Max Boot’s claim of nobility with his tribe sounds like yelling from the back seat in a squad car.

To call him the most insufferable member of the never-Trumpers is difficult; how does one determine which fish head in a rotting barrel is the most aromatic, after all? Max Boot though strives for the recognition, by being both the most condescending player in that group of petulant pundits while at the same time the most pedantic. Max just wrote a piece that tries to elevate him, and his fellow cranks, to a mythic level, while carrying a very notable tone of defeat.

Boot has made a name for himself over the past 4-5 years by being insistently in opposition to the President — and to common sense. He has rewritten the same column for the Washington Post countless times declaring his position. He is like the socially unfit party guest who spends an entire evening trying to start a conversation about himself that no other reveler is interested in hearing. 

Yet all the while he wants to claim he is waving the last flag of conservatism he cannot explain why he has only backed Democrats for 4 years. It appears they are now facing a harsh reality.

In his piece entitled ”The Work Of The Never Trumpers Is Just Beginning’’, Boot attempts to paint his cantankerous cabal as a group of heroes, all while sounding as if he is justifying their stances in the face of irrelevancy. Time spent on their claimed notable cause means they are in the tent with an addled leftist named Biden who struggles verbally, when he is not billeted in the basement and dodging reporters. The pall of excuse-making cannot be avoided, and the laughable claims begin with his tweet promoting his piece.

My tribute to my band of brothers and sisters—the Never Trumpers.

It has been the privilege of a lifetime to stand with you for what is right in opposition to most of the Right.@PostOpinions https://t.co/WzvVcLn18y

— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) November 2, 2020

The claim they are ”standing up for what is right’’ falls over with the reality that all they have done is stand with the left. We are supposed to cheer these hectoring heroes for pointing out Trump is not a conservative, yet they only have backed figures way out on the left wing, and have pledged to fight against not only Trump but other Republicans, merely from the position of obstinance. The piece is rife with comedy.

I mention this not to portray the Never Trumpers as victims, but to point out that they are not opportunists. Many have paid a substantial price for standing by their beliefs — and would have benefited far more if they had simply gone with the flow of the Republican Party. 

This is so farcically wrong that gaslighting cannot be alleged; it is a damned lie. Boot has sold a book on his stance. The Bulwark is propped up by a billionaire benefactor. The Lincoln Project is enriching themselves by soaking Democrat billionaire donors. Their acolytes at RVAT and RightSide PACs are doing the same. There is a laundry list of NT luminaries — from Rick Wilson, Steve Schmidt, Amanda Carpenter, etc. — who are regular guests on the news networks. Max would not be able to show any who have suffered for their grifting positions.

Whatever the outcome after Tuesday, the Never Trump mission is not yet done. If Trump somehow manages to squeeze out a narrow electoral college victory — possibly by getting partisan judges to toss out mail-in ballots in swing states — then our democracy will be even more imperiled and the imperative to speak out even greater. 

These are not the words of a confident warrior. No mention is made of the strength of Biden today. It is only denigrating what Max feels is inevitable, and justifying his promised continued scolding in the future.

But even if Trump is defeated — an outcome that is likely but by no means assured — the battle for the soul of the Republican Party will continue. 

This is cute, the way he says ‘’continue’’. There has been no battle for the Republican party. Max and the NT have pledged to oppose Republicans. They have stood ONLY with Democrats these past 4 years. Not only have we seen them ignore conservative values, these sour souls have actually backed those who despise conservatism. Bill Kristol has hailed Ralph Northam after his calls for infanticide. Many of this crowd were barking over the extremely conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett. They are battling Against the soul of conservatism.

Trump’s supporters are not going anywhere, and, if history is any indication, they may prove even more rabid in opposition than they have been in power. Trying to create a sane center-right party in America is the work of a generation. We are just getting started.

Moving past the fact that Boot just projected the rabid behavior of Never-Trumpers for years, this claim of creating a center-right party is pure balloon juice. Following the 2018 election Max decried the GOP for all the gains made by Democrats, except this was precisely what he had called for. In the days ahead of that midterm vote he stated firmly people should vote only for Democrats. He, and his allies, at no point ever backed, forwarded, or supported a candidate who represents their avowed conservative mores — it has only been Democrats they promote.

After that midterm I challenged Boot for not promoting any conservative political candidates to challenge for seats. His dismissive response was there were no viable candidates for him to back, but he failed to understand how this completely undermined his own cause. If there were no names to point towards as a True-conservative alternative it exposed the vacancy of his efforts. How can these people claim to sway minds if they cannot even convince people to run on behalf of their cause?

Win or lose, Never Trumpers can hold their heads high. We made our best case, wrote our most cogent columns, produced our most convincing commercials. I know that I left it all out on the field. We all did. The rest is up to the voters.

If 5 years of ”We hate Trump’’ is their best case then those heads should be hung low. If the commercials were ”most convincing’’ there would be no mention of ”win or lose’’. This is the statement made by one who recognizes the lack of influence they experienced, and sees the challenge they have with relevancy going forward.

Should Biden win, the left will not be hailing these avowed but unverified conservatives as the reason. They will be discarded as useful tools as the Democrats march back out to the left wing. A Trump victory will mean that the NT whiners will still have their foil in place, but the firehose of Democrat money flowing will trickle out, and the influence claimed by these pundits will be neutered. 

As for Republicans, no one will be in a rush to open doors and welcome these pariahs back into the fold. After being told for years how insipid and venal conservatives have been for supporting Trump, what motivation is there to embrace these antagonists who were wrong all the while? Between the inaccuracy and the scorn there is nothing to be gained by their rejoining the ranks.. 

Max sees what is ahead for them. His burnished eulogy of empty claims proves he is now adrift.