It’s Time to Re-Think “Crazy”

Kentucky had a big moment last week. Conservatives came out in force and elected a new governor – Tea Party-esque Republican Matt Bevin. And while Bevin’s detractors and opponents blamed the surprise on “Trumpmania,” the end result is that Kentucky will soon have only the second Republican governor in 40 years.

After the victory, Bevin said that he was going to do something controversial right out of the gate. Through executive order, he intends to remove county clerk names from marriage licenses. This is, of course, due to the situation of Rowan County clerk Kim Davis, whose refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples landed her in jail for a few days earlier this year. Davis has since relented to allow her office to issue licenses, but she wants her name removed from the documents themselves.

Bevin believes she can be accommodated.

“The argument that that cannot be done is baloney. We’ve already changed those forms three times for crying out loud,” Bevin said. “We will take the names off those forms. We will do that by executive order. We will do it right out of the gate.”

Granted, he may be wrong. He may find that there are legislative battles awaiting. It would not be the least bit surprising to see this very issue wind up in court.

But the point is, he’s willing to take a shot. And that’s the least voters should expect from the politicians they elect.

There are still a great many Republicans who think the people supporting Donald Trump and Ben Carson have lost their minds. To be sure, there are legitimate criticisms that can be levied against both candidates. But put that aside, since that’s true of any politician. Where is this notion coming from that it’s “crazy” to support them?

These are the same people who think the Freedom Caucus is ruining Congress. These are the people who thought it was a damn shame for House conservatives to force John Boehner out of his role as Speaker. These are the people who, if they had their way, would winnow the 2016 field down to Jeb Bush and John Kasich. They may even wish that Mitt Romney would jump back in and save the day.

Here’s the problem. Things are too far gone. Gridlock is not destroying the country; it is, in fact, the only reason things aren’t worse than they are.

Let’s say you hired someone to manage your business. In six months, he’s brought you to the edge of bankruptcy. Between his reckless spending and his inability to increase sales, he represents the worst decision you ever made. So you fire him. You look for someone new to take over.

Who is the perfect candidate? Someone who has the same mindset as his predecessor, except slightly less so? Why? So you can stay in business another year instead of another six months? You would never make such a foolish decision.

…But maybe you would. Maybe you would, if all of your friends were telling you that the other prospective hire – a guy who has a plan to not just get your business out of trouble but actually make it successful – is “crazy.” Yes, if you were hearing this song day in and day out, you might start to believe it.

On the other hand, what if you found out that all of your friends had a vested interest in seeing your business fail? Behind your back, they all invested in your biggest competitor. Would that have an effect on how seriously you took their concerns?

Liberal America – personified by Democrats, the mainstream media, and certain realms of academia – does not have the Republican Party’s best interests in mind. So when you hear, over and over again, that conservatives have gone off the rails, maybe you should consider the source. And when certain “conservative” outlets agree with the liberal groupthink, maybe you should wonder why.

That doesn’t mean that you should vote Ben Carson or Donald Trump. It means that you should make up your mind based on what you believe. Not based on the beliefs of someone who wants to see your way of life and your view of America put out to pasture.