In July 2020, Spencer Cox defeated Jon Huntsman to become the Republican nominee for governor. Also that year, several neighbors announced they were changing their registration to become Republicans (in name only) to enable voting in that primary. Their reasoning was based on their support of Huntsman over Cox and wishing for their vote to be of consequence, as everyone presumably knows Republican candidates are likely to win statewide elections.
I have reminded these neighbors that Jon Huntsman supported Donald Trump in that year’s election and also appeared in TV endorsements for fellow Trumper Mike Lee. As most of these neighbors tend to be liberals, that information seemed anathema to their desires.
Gov. Cox’s appearance alongside Trump during their controversial photo shoot in the Arlington National Cemetery cemented his total rollover to the MAGA movement. I had higher hopes for Cox before his previous stance of nonsupport for Trump turned on a dime. The majority of Republican politicians have eventually surrendered their moral convictions in the face of the powerful MAGA primary machine.
In past conversations, I failed to suggest to my registration-changing neighbor that their actions seemed like giving up hope for Democrats in place of total surrender to the conservative majority. Playing into the hands of bully politics through appeasement may be the path of least resistance but taking your lumps through honest electioneering and fair congressional districting would be a true revelation.
Horst Holstein, Salt Lake City