It’s like sports.

Your loyalty is to the team, not to the individual, and you put in your best player. You swap in and out as circumstances and needs change.

And everybody understands that. You’re there to win, and if you’re who the teams needs right now, you’re on the field. If you’re not, you’re on the bench.

Which gets us to Mike Pence and Nikki Haley.

It’s time to bench one, and play the other.

And those who see that as disloyalty to Mike Pence never played sports, or served in the military, or really caught on to what elected office is about in a Republic like ours.

We’re not here to take care of the interests of individual politicians, we’re here to uphold and defend – and bear true faith and allegiance to – the Constitution of the United States. We’re here to advance principles that defend liberty, and administer the government in a way that is true to American values and aspirations.

We’re here to serve and save America and its people.

That’s the hokey pokey. That’s what it’s all about.

And individuals are merely a means to that end.

We vote for people because we believe in principles, and we believe those people will advance and be true to those principles. It’s not about personalities, and it’s not about parties, it’s about patriotism.

Or you’re not doing it right.

Every nomination, every vote, should have a single purpose in mind – to best serve America, without regard to personal benefit, prestige or ego.

Which gets us to the Republican ticket in 2020.

At the top will be Donald Trump. Certainly, he’s been rough around the edges, but he’s also been effective where it counts. The country is safer, richer and freer because of his service. He’s a keeper, and will run for re-election.

And the cause of liberty will be benefited by his win. He will preserve the conservative tone of the federal courts – to include the Supreme Court – he will keep the military strong, focus on protecting individual liberties, secure the border, stem the Democrat push to socialism, and expand even further the prosperity which has defined his administration.

On the other hand, a Democrat win will likely result in the gutting of the Second Amendment, further expansion of the soul-destroying welfare state, more open borders, further activist perversion of the federal courts, economy-killing “global warming” regulations, enslaving executive orders, the end of private health insurance, more division by race, and increased government and social hostility toward any deviation from progressive orthodoxy.

In short, if the Republicans win, America wins. If the Republicans lose, America loses.

That is simplistic, but it is also true.

And so the best thing for America is for the Republicans to win.

Donald Trump makes that more likely. Mike Pence doesn’t.

It’s not about how he’s done these last four years. It’s about what he would bring on Election Day, what he could contribute over the next four years, and how he would be positioned to make a bid for the presidency himself in 2024.

And the truth is, Mike Pence is the wrong answer for each of those questions. He brings nothing on Election Day; his contributions in a second term would be what they were in the first term – steadying, certainly, but mostly just the grim guy standing off the president’s shoulder; and he has no chance of being elected president in his own right.

So he brings nothing, he adds nothing, and he will lead to nothing.

Which, believe it or not, is not a criticism. Mike Pence has done a great and sacred duty as vice president. Our country called and he answered, and he has brought great steadiness. His commitment to the administration is an excellent example for all vice presidents. He has known and shown that his role is service to a larger cause, the success of something bigger than himself and his aspirations.

Which brings us to this juncture, the point where we see that the greatest service he could render now would be to step aside. The game has changed, we are at a different place and need a different thing. So we need to put in a different player.

That player is Nikki Haley.

Just as fate – or God in heaven – prepared Mike Pence for crucial service, so does it seem He has prepared Nikki Haley.

And the facts are plain: Her unique talent and demographic will help the Republican ticket on Election Day; she will be a skilled and useful vice president; and she will stand a good chance of rising to the presidency in 2024.

And should it become necessary for her to fulfill the duties of the presidency sooner than that, she is ready right now to do so.

It’s not that Mike Pence isn’t good, it is that Nikki Haley is better – for the circumstances and needs of today and the next eight or 12 years.

Franklin Roosevelt had three vice presidents, choosing new running mates as his and the country’s needs changed. Thomas Jefferson did the same, and so did Abraham Lincoln. Those men knew about being president. And their choices had consequences. Roosevelt and Lincoln selected Harry Truman and Andrew Johnson – their successors – and Jefferson sidelined Aaron Burr, a man subsequently accused of treason.

The choice of Donald Trump will also have consequence.

And that choice must be based in loyalty – not to an individual, but to a cause. Donald Trump must be loyal to the best interests of the country.

He must choose Nikki Haley.

And Mike Pence must likewise be loyal to the best interests of the country – as he has always shown to be the case.

He must step aside for a new player. Further, as he has been since he was sworn in, he must be the steadying, reasoned voice in counsel. He must suggest and orchestrate his own replacement, selling it to the president and to the party and country, if need be.

That is what a servant leader would do.

And that is what America needs.

We have been well and honorably served by Mike Pence.

But now we need Nikki Haley.

About Bob Lonsberry

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