A correspondent calls to my attention a remarkable op-ed in the Plain Dealer in Cleveland by Phil Van Treuren, a Republican member of the Amherst City Council in Lorain County, Ohio.

Here are some highlights:

I never would have guessed that keeping a promise would be the most controversial thing I ever did in my political career. Throughout the primary, I insisted that Donald Trump was the only Republican candidate I would never support in the general election. Trump consistently reinforced the left's worst stereotypes about the GOP, and I assumed the rest of my party saw what I did: that he wouldn't just lose the White House and sink our under-ticket candidates, but also harm the image of conservatives for a generation. What I was blind to — stupidly so — was a small but rabid minority in my party who didn't care about choosing the candidate most likely to win. Instead, they wanted the candidate who made them feel the best about hating the other side. That's the biggest difference between Republicans like me and those who've embraced the Cult of Trump. I'll never vote for Hillary Clinton, but I don't hate her. I've worked for years to help conservatives, but there isn't a single Democrat I despise. And that, for some, is an unforgivable sin.... The most common accusation? If I wasn't voting for Trump, then I was voting for Clinton. This is, to me, one of the biggest deceits in politics; the idea that a good person must choose the lesser of two evils. Let's be clear: Clinton, awful as she is, was handed the presidency when Donald Trump became our nominee. This isn't the fault of those of us who warned everyone. Ronald Reagan is one of my heroes. Trump, by most measures, is his opposite: hateful instead of hopeful; crass instead of clever; an angry apostle of his own ambition rather than a cheerful warrior for the conservative cause. He's unpredictable and quick to anger . . . and as a father and a veteran, those are qualities that frighten me in a potential commander-in-chief. Mine is the party of Lincoln, the champion of American exceptionalism and individual responsibility. We promote smaller government, lower taxes, and local control. It's a party I'm proud of, and I'll be damned if I abandon it to be destroyed by a con man. I only wish I could help every Republican understand that Trump is a mortal threat to our party, not its savior.... Instead of sitting this year out, I'm helping our under-ticket candidates, including Sen. Rob Portman. I'll cast my vote for every Republican on the ballot this year . . . except Trump. Would it have been easier to flip-flop and become a Trump sycophant after he clinched the nomination? Sure. But I'm proud to say I kept my word. And I'll be proud to someday tell my children that I loved my party . . . but I loved my country more.

Read the whole thing.