If you’re a conservative-leaning independent voter in New Hampshire, you may have gotten an unusual phone call this weekend. Having your phone ringing off the hook in the Granite State in February is nothing new, obviously. (Some people have probably just shut their phones off entirely by now.) But there’s at least some novelty in having the caller suggest that those of you who normally vote in the GOP primary should consider switching sides and voting in the Democratic nomination race.

And which candidate does the mystery caller want you to support? It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s not Bernie Sanders. The puzzle as to who was behind these calls was quickly solved. It’s the usual group of NeverTrumpers, including Bill Kristol. (New Hampshire Journal)

GOP-leaning independent voters in New Hampshire are receiving phone calls and texts from anti-Trump Republicans urging them to cross the aisle and vote in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, NHJournal has learned. The message is for these unaffiliated voters, who can vote in either party’s primary, to vote for a “responsible and electable” Democratic alternative to Donald Trump.

National #NeverTrump leader Bill Kristol, founder of the conservative Weekly Standard magazine, confirmed to NHJournal that he is part of the effort, which involves tens of thousands of New Hampshire voter contacts and a six-figure budget.

“Yup. I’m happy to have joined with some others to help remind New Hampshire independents, who might be accustomed to voting in the Republican primary, that this year, they may be able to make more of a difference by voting for a responsible and electable candidate in the Democratic primary,” Kristol said.

The message from Kristol and his #NeverTrump buddies is pretty straightforward. They want voters sympathetic to the Republican Party to not waste their time and instead go help one of the more “responsible and electable” Democrats. Translation: Bernie Sanders (and probably Elizabeth Warren) are too far out on the socialist limb to possibly beat Donald Trump, so you need to help Biden, Buttigieg or Klobuchar grab the nomination.

The other underlying message is equally clear. While Kristol et al. were fired up for challengers to President Trump (like Joe Walsh and the rest of them) in the Republican primary, that ship has sailed. Or perhaps the ship never even made it out of port. The GOP base has stuck with the President through thick and thin and none of the NeverTrumpers ever gained any measurable traction. Now, perhaps out of desperation, they’re going to openly back the Democrats.

I have to wonder how much consideration these conservatives have given to their actions. Being opposed to Trump is one thing, but cheering for four years of Democratic control of the White House is another. They’re trying to draw a distinction between Sanders or Warren and the rest of the field, but that’s deceptive. As both myself and the Washington Post editorial board recently agreed, there are no moderates in the Democrats’ nomination battle.

Every one of them is well to the left of Barack Obama. (That’s a quote from the WaPo editorial, not just me.) They all want to undo the tax cuts, offer amnesty to illegal aliens, legalize infanticide and destroy the private health insurance industry. And each of them would arrive at the White House with a list of the most liberal judges possible, ready to undo all of the progress that Trump and Cocaine Mitch have made in terms of judicial appointments.

Just keep that in mind when you’re being preached to by your NeverTrump betters. Some of them are not just “against Trump.” (To quote a famous edition of National Review from a few years back.) They’re actively working to help put a socialist in the Oval Office and undo everything that’s been accomplished in the conservative cause over the past three years.