At least now we know who nationally syndicated radio host Glenn Beck will be voting for on Nov. 8, but he also had to let the world know that he's OK with the consequences of that action.
In a lengthy Facebook post made after the recording of Donald Trump's lewd comments from 2005 were made public, Beck said he believed a vote for any candidate other than Trump or Hillary Clinton is a "moral, ethical choice," even if it results in Clinton being elected. Here's what he wrote:
Every person, each of us must decide what is a bridge too far.
Mike Lee has obviously reached that point, where the moral compromise his party is asking him to make is simply beyond what is acceptable.
It is not acceptable to ask a moral, dignified man to cast his vote to help elect an immoral man who is absent decency or dignity.
If the consequence of standing against Trump and for principles is indeed the election of Hillary Clinton, so be it. At least it is a moral, ethical choice.
If she is elected, the world does not end ... Once elected, Hillary can be fought. Her tactics are blatant and juvenile, and battling her by means of political and procedural maneuvering or through the media, through public marches and online articles, all of that will be moral, worthy of man of principal [sic].
Her nominees can be blocked, her proposed laws voted down.
The alternative does not offer a moral person the same opportunity. If one helps to elect an immoral man to the highest office, then one is merely validating his immorality, lewdness and depravity.
But it's OK, at least it is not her! Right??
No.
Lee's call for Trump to step down and withdraw from the race is respectful to him and to the process.
Trump stepping down does not guarantee a Clinton win, but it does guarantee that the Republican party still stands for something, still allows its members to maintain thier [sic] own self respect and that it still has a future.
Monday, on his program, he admitted he even toyed with the notion of voting for Clinton to prevent Trump from being elected. But, he said:
"I can't do it, because she's just—she's just a horse of a different color," he told the Vice host. "[T]hey're both bad. I think under Hillary Clinton, the nation—most likely—can become just run by oligarchs. I think under Donald Trump, he's so unstable, I wouldn't put anything past him. I don't know what our party looks like."
For the record, Glenn Beck renounced his membership in the Republican Party in March—of 2015. And while he stumped for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in the GOP presidential primary race, he never officially said he had returned to the party.
Beck said he will instead vote for Constitution Party candidate Darrell Castle, an attorney from Tennessee.
Cruz, by the way—after stating he believes Trump's comments were "disturbing and inappropriate" and, ultimately, inexcusable—said Monday in an interview with a local West Texas television station that he's standing by his recent support of the GOP nominee:
"This is an election unlike any other, but I'll tell you, Hillary Clinton, I think, is manifestly unfit to be president. The policies she's advancing are the continuation of eight years of Barack Obama.
"It's the same assault on jobs, it's the same assault on businesses, on farmers and ranchers, and we need to have a president—we need to have leaders in Washington—that will fight to defend our jobs, to get government off our back, and to defend the Constitution and Bill of Rights ...
"I am supporting the Republican nominee because I think Hillary Clinton is an absolute disaster. Now, my differences with Donald, I have articulated at great length during the campaign and I tried with all my might [to win the party's nomination]."
Beck also burned his bridges with the Texas senator after he made a public endorsement of Trump last month. And, much like Clinton, he's attacked those who support the GOP nominee—who he has dubbed a "Hitler-like psychopath"—calling them "Nazi Brownshirts."
That view isn't even shared by everyone on his TheBlaze television network. Evening hostess Tomi Lahren has been supportive of Trump's campaign, even after the release of the 11-year-old audio recording on Friday.
"For all those Never Trumpers and bleeding hearts out there saying, 'I told you so,' shut the [expletive] up. Don't go around acting holier-than-thou about this like you've never heard anyone say anything like that before. Give me a break ...
"The Democrats have been sitting on this for awhile now, and they knew if they released it two days before the debate, a month before the election, and after the ballots had been printed, they could ensure the spineless GOP would turn tail and run to save their own [expletive] and political careers.
"I think you're forgetting why we, the voters, chose Trump as our nominee over all of you. We are sick of this holier-than-thou you all parade around in public. We are sick of the fact that most of you were in office from 2002 to 2006, when we had the White House and both houses of Congress—yet did nothing. You just squawked, that's it.
Lahren said she is more bothered by what Hillary Clinton has done—and wants to do—than what Trump has said. And, she added that Trump's despicable comments don't have any impact on "border security, national security, trade, jobs, spending or anything else that impacts your daily life."
A number of other conservatives and Christians have stepped up to support the Republican nominee.
During a conference call Monday with the 168-member Republican National Committee, Chairman Reince Priebus said "nothing has changed" in the party's support of Trump, despite media-based rumors of the opposite. He said:
"I want to make it very clear that the RNC is in full coordination with the Trump campaign and we have a great relationship with them. Nothing has changed in regards to our relationship and we remain very much involved and together in all levels in making these decisions of how best to run the operation across the country."
Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, also reiterated his support for Trump on Monday. After saying the GOP nominee's comments were "lewd ... but they were not enough to make me vote for Hillary Clinton," he told FOX Business Network's Lou Dobbs:
"I think Donald Trump redeemed himself politically last night. He did exactly what he needed to do. He apologized for his comments and quickly pivoted."
On The 700 Club, Pat Robertson offered his own analysis—and support—for Trump on Monday:
"Let's face it. A guy does something 11 years ago. There's a conversation in Hollywood where he's trying to look like he's macho. And 11 years after that, they surface it from The Washington Post or whatever, bring it out within 30 days or so of the election, and this is supposed to be the death blow and everybody writes him off, 'OK, he's dead. Now you've got to get out of the way and let Mike Pence run the campaign.'
"The Donald says no. He's like the Phoenix. They think he's dead. He's come back. And he came back strong. So, he won that debate."
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