an issue of this abuse.

The fact is, far too many establishment Republicans are still holding to what is, for all intents and purposes, the suicidal path of unilateral disarmament. Civility, like loyalty, only works when it’s a two-way street. Sometimes, leaders have to tell the harsh truth. Certainly, they have to have the backs of the people who not only vote for them but who send in small contributions, make phone calls, knock on doors, and register new voters.

If they don’t, then do they really deserve to lead?