#NeverTrump conservatives think the unthinkable: Supporting Hillary Clinton

Ardentconservative BenHowemay do the unthinkable when he enters his South Carolina voting station on Nov. 8.

Howe,who has voted foreveryRepublican presidential nominee since Bob Dole ran for the office in 1996, may insteadcast hisballot for conservativepublicenemyNo.1: Hillary Clinton.

"It's disheartening to think that Iwould have to pull the lever for someone whom Idisagree with that much," saidHowe, a contributing editor to the conservativeblogRedState."But such is the maniacal,sociopathicperson that we have somehow found as our nominee."

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Such is the antipathy held for Donald J. Trump, the presumptive RepublicanParty presidential nominee,that some conservativesare considering supportingClinton,soiconicallyloathed by many Republicanswho view her as an unabashedliberalwithout morals or principles.

"Only Donald Trump could lift me beyond my visceral aversion I have for Hillary Clinton,"saidTom Nichols, a former aide to a Republican senator andcontributor to the conservative online magazine The Federalist.

Many prominentconservatives, including columnist George Will andNational Review senioreditor Jonah Goldberg, continue toproudly embracethe#NeverTrumpbanner, which has since evolved into a #NeverEverTrumpcampaign. Supporters vowunder no circumstance will they vote for the New York real estate mogul.

While Republicanofficialsare nowimploring conservativesto rally aroundTrumpto defeat Clinton, some prominent Republicansofthe #NeverTrumpgang,likeNebraskaSenatorBenSasse, arecalling for a third-party candidate. South CarolinaSenator Lindsey Graham andformer Florida Gov.Jeb Bush who ran against Trump for the Republican nomination, and former Massachusetts Gov.Mitt Romney, the 2012 nominee,have alldeclared they won't vote for either Trump or Clinton.

Meanwhile, aides for both former presidents George W. Bush and his father George H.W. Bush have said neither will endorse Trump as a candidate.

Yet somelikeHoweand othersare willingto take it a step furtherand support Clinton, a "political version of a tragic Sophie's choice," wrote conservative radio talk-show host Dennis Prager.

Marc Salter, former senior aide forSenator JohnMcCain's2008 presidential bid, recentlytweeted"I'm with her" a Clinton campaign slogan afterTrumprepeatedaNationalEnquirer story that suggested Texas Senator Ted Cruz'sfathermay have been withLee HarveyOswaldbefore he shot President John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963.

"If Iwere in a swing state and my vote mattered, Iwould actually vote for Hillary Clinton," said Nichols. "That's about the most uncomfortable thing I've said in my political life. Ithink for those of us who oppose Donald Trump, keeping Donald Trump from theOval Officeis more important than ourdisdain and our very strong feelings aboutHillaryClinton."

'Dangerously unstable character'

"Trump's obvious narcissismcombined with his astonishing ignorance of even the simplest things in public policy really make hima dangerously unstable character in the Oval Office."

For someconservatives who may not be able to bring themselves to physically cast a vote for Clinton, they would still prefer tosee herin the Oval Office.

"I think right now, I would say it would be better for the country if she won than if he won," saidPeterWehner, formerspeechwriterfor George W. Bush and a lifelong Republican."That's [coming from] someone who has had almost no positive things to say about Hillary Clinton.

"I just think that the dangers that he poses to the country are greater than hers because I think he's just so deeply unstable," he said.

Trump's nomination is "catastrophic" for the Republican Party and he is thoroughlyunsuitable to hold the presidency,Wehner said.

"They've nominated a person who is a pernicious force in American politics. Someone who is not conservative, who's misogynist, who's xenophobic, who'snativist, who's incredibly shallow, who's vindictive, who is, Ithink, emotionally unstable. I think he'sobsessive, Ithink he's a threat to the Republican Party and the republic.

"Other than that, Ithink he's great."

Aside from the concernsabout his personal behaviour, many feel Trump isn't even conservative based onhis anti-trade,protectionist views,his changing positions on abortion,his musings about increasing the minimum wage and his vows to beef up libel laws against journalists.

"Whenever he tries to talk about an actualconservative value, I think you see what a fraud he is," said David Harsanyi, a senior editor for The Federalist. "He's a big government statist and authoritarian. Everything he says about free speech bothers me. If you're really conservative and you believe in the constitution, you cannot support him."

It may be difficult to determine the size of the#NeverTrump movement orwhat effect it mighthave on the race. As of Friday, the#NeverTrump website had more than 35,000 people pledging support, having added more than 7,000 names in a couple of days.

Popular conservative blogger Allahpunditsuggested the NeverTrumpersarenothing more thana "rounding error."

Many conservatives, like former Speaker of the House NewtGingrich,have slammed those conservatives refusing to rally around Trump, saying if you're not for him, "you are functionally"for Clinton who will "create the most radical Supreme Court."

And it's an argument that does hold some resonance among conservatives, worried that a Clintonadministrationwould pack the court with progressives.

'Fly off the handle'

Wehnersaid it's an important issue to consider, but thepresidencyis more than choosing Supreme Court nominees.

"I think at theendof the day, one of the most important things a president needs is the righttemperament, the rightemotionalstability ...who conducts himself in acertainway, who haswisdom,whodoesn'tfly off the handle."

And better four years of possible gridlock with a President Clinton,than be subjected to aPresident Trump, Harsanyi added.

"I want to see Hillary win. I think that's the only way to save any remnants of conservatism in the Republican Party where the RNC and everyoneelsehas largelygivenin to Trump," he said.

"She's sort of an institutionalist. I don't think she will blow up the republic in the way that a Donald Trump might."