Republicans against Donald Trump must stand up to defend democarcy to put country over party

Signing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a once-in-a-generation investment.

Echo opinion published in The Boston Globe by Kimberly Atkins

Republicans against Trump can banish him with one trip to the ballot box:  If there was ever a moment to really put country over party, it’s now: by voting, just once, for President Biden. 

Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire has a history of speaking frankly about Donald Trump. “He’s (expletive) crazy!” the four-term Republican governor said in 2022 at the Gridiron Club’s dinner roast in Washington.

“I don’t think he’s so crazy that you could put him in a mental institution,” Sununu continued. “But I think if he were in one, he ain’t getting out!”

Less than two months ago, as a surrogate for Trump’s GOP primary opponent Nikki Haley, Sununu was still as blunt while speaking at Politico’s Governors Summit. “Assholes come and go,” Sununu quipped. “But America is here to stay.”

Is it?

America as we know it, based on foundational principles such as democracy and respect for the rule of law, may not last another Trump term. Trump left Washington in 2021 as it reeled from the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol that he helped incite in an effort to hold on to power like a dictator. Now he’s plotting his path back by campaigning on a platform of autocracy, promising a dark, dystopian future for the nation that is built on revenge, hatred, destruction, and even violence.

Trump has promised to on Day One free from jail convicted January 6 insurrectionists, whom he calls “hostages.”😡 He said he would task the Justice Department with locking up his political enemies. He promised to sic the military on American cities. He praises and sidles up to “strongman” leaders like Kim Jong Un of North Korea, Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Viktor Orbán of Hungary. His massive debt and carelessness with the nation’s sensitive secrets make him a severe national security threat. He is the polar opposite of what an 

American leader should be.The tone of his bid to return to the White House is summed up by his Truth Social video post featuring an image of President Biden hog-tied in the back of a truck.

Yet among Trump’s endorsers is Sununu, who promised even as a backer of Haley to vote for the eventual Republican presidential nominee. I guess that applies whether that nominee is a lying, insurrection-spurring, election-denying, conspiracy theory-peddling, fraud-committing, criminally charged, rule of law-defying despot or not.

This decision may defy all rules of common sense, but it unfortunately doesn’t defy conventional political wisdom. 

Though Sununu prides himself in — and has been lauded for — his bipartisan approach to governing, he’s still a Republican. And to him, a GOP win is a win.

Here’s a wake-up call for Sununu and other prominent Republicans who have rebuked Trump and Trumpism but have stopped short of promising to do what is necessary in 2024 to stop him: If there was ever a moment to publicly embrace country over party, it’s now.

This presidential election is not just a contest between a Democrat and a Republican. It is not, as some members of the press seem to insist, a choice between two unpopular old men. It is a choice between democracy and its destruction.

To quote Trump directly, “You either have a country, or you don’t.” With Biden, you may not like his policies, but you have a country. If he is defeated, all bets are off.

If GOP Trump foes truly want to end his (strangling❗) reign, they can make a limited, one-time vow to help defeat him in November by voting for Biden, and — perhaps more important — urging others to do so as well.👍

I’m not suggesting Sununu forge this path alone. That would just ensure the kind of banishment he is clearly seeking to avoid. I reached out to Sununu for comment, but got none as of press time.

But this message is for all democracy-respecting Republicans who understand the stakes but have stopped short of embracing the only clear solution. I’m talking to you, Senators Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Also to Haley and other former GOP primary rivals like former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, and the very man whose life Trump endangered on January 6, former vice president Mike Pence.

I’m hoping that former Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who so valiantly worked to ensure the American people and the Department of Justice got the real facts about what happened on Jan. 6, will step up. And given the strength that comes with numbers, that the balance is tipped to allow others to follow suit.

I’m heartened that the group No Labels dropped its third-party presidential ticket bid. Pushing past partisanship, as Sununu does, is a valiant goal, but it is out of step with the reality of the 2024, election if it just helps Trump win. 

And as for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his tin-hat campaign: Shame on you for threatening the nation for which members of your family paid the ultimate price.

The moment Biden is inaugurated into his second term, Republicans and activists can go right back to opposing Biden policies with all the vigor they can muster. That’s how democracy works. But it works only if democracy lives. One vote — just one vote — can help save it.

Kimberly Atkins Stohr is a columnist for the Globe. She may be reached at kimberly.atkinsstohr@globe.com. Follow her @KimberlyEAtkins.