There are plenty of people who call themselves Republicans that support Trump. They call themselves Christians or conservatives… but are they? Or have they sold out their principles because a loud man is channeling their anger and pretending to be politically incorrect. Trump is not a conservative. He’s spent his entire life as the most liberal of liberals, supporting abortion, illegal immigration, and Obamacare. Trump is not anti-establishment. This is a man who funded corrupt politicians like the Clintons and abused government power whenever he could for his own gains. But his supporters won’t care. They’ve dug in their heels and they won’t budge, no matter how much evidence shows that he would be a terrible president. Thankfully, the vast majority of conservatives — and Americans — don’t support him. So Erick Erickson, along with other conservative leaders, are calling for a unity ticket to come together and stop Trump.

We believe that the issue of Donald Trump is greater than an issue of party. It is an issue of morals and character that all Americans, not just those of us in the conservative movement, must confront.

We call for a unity ticket that unites the Republican Party. If that unity ticket is unable to get 1,237 delegates prior to the convention, we recognize that it took Abraham Lincoln three ballots at the Republican convention in 1860 to become the party’s nominee and if it is good enough for Lincoln, that process should be good enough for all the candidates without threats of riots.

We encourage all former Republican candidates not currently supporting Trump to unite against him and encourage all candidates to hold their delegates on the first ballot.

Lastly, we intend to keep our options open as to other avenues to oppose Donald Trump. Our multiple decades of work in the conservative movement for free markets, limited government, national defense, religious liberty, life, and marriage are about ideas, not necessarily parties.

Trump has tapped into Americans’ understandable anger. But is this how we want to define ourselves? Do we want to have our country defined by a loud, thuggish bully who stomps all over the Constitution while bellowing crude insults? Once upon a time, we used to have morals. We used to have character. Which way do we want to go?

Choosing Trump will affect much more than just politics. The character of our nation will fundamentally change for the worse. It’s not too late to turn the ship. But to do so, we have to work together. Now is the time to remember what being a conservative truly means. Now is the time to remember our principles, and fight for them.

We cannot let Trump succeed. We must stop him at all costs.