Elect Mitt Romney

I started this blog hoping to suggest how we can foster common-sense government that defends the dignity of and promotes the prosperity of all Americans. I aim to be a consensus builder that works toward creating a government that Americans can be proud of. I strive to be a voice of moderation and reason. Those are my core values. But we are not now in a time of consensus, and sometimes, the only moderate, reasonable course is an unprecedented, dangerous one.

For the past weeks, many of my friends have suggested that when it convenes on December 19th, the electoral college should choose not to elect Donald Trump president. The constitution gives them this right, but it has never been exercised by the body as a whole in America's history. I argued against such an action, believing that whatever the letter of constitution or the spirit of its framers, we should not throw out two centuries of American electoral precedent over a single man. I believed, further, that such an action would provoke mass civil unrest. I did not think the benefits were worth the very high costs.

I have changed my stance. Donald Trump poses an even greater threat to national security than I could have imagined before the election. He flippantly disregards intelligence briefings. He has casually antagonized China in public in a way that confers no negotiating benefit whatsoever (if anything, it places strong pressure on Chinese leaders to not cooperate in any way with a Trump administration). And let us not forget he ran on a promise to "drain the swamp." Only a month after the election, it is clear that promise was empty words. Trump has made clear by the people he surrounds himself with that he intends to bolster, not undermine, the culture of insider corruption and corporate cronyism that pervades Washington. In the weeks since the election, Donald Trump has managed to completely shatter my faith in his ability to bring anything except ruin to this country.

Our next President must be a Republican, as the Republicans have majorities in both the Electoral College and the House of Representatives. Some are suggesting that the Electoral College should elect John Kasich. I do not believe it is a good idea to elect someone who came third in his own party's primary. He would have no legitimacy,

But there is a man who, only four years ago, won the Republican primary. There is a man who only four years ago secured a larger percentage of the popular vote than Donald Trump. There is a man who called Russia our greatest geopolitical foe and was roundly mocked for it, but no one is laughing at that claim now. There is a man who passionately tried to warn us that we could not elect Donald Trump president.

There is a man who is qualified to lead this nation and has a claim that I believe is every bit as legitimate as Donald Trump's. I get no impression he wants the presidency now, but I do believe he will serve if called upon to do so. So if, by some miracle, an Electoral College voter reads this essay, I plead with you: make Mitt Romney the 45th president of the United States. Please uphold your duty  to the constitution and step in as the last lawful check against the Presidency of man who will not protect America.