Mike Huckabee: It’s Time to Unite for America

November 4, 2018, 9:00 pm

They say you should never say never. It’s time for the remaining “Never Trump” Republicans to follow that advice.

The time for Republican infighting is long past. It’s one thing to oppose a candidate during the primaries — that’s exactly what they’re for — but when that candidate has been nominated by the party, elected by the American people, and is successfully implementing the party’s agenda, it is simply self-defeating to let old grudges get in the way of working toward common goals.

After signing the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin reputedly said that “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” He could just as easily have been talking about Republicans in 2018.

The Democrats are desperate to win control of Congress in the midterms, and if they succeed, it won’t matter whether you supported President Trump or not — all Republicans, and everything we stand for, will be in their crosshairs.

The fact is, President Trump has been a godsend to conservatives, achieving many of the goals the GOP has been pursuing for years, and in some cases decades.

The president appointed two of the most conservative justices to the Supreme Court in history, both of whom had the backing of the Federalist Society, an organization that Republican politicians have held in esteem since the days of Ronald Reagan.

President Trump also engineered one of the most significant tax cuts in history, accomplishing a perennial Republican goal. Not only did the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduce taxes on 90 percent of Americans, it also included significant corporate tax cuts to improve the competitiveness of American companies.

These accomplishments are the reason that prominent conservative voices such as Brent Bozell, Mark Levin, and Ben Shapiro have reconsidered their formerly negative opinions about Donald Trump, and often congratulate him for his conservative bona fides and achievements.

Similarly, Senators Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Rand Paul — all of whom were opponents of Donald Trump during the 2016 primary campaign — now rank among his staunchest defenders.

As with any president, not everything Trump does elicits unanimous Republican support, but it’s worth remembering that there is almost nothing in the Democrat agenda for any Republican to support.

Democrats are fundamentally opposed to every core Republican principle, and if they take control of Congress in the midterm elections, they would undoubtedly advance policies that moderates find even more objectionable than anything President Trump has ever done.

As Sen. Graham said during the confirmation hearings for Justice Brett Kavanaugh, all they want is power, and we should all hope they never get it.

They are a major party with no interest in forging compromise. That inflexibility extends to policies on nearly every national debate today.

The good news is that Republicans and conservative-leaning independents can unite around their support for the GOP agenda — which is exactly what Democrats most fear.

Representative Jerry Nadler, who stands to take over the House Judiciary Committee, acknowledged as much in his manifesto about how to “resist” President Trump, writing that “A divided Republican party is the best recipe for ensuring victory in the midterm elections.”

Even those Republicans and independents who have never supported President Trump are finally realizing that the alternative offered by the Democrats is far worse than whatever reservations they’ve harbored about our president.

This November, Republicans need to heed Benjamin Franklin’s words and hang together. For the good of our nation, it’s time for us to unite like never before.

If we don’t, it will be our values that Democrats condemn to the gallows.

Mike Huckabee was the 44th governor of Arkansas and a 2008 and 2016 Republican candidate for president. He is currently host of “Huckabee” on TBN.