Dear Republican Leadership,

I am a conservative American, a Christian, a veteran who believes in the Constitution and the rule of law, and have supported the Republican Party when I vote. Those candidates have generally mirrored my beliefs and values, and I am not a one issue voter. Generally speaking, Trump’s policies are not all that far from mine on a number of issues, yet there are things he espouses that I disagree with. I have to think that y'all are in the same boat with me and yet I am compelled to write because I am deeply disturbed by what I am seeing in the ranks of the party from the bottom up to you at the top.

I am by no means one of those impassioned, fanatical Trump devotees; in fact, the candidate I wanted was Ted Cruz. While I am not overjoyed with the Donald as the Republican nominee and I have some concerns about him representing me, I will grit my teeth and vote for him because the alternative is unacceptable. Hillary would simply be an extension of the last eight years of failed foreign policy, retrograde economic tactics, dictatorial executive fiats and the on-going degradation of the U.S. military and American prestige abroad. The Democrats’ drive toward ever more liberal and progressive governance is a cancer that is taking this country straight to the morgue. A recent and oft-posted Facebook meme cites that “President Reagan put a man on the moon” and “President Obama put a man in the ladies’ bathroom”; such is emblematic of the decline of the U.S. that this President has triumphantly presided over.

Snicker if you like, but guess what? You are complicit in this luge ride to the gutter. Whilst you campaigned in 2008 on repealing Obamacare, you have done nothing to dispense with this disastrous government takeover of 1/8 of the nation’s economy. Premiums continue to have double digit increases since the inception of the program. How’s that working for the American people? And how is it that the government forces its subjects, er, citizens, to buy something or pay a penalty?

This President seems to have moved comfortably into a monarchical role, writing executive orders on immigration that usurp established law, ignoring DOMA, permitting the EPA to literally write laws in the effort to undermine the coal mining industry and burden small businesses; his lawlessness goes on and on. His Highness Obama is the direct result of your lack of leadership and Congress’ abandonment of Constitutional principles of governance.

Despite the fact that Republicans own the legislative branch, not a thing has changed. We are still mired in a sluggish economy and looked at with disdain by our enemies. You have not sought to materially counter the President; instead you grumble loudly yet fall in lockstep behind him (because he actually leads from behind), promising us that things will get better once we take the White House back.

Well, Trump is the presumptive nominee — the people have spoken and, last I recall, you work for us. He is outspoken and politically incorrect, yet he is far more in tune with us disgruntled and disappointed citizens than anyone on the political scene today. His idea of temporarily banning Muslim immigration from terrorist-supporting nations is not without support from the people, nor is it without precedent. Didn’t President Carter do the same after the Iranian hostage crisis? I don’t remember him being called a racist or a xenophobe.

Trump has called for building a wall on our southern border and having Mexico pay for it. The wall is a solid idea, and I do not care who pays for it; right now the surge of illegals is overwhelming, according to the reports I read. Yet all you can do is vacillate in your support of him and let rumors slip that convention rule changes might be used to depose him as the nominee. Rest assured that, should you try such a stunt, those impassioned Trump supporters will not go quietly into the night. You, like most of us, may not be happy with Mr. Trump, but he is the best there is to offer, so grin and bear it! You must realize that you have literally created him due to your malfeasance and inaction. No other candidate you might try to replace him with will have the name recognition to beat Hillary. There’s also very little time to establish any kind of positive momentum behind a fresh face. If you are considering that, you are contemplating political suicide and might as well disband the GOP, foregoing the two-party system for the near future.

The other definitive reason I will vote for Trump is the Supreme Court. With the Court already down one staunch originalist, we cannot allow a third term of Obama to stack the court with more progressives like Ginsburg or Sotomayor; Trump will not serve up liberal judges and thus, he will get my vote.

Your singular choice to win back the White House is to take the bull by the horns and go all out to support the presumptive nominee; any other action will cede the Executive and Judicial branches to the progressives and the decline of America will continue apace. Get on the ball, people, act like leaders, work with Trump, seek alliances with him and you should be able to work collaboratively with him when he wins the White House. Then we can begin the process of restoring the exceptionalism that is America — canceling Obama’s onerous executive orders, rebuilding the military to deal with terrorist threats and the new face of warfare, replacing Obamacare with a more market-driven system, and fixing the illegal immigration problem, for starters. Consider this: if you fail to support him on his run to the White House and he happens to win, what are the odds of working collaboratively then? Slim and next to none and you will have created another imperial President which is what you fear anyway. You simply have to support him now if you hope to have any influence later.

Very truly yours,

John T. Brown, curmudgeon-at-large