Last week, I was astounded at the news that a large number of alumni from former President George W. Bush’s administration announced their endorsement of liberal Democrat Joe Biden over Republican Donald Trump.
Every candidate siphons off some support from the candidate of the other party. There are Democrats for Trump, Republicans for Hillary. Joe Lieberman, once the Democratic Party’s candidate for vice president, endorsed John McCain over Barack Obama and spoke at the 2008 Republican National Convention. Even in 2012, there were Democrats for Romney. But the formation of the 43 Alumni for Biden PAC is pretty much unprecedented.
The mission of 43 Alumni for Biden is to “unite and mobilize a community of historically Republican voters who are dismayed and disappointed by the damage done to our nation by Donald Trump’s presidency.”
According to the group’s FAQ, “many” of these former Bush administration officials “remain” Republicans. “We are proud of the sound principles that guided our time working together and remain grateful to have campaigned, voted and worked for so many great Republican leaders through the years,” they say. “We endorse Vice President Biden not necessarily in opposition to any political affiliations, but rather in service to our country which requires a greater obligation than partisan politics or party.”
The group also claims its decision transcends partisan politics. “We recognize that there may be policy differences among us, but we look forward to a time when civil, honest and robust policy discussions are the order of the day.”
For some reason, they think that electing Joe Biden will accomplish this, even though Joe Biden told African American voters that Republicans would put them back in chains, said 10-15 percent of Americans are “just not very good people,” accused all Trump supporters of believing all Mexicans are rapists and that all Muslims are bad.
But Biden will restore civility, honesty, and robust policy discussions between the two parties. Joe Biden is a good guy, they say. He’ll bring about normalcy and bipartisanship and debate. Where exactly is the evidence for this? Joe Biden’s biggest accomplishment during his time in the U.S. Senate was how he used his position to enrich his family. He was vice president during the most scandalous administration in history and he used his position to protect the natural gas company his son worked for by withholding a congressionally approved billion-dollar loan unless Ukraine’s president fired his prosecutor general, who was investigating the company.
I strongly supported George W. Bush. I ran a popular blog supporting him and donated money to his reelection campaign. I am grateful for the leadership he showed after 9/11 and for his ability to make tough decisions that were the right ones, even when they were unpopular. George W. Bush is a decent man who was ultimately treated like absolute garbage by the left. He had too much faith that if he extended a hand of bipartisanship to the Democrats, they would respond in kind. Anyone who worked in the George W. Bush administration should remember that he repeatedly attempted to work with Democrats to achieve compromise legislation, only to be stabbed in the back later. The scourge of partisanship has only gotten worse since Bush left office, and it would be naive to think that any Democrat, particularly Barack Obama’s former vice president, will ever compromise with the GOP to achieve consensus legislation, or nominate conservatives to the judiciary.
President George W. Bush was an idealist when it came to politics. President Trump, however, is a realist. Like Bush, he’s been called a racist and a bigot. Like Bush, he’s been subjected to absurd comparisons to Hitler and other dictators. But, unlike Bush, Trump is a fighter and has been perhaps the strongest advocate for conservatives and conservative principles in our lifetimes. Trump even offered to work with Democrats on compromise DREAM Act legislation—which they refused.
President Trump has reversed much of Barack Obama’s disastrous far-left legacy. He’s filled vacancies in the judiciary at a record pace. When Democrats fight, he fights back.
Look, I am not going to lie, Trump’s presidency is unconventional. I think he’s careless when he tweets, and I think he’s often his own worst enemy because of his bluntness. But, so what? He gets the job done. His record of conservative accomplishments is impossible to deny. This is what these alumni of George W. Bush’s administration are turning a blind eye to.
Should Joe Biden win, he’ll see his election the same way every other Democrat has: as a mandate for an aggressive far-left agenda. Bush 43 alumni must realize this, and if they do, they don’t belong in the Republican Party anymore. If they don’t, they’re deluding themselves.
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Matt Margolis is the author of the new book Airborne: How The Liberal Media Weaponized The Coronavirus Against Donald Trump, and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
