There is a growing sentiment among many anti-Trump conservatives that the only way to stop the infection that is Donald Trump is to vote the opposite of him and “his” party until he is out of power.

While I am certainly no fan of Donald Trump, and many here at RedState feel the same way, we are practically united in the belief that this idea is complete and utter foolishness. Furthermore, this belief borders on the outright insane given the openly socialist tendencies of many of the Democratic Party’s candidates.

To understand why someone might want to think this is the right idea, however, we need to review our history a little bit.

For much of human history, the practice of “leeching” was considered an important medical treatment capable of eliminating diseases by attaching leeches to the patient and allowing those leeches to suck the disease out through the blood. Modern-day science shows that this is simply not how sickness and disease work and the practice has all but disappeared from modern medicine.

Many of the conservatives – those who are not frauds, such as Jen Rubin, anyway – who would ask that you vote for Democrats in order to put a stop to Trump are leechers. They believe that Donald Trump is a disease that can be eradicated if you just sucked away his power. However, much like attaching leeches to the Republican Party, the practice does nothing to solve the actual problem.

If there is one thing we have maintained, it’s that Donald Trump remains not a disease but a symptom of what’s wrong with our political landscape. This compulsion to “own the libs” and to try to shout down the opposition isn’t healthy. It’s frightening.

But, for conservatives to look to the Democratic Party, which is trending deep into socialist territory, and think that perhaps our salvation lies there is to have become so lost in your obsession with Donald Trump that you can no longer call yourself with any degree of accuracy a conservative.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, and a growing number of Democratic candidates are proof that the older, more moderate Democrats are losing sway in their party. To give a party that is growing even more leftward by the minute power now because you don’t like the currently Republican president is absolutely insane.

Going back to our history lesson, the practice of leeching still continues today. The saliva of a certain species of leech is actually an anti-coagulant. It stops inflammation and can restore circulation to blocked veins. There is evidence that leeching has some benefits.

In truth, there is a certain amount of leeching that can be done to fix the Republican Party. To get rid of the Chris Collins types, who seek to expand their personal wealth and power. Or the Jeff Flake types, who use it to increase their own spotlight at the expense of their colleagues. Even the “own the libs” types, and the Republicans who have vowed to sacrifice their credibility in order to curry favor with the President’s office.

This is the type of leeching we could use. Principled conservatism isn’t dead, and pragmatic conservatism needs to make a comeback. However, under no circumstances will I or anyone at RedState ever endorse a Democrat, nor will we endorse the idea of supporting them in an attempt to curtail Trump. We are not in the business of allowing a pro-socialist agenda to worm its way into power in an effort to stick it to a man we don’t like.