The Rev. Franklin Graham's switch to an independent is disappointing because "we need him in the Republican Party," conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly told
Newsmax TV on Tuesday.
"We have a two-party system in America and as Don Rumsfeld once said: 'You go to war with the army you have, not the army you wish you had,'" Schlafly, founder of the Eagle Forum, told "Newsmax Prime" host Ric Blackwell.
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"If you want a third party, most of Europe, they've got lots of useless parties over there," she added. "You can pick them cheaply, but we have a temporary system."
"I've been in there fighting for conservative values in the Republican Party for a long time — and I'm not going to give up on that."
Regarding GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump, Schlafly said that she was less concerned about his spat with Democrat Hillary Clinton than a true discussion of the issues facing voters.
"I don't think we need to try to clean up his language," she told Blackwell. "That's not high on our priority list."
"I'm interested in the issues that he's addressing — and he's addressing the big issues" including building a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico to stop illegal immigration.
"We want them to address the immigration issue and Trump has been wonderful in bringing that out to the forefront," Schlafly said. "So that's a good one."
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