First let me say I’m not a Trump supporter.

I don’t really want to have to vote for him, but if you leave me choices like the self-absorbed, all-important liar and cheat – her highness, “I can be bought” Hillary – or “Feel the Bern” like a bad rash, let me give you everything that belongs to everyone else, Socialist Sanders – well then, I’m pulling the Trump lever. I’m undangling the Trump chad. I’m inking the Trump dot. Deal with it.

My right-wing Republican friends are going to pop a vein on this one. However, I could equally attack the left-wing loons if they actually had a real group of candidates to choose from. But what else do you expect from a group willing to throw out God, overlook selling baby parts, and give jobs to refugees and illegals over taxpaying Americans? You know I could go on, but it’s not worth the time.

Trump has added much color to the race. He is forcing the other candidates actually to speak to the issues. If he weren’t in the race, I believe the candidates would have allowed each other to gloss over all of the major issues – abortion, immigration, the Middle East and more. We would have heard a lot of the same old “lower taxes, smaller government, blah blah.” Trump is forcing them to have to take a stand and speak out.

My Republican friends, look at our lineup. Really? I can’t get into it on each and every candidate, but did we really get the best of the best? We have had years to groom and raise up people who could have run and made it. We have had some great ones drop out because of bad campaign management. I don’t get why we keep shooting ourselves in the foot.

And now everyone seems to be so excited about The National Review’s 22 letters from conservative commentators talking about how Donald Trump is not a conservative. No, really? We have wasted mega electrons on blogs and other places discussing whether Trump is a conservative. Let me help. Get close to the monitor or your phone screen … “He is not.” This is not a newsflash.

We argued the same thing about Mitt Romney. He wasn’t conservative enough. He waffled on social issues. He wasn’t strong enough on immigration.

Let’s do the Republican dance. Take your hands, put them around your neck and squeeze. Yup. We kill ourselves every time.

We are so busy attacking Trump that we are not paying attention to the issues.

We are not dealing with the issues as a party. Trump wouldn’t be able to make any headway if we had the right candidates and if people trusted the mainstream Republicans.

Over 60 percent of Republicans feel betrayed by their party. They believe the party doesn’t care or listen to them except at election time.

The Republican rank-and-file wanted the Republican electeds to vote against funding Planned Parenthood, illegal immigration benefits, refugee relocation money, a $1.7 billion interest payment to Iran on $200 million owed. In these cases (and so many more), Speaker Ryan and McConnell ignored the will of “We the people.”

These professional politicians in the party are simply falling in line the “Washington way.” Trump seems like he might be able to shake it up, change things. He can’t be bought. He has mega money. He lives well. He knows how to deal with foreign leaders; he already has. And that’s just the tip of the Trump iceberg.

When Trump hits a candidate, Trump rises in the polls. A candidate hits Trump, Trump rises in the polls. Trump makes off-color, politically incorrect comments, Trump rises in the polls. Is he unstoppable? He could have been.

The party has to change its way of thinking, and I’m not talking about watering down the platform, I’m talking about living out their campaign promises and actually doing what they say they’re going to do, break the “Good Ole Boys Club” mentality. Go back to the Reagan days. They came against him, too, with conservative cowboy politics. The GOP tore him down, but when he finally won – and won again – with one of the highest approval ratings, what could they say? He made the party stronger and better.

I am not saying Trump is going to do that for us. What I am saying is if the GOP keeps doing business the way it has been, if we don’t start fighting to keep and live out the principles we scream, fight and vote for … then say hello to President Trump and Vice President Winfrey.

Joe Messina is host of The Real Side (TheRealSide.com), a nationally syndicated talk show that runs on AM-1220 KHTS radio and SCVTV [here]. He is also an elected member of the Hart School Board. His commentary publishes Mondays.