We are not afraid to admit we have never been real fans or followers of Tomi Lahren. Even from the beginning, she seemed like a shill for Trump, certainly not the long-awaited feminine heroine we had in mind to stand up for principled conservatism.
Our initial feelings about her were confirmed last week when Lahren, a guest on “The View,” declared herself to be pro-choice (which is really just a nice way of saying that you’re pro-legalized murder). Her logic: “The government can stay out of my guns and stay out of my body as well.”
What’s more disheartening is that she previously identified as being pro-life, claiming that abortion was the “murdering of an unborn baby” and going on a tirade against Lena Dunham and her warped version of feminism. But when given the chance to bravely voice that view and prove that Republican females are more than just tanned, made-up faces, she choked and caved, renouncing the truth of abortion to garner the favor of a mostly liberal female audience.
It’s hard to see Tomi Lahren as anything other than a sellout who went on national television and took a shot at her own supporters by telling the world that all pro-life women are really hypocrites. That, or she really drank the post-modernist Kool-Aid and bought into relativist “truth.” Either way, she’s become a free agent of opportunity and it’s rather disappointing.
As three young conservative females, we wanted to set the record straight: Tomi Lahren is not the poster girl for our conservatism. We come from different backgrounds and different perspectives, as all women do, yet we are all united on this: Tomi Lahren’s “my truth” is not the truth. Tomi has bought into the liberal idea that each person is entitled to their own personal reality that no one else has license to question or criticize. We know deep down that there is such a thing as objective truth, and Tomi has turned her back on it for the sake of convenience or out of genuine apathy for abortion.
Let each us of us tell you why Tomi Lahren is #notmyconservative:
Jessica Kramer: As a young conservative feminist, it is the Tomi Lahrens of the Republican Party that concern me. They adopt the liberal version of feminism instead of courageously standing up to promote ours. They don’t believe in the truth, so they make up their own. I want young women on the right to actually stand up for the rights of all women – including the unborn women which half of all abortions destroy; to fight the ridiculous yet institutional assumption that birth control and abortion are needed for women to succeed (maybe in a man’s world, but I thought the “future is female”?). I want them to root their politics to an ideology, not their sex, to vote their conscience, not vow their blind allegiance to a party, to think, not react, to learn, not just rant. I want them to know their “feminine genius”; that it includes a multitude of attributes (as they do), but that it should never cease to celebrate the power in female fertility and the unique ability to bring new life into the world, a power possessed only by women, something that men can never do. Refusing to celebrate what sets you apart from a man is a waste of an XX chromosome.
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Jena Powell: As a young conservative business owner, I understand how the world of business works. We are a capitalist society and I recognize that one must jump on opportunity when it presents itself to expand business and reach a new audience. However, the difference between leaders with principles and without them is their willingness to stand for truth. Tomi Lahren saw the opportunity to further her career and instead of holding to truth, she tossed it aside for the sake of fame and money. She responded to negative feedback to her charade and in her usual blunt way stated, “this is my truth.” As conservatives, we should never trade principle for opportunity in a gimmick for attention. In light of her blatant disregard for life, and poor understanding of the Constitution: Tomi Lahren is not my kind of conservative. I will not allow her shameless relativism to represent my age group, gender, and conservatism as a whole.
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Amy Williams: As a young conservative who is returning to school to pursue a degree in nursing, I have the immense privilege of caring for people in moments of great joy and unspeakable grief. If there is one thing I know to be true, it is that all people need clarity and compassion. Seeing a young conservative woman—one with national reach like Tomi Lahren—treat issues like abortion so flippantly is heartbreaking. What we need are clear, concise, compassionate voices that will not shrink away from the truth. Deep down we all know that the preborn are not just clumps of cells that are part and parcel of their mother’s body. We know they’re separate, distinct human beings. We know that whether a child was planned or wanted has no bearing on whether the child is actually a human person who should be entitled to legal protection. Further, conservatives understand that inherent human value and dignity underscore our entire political philosophy. Unfortunately, there are few people who are willing to communicate these truths seasoned with grace. Tomi Lahren has flip-flopped from a brash, uncompassionate display of truth to an outright denial of it. In a political atmosphere with plenty of hate and vitriol, we don’t need more shock jockey antics, we need grace and candor. It’s time for young, conservative, pro-life millennials to take to the streets (and their social media accounts) armed with the truth and a commitment to communicate it clearly and compassionately. While we may not have a national reach like Lahren, we have a responsibility to speak clearly to those who are in our spheres of influence. We cannot allow our voices to be co-opted.
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If the conservative movement does not stand for truth, we stand for nothing. We cannot cower on the most important and controversial issues and be “Democrat-lite.” We must, instead, counter the opposing worldview with unapologetic voices and sincerity. We must unite with one another and be unyielding, impenetrable, and unmoving. Now is not the time to stand back while people speak falsehoods under the banner of conservatism. Conservative isn’t a brand you get to claim, it’s a position you adhere to. Tomi Lahren has forsaken that position, and it’s up to us to reclaim the integrity of the label. As Americans, our motto is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Limited government, yes. But the ultimate rule of government is to protect life. In the end, the “conservative” who does not stand for life and truth, will never be a person we can stand beside.
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