The Case of Kevin Williamson: Being Never Trump Isn't Enough For The Left

Trump is the Little Lord Flauntleroy of Fifth Avenue, a coddled product of the bottom end of the Ivy League, a draft dodger, and a man whose idea of kinetic adventure is golf.

- Kevin D. Williamson

The Case Against Trump

If The Left were smart they would not have targeted Kevin Williamson and pressured The Atlantic to fire him only days after luring him away from National Review. I am curious to know what percentage of The Left knows of Williamson's role as a Never Trumper during Trump's bid for both the GOP nomination and the White House in 2015 and 2016. If a majority is unaware of this fact then it tells me they are willfully ignorant and misinformed about the range of conservative thought on Trump. But if a majority did know of Williamson's stand on Trump then it means that identifying yourself as a conservative on any issue trumps (for lack of a better word) to whatever opposition that conservative has to Trump. In which case, simply put being Never Trump isn't enough for The Left.

Either way this tells me the Left is more interested in expunging conservatives from the public sphere than defeating Trump in 2020. In which case there's a very good chance that Trump will prevail in two and half years time. If The Left truly wants Trump defeated then they need require a broad coalition which would include people with whom they would normally not agree much less associate. It seems to me that it is unnecessary to agree with Williamson that women who have abortions should be subject to the death penalty to make common cause to oust Trump.

Needless to say, I think the idea of executing women who have had abortions is daft. There is no tradition of prosecuting women for abortions in American jurisprudence and this isn't going to change whatever Williamson's views on the subject. In fact, Williamson's views on abortion don't matter. But they matter a great deal to The Left. Instead of debating ideas, The Left would prefer any views contrary to their own not be heard at all. Attitudes such as these contributed to Trump's rise and so long as they are unwilling to put aside their differences with conservatives like Williamson it will contribute to Trump's re-election.