George Will can turn a phrase with the best of them.
The noted columnist and television commentator is well-known for a lot of things, which include: his ardent political conservatism and his equally ardent love for baseball.
I’ll set aside the baseball expertise for a moment and focus on what he has said about the presumptive Republican Party candidate for president of the United States.
Will has given up on his Republican Party because of Trump’s emergence as the standard bearer in this fall’s campaign for the White House.
He has registered in Maryland, where he lives, as an “unaffiliated” voter. He no longer is a registered Republican.
Actually, this isn’t huge news. It’s important only because of Will’s standing among the conservative intelligentsia.
Even tough Will’s abandonment of his party isn’t a huge surprise, it stands to reason, given that the presumptive nominee has zero public record on which to run. Moreover, many of the positions he has taken in the past — such as being against free trade, being pro-choice on abortion — run directly counter to traditional Republican political orthodoxy.
Frankly, I prefer the Texas method of registering voters. We don’t declare party affiliation when we get our voter registration card. We vote in whichever primary we want and our card might — or might not — get stamped by the polling place judge at the time we vote.
Will’s best advice this year to Republicans?
Suck it up. Prepare yourselves to lose the White House and then work like hell to win it back in 2020.