I am so sick of hearing “the establishment still doesn’t get it.” What will the Trump apologists do today to make the case against the establishment? What conservative principals and conservative candidate endorsement opportunities will they miss? No, let’s just eviscerate the establishment.

Those we thought were paragons of conservatism have now proved otherwise, focusing endlessly on bashing the establishment. Rush Limbaugh spends three hours a day defending practically everything Trump says or does. Why? That’s the way to stick it to the establishment. Rush says he’s just reading the stitches on the Trump fast ball for us, giving us the inside baseball strategy behind every lame, contradictory, and vulgar thing Trump does. Meanwhile, there’s a Cy Young Award winning pitcher on the bench and Rush doesn’t even put him in the game. Oh, he occasionally lets him warm up in the bullpen – “Ted Cruz is the closest in our lifetimes we have ever been to Ronald Reagan.” Okay, let’s get back to Trump.

Then there’s Sean Hannity, a Trump apologist extraordinaire, who bashed Marco Rubio for defending himself against the constant third grade insults Trump spewed. He said Marco only did it because the establishment told him to do it. Really Sean, so why is Trump doing it day in and day out, and why do you condone it?  Never mind, obviously you got the Roger Ailes email. No, not the one back in 2013 to go easy on immigration, the one that Fox News was through with Rubio. Great, even more time to spend with Trump. And, let’s not forget the rest of the group at the Trump News Channel, too many to mention at this point.

Tell me what the establishment can do to prove they do indeed get it. What penance, what pound of flesh do we need to extract from them? Maybe we can have them wear a scarlet E on their lapel throughout the rest of the election season. Would that do it? How do we stop the daily ritual of bashing the establishment and get past this? When will we focus on conservatism, advocate for the candidate that truly represents our conservative principles and values, and move on? For me it won’t be soon enough.

Here’s the thing. The establishment that Hannity, Rush, and the rest of these establishment bashers rage against for ratings and profit doesn’t really exist. I’ve seen some include Erick Erickson as a member of that establishment. Mind you, this is a guy who maintains he will not vote for Donald Trump if he’s the Republican nominee, is a major player in the third party candidate effort, and founded the Never Trump movement. It doesn’t get any more anti establishment than that.

A clearly defined establishment doesn’t really exist. However, what does exist, I believe, is a broad spectrum of political and economic groups and individuals that at times are distinct and issues-based, and at times have overlapping interests and coalesce behind those issues. Sometimes that establishment is effective in producing results and sometimes it is far from it. In this election cycle the establishment has become the bogeyman and demon for all things not Trump.

I would suggest at this point that anyone not supporting Trump, meaning 60% of Republicans, are now all essentially rolled into the establishment. I’m part of that 60% and, according to the anti establishment Trump apologists, a de facto part of the establishment. As such, why do I want to watch Fox News or listen to talk radio and hear the constant bashing of the establishment and uplifting of Donald Trump? These apologists, who prior to this election masqueraded as conservatives, have proven they are not. What they are I don’t know, but they are not true conservatives.

Oh, and one more thing. Why do the anti establishment Trump apologists focus on the need for the presidential candidate to be an outsider and destroyer yet, in the same breath, espouse the importance of retaining the down ballot Republican House and Senate? These representatives in Congress have been the major focus for the anti establishment sentiment, the very objects of the anger and frustration. Yet, ironically, the Trump apologists believe it’s vital to retain these representatives. Go figure. To me the true hypocrisy of their arguments is revealed.