American political candidate From Wikiquote, the free quote compendium
David Evan McMullin (born 2 April1976) is an American independent politician from the U.S. state of Utah. He is a former Republican and CIA officer. In 2016, he left the Republican Party and ran as an independent in the United States presidential election.
The Republican Party can no longer be considered the home for conservatives. Conservatism is about protecting the fundamental rights: That we are all equal, regardless of the color of our skin, the faith that we practice or our gender. But tonight there are millions of Americans, I’m sad to say, who are now in fear that perhaps their liberties will be challenged and threatened under a Trump administration that has made a campaign of targeting people based on their race, religion and gender. We must hold our leaders accountable now. We can no longer trust them to do it. They had their opportunity.
[T]elltale signs of authoritarianism... Attacks on the press. Probably even before that, attacks on Hispanics and African-Americans. Those two things really concerned me.
Sometimes the messaging is a little bit hyperbolic. But if you’re going to wait around for a march or a protest in which you’re going to agree with every single message that’s on display, you’re never going to participate. You just never will.
Evan McMullin’s campaign was always a long shot. He had no name recognition, spent most of his adult life undercover in the CIA, had no political experience to speak of, and was running with no money or support from senior Republican figures. Yet he managed in only three months to garner over 20 percent of the Utah vote and even amassed votes in other states, including more than 50,000 votes in Virginia. In Utah, he may have a chance to contend for a senate seat in 2018. In short, his campaign surpassed expectations and his run was a rare positive note in an otherwise ugly and negative campaign season. As for his new conservative movement, its success remains to be seen. But his concession speech message, that conservatives are outsiders in a Trump administration, will likely resonate. All Republican conservatives will now be forced to choose between Trump and their principles. McMullin was just ahead of the curve.