The likelihood of Donald Trump being the GOP nominee is apparently causing some people in the #NeverTrump camp to become #OkayTrump. Jazz looked at this earlier today, specifically mentioning how the idea of Hillary Clinton as president appears to be causing much of the angst within the Republican Party. He isn’t the only one to notice this, as National Review (the ones who put out the “Against Trump” issue just months ago) contributing editor Deroy Murdock also jumped into the #OkayTrump crowd.

I tried. In print, on air, online, and in person, I urged GOP primary voters to send to the White House — chronologically — Scott Walker, Carly Fiorina, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz. It seems they didn’t listen….

A President Hillary would order liberal lawyers across the federal bureaucracy to sue “global-warming” skeptics under the anti-Mafia RICO statute, as U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch says she has “discussed” and “referred to the FBI.” Sixteen Democrat state attorneys general already are suing those who refuse to genuflect before the “global warming” altar…

Thus, on Election Day, I will pull the lever for my fifth choice for president: Donald J. Trump. He is the only thing standing between America and the woman who would turn our exceptional country into Cristina Kirchner’s Argentina, if we are lucky, or Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela, if we are not.

National Review isn’t the only place looking to possibly change its tune on Trump. The Weekly Standard put out an email last week with the header “Can America afford 4 more years of Obama policies under Hillary?” which shows the formerly #NeverTrump outlet is warming a bit to Trump. It could be the outlets are deciding to just be #NeverHillary because no one should want Clinton to be president. But it’s also possible some pundits are starting to see Trump’s election as an opportunity to worm their way into the halls of power. Trump is a non-politician (even if he’s been buying and selling politicos for years) and he’ll need to put some Washington D.C. types into prominent positions in a Trump Administration. Barack Obama had to do it when he was first elected in 2008, so it’s highly likely the pundits want to make sure “their guy” gets into X position, so their policy can be advocated. Via Reason’s Matt Welch:

4) After failing to stop him, many people who hate Trump and his foreign policy will instead try to co-opt him.

Who is Bill Kristol’s biggest new protégé? Surveillance-loving hyper-interventionist crime warrior Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas). Who did Cotton just announce he was supporting, and willing to be nominated as vice president for? You’ll never guess. There are worse ways to hedge your bets against an anti-nation-building GOP nominee than quietly backing a VP with more, shall we say, robust views. This possibility of history repeating itself is the biggest reason why I maintain that Trump is not the peace candidate.

James Poulos echoes this theme at The Federalist, pointing out how neoconservativism is engrained in D.C., which could be why some in the #NeverTrump camp are moving towards #OkayTrump (even though Neocons 4 Hillary exists too). Remember how Sheldon Adelson was Team Rubio? All appears to be forgiven, according to The New York Times, thanks to a promised $100M donation. Guess this 2015 tweet from Trump can be ignored too.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/653884577300267008

This is the disappointing, and unsurprising, nature of politics in the U.S. Those who (try to) fight against a politician, eventually become his/her most ardent supporters, under the idea “the other side” will ruin America. Maybe it’s all about party unity, but it’s also possible all this shows is how little of a spine certain people have when faced with reality. They’d prefer their own safety and potential survival versus facing the unknown of outright rebellion. It’s completely understandable, especially with rumors of a #NeverTrump blacklist, but also infuriating because it shows how people aren’t willing to stand up for their own beliefs. #NeverTrump does not have to mean #Ready4Hillary and this ridiculous notion needs to go away. It’d just be nice if more people were willing take a risk and a stand for rebellion, instead of cowering at the inevitability of Trump or Clinton. That’s what I’m planning to do. The ghosts of Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, and Abraham Lincoln could visit me at night, imploring me to vote Trump to keep Hillary from being president, and I’d politely tell them, “No.” For me, it’s #NeverTrump AND #NeverHillary. It’s fine others don’t feel this way, but I’m not going to accept one authoritarian for another authoritarian just because there’s an R next to his/her name. No, thanks. Bring on the rebellion and #BeLibertarianWithMe.