Never Trumpers school anti-Harris conservative on why 'the Constitution is sacred'

01 August 2024

In an article published by The Atlantic on July 29, veteran conservative journalist Charlie Sykes laid out some reasons why supporting presumptive 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is a no-brainer for a staunch Never Trumper like himself. Sykes argued that because Donald Trump is dangerously authoritarian, "this is not the time to quibble over tax rates, the Green New Deal, fracking, or pronouns."

"When your kitchen is in flames," Sykes wrote, "you reach for whatever extinguisher is at hand. You can worry later about washing the dishes or whether you need a new garbage disposal. Put the fire out now."

On X, formerly Twitter, Sykes' article has set off some heated debates among conservatives.

In response to The Atlantic tweeting that "the staunchest members of the Never Trump movement seem to be coalescing around Kamala Harris's bid for the presidency," The National Review's Dan McLaughlin posted, "This really is just another way of saying that the people Sykes knows have sold out every other principle they have. When there are no good choices, people make bad ones. But if you can't admit that backing Harris goes against everything you once claimed to believe, you're lost."

McLaughlin also tweeted, "The Constitution and the rule of law are not just 'policy preferences.' That is where we differ."

But journalist/author and Georgia Recorder columnist Jay Bookman reminded McLaughlin that Never Trumpers' top priority is protecting the U.S. Constitution.

Bookman wrote, "But Dan, what if you believe the Constitution is sacred? What if that one belief takes priority over whatever else you believe? Have you thought of that? No, probably not."

Conservative attorney Heath Mayo called McLaughlin out as well, posting, "But we all readily admit that backing Harris goes against most of our policy preferences. That's how bad Trump is. He pushes us to vote for someone like Harris at the risk of giving up policy ground for four years to dodge the Trump threat. How is this difficult to grasp?"

Liberal New York Magazine writer Jonathan Chait weighed in as well, telling McLaughlin, "Your idea of the Constitution and the rule of law is that conservative ideas are entitled to rule."

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