I detest Donald Trump, and I am not convinced that he is any more of a conservative than Hillary Clinton.  But if he is nominated by the Republican Party, I will vote for him.  Here’s why.

There is no possibility that Clinton would replace Justice Scalia with anyone but a “living Constitution”  lefty, be he or she a non-threatening one (such as Judge Garland) or a more blatant one.  Indeed one would not be shocked if she nominated President Obama, who has shown beyond all reasonable doubt that he cannot be outflanked on the left.  Until Mr. Trump makes it clear he might not nominate a conservative justice, one must give him the benefit of the doubt.  And this issue may have more importance for America’s future than any issue of the economy or national security.

Mr. Trump is in favor of tax-rate cuts.  Not sure he really means it, and definitely not sure how he would accomplish it, given his indications that he would not seek any changes in Medicare or Social Security and that he is not a fan of the Paul Ryan agenda (whose centerpiece is a reform of healthcare and entitlements).  More likely he will renounce his pledge and rationalize his decision by citing the lefty fiction that you can only balance a budget by raising tax rates or cutting expenses.  All conservatives know that that theory is nonsense, but we also know how that movie always ends.

Even giving Mr. Trump the benefit of the doubt on the rate cuts, even assuming he expects the tax rate-cuts to stimulate economic growth to such an extent that we might fulfill even the most optimistic projections from the Laffer Curve, this one seems kind of shaky.  But it is way better than the lefty agenda of raising tax rates, leaving entitlements as they are, enduring exponential increases in our annual deficits and accumulated debt, and dreaming the whole Ponzi Scheme can be pursued into infinity with no fear of a crash in the market for our Treasuries.  As naive as Mr. Trump’s views on economics may be, we do not yet know that he is uneducable on such matters, whereas we know Mrs. Clinton could not care less about running huge increases in deficits and debt.

Mr. Trump detests political correctness.  Maybe he will pull all the pieces together and use that emotion as the basis for upending all of the catastrophic policies we now maintain in the name of trying to treat all people as though they were equal in talents and skills, as distinct from being equal in terms of their rights and liberties.  In other words, restore equal opportunities rather seeking equal outcomes.  Maybe he could even do it in time to save our public K-12 schools and our colleges and universities from their politics and their unions before we end up having to look mostly abroad to find young people with the education and skills that are required by our modern, technology-based businesses and government.

Mr. Trump loves and admires our country, warts and all – which of course sets him totally at odds with the entire Democratic party.  He wants us to continue to be a leader, not just another geopolitical entity.

One could go on, but one must concede that even though Mr. Trump’s personality and style are detestable and his conservative chops may be virtually non-existent, at worst he would be less of a catastrophe for America than any living Democrat.  With him, there is at least hope.  With Clinton, thy hope ends here.