atlanta <u+2014> donald j. trump will be the next president of the united states. i got it absolutely wrong. i have been writing since february that he would not win. the great paradox of this election for me is that i never saw mr. trump as a legitimate contender in the primaries because i believed the polling was wrong, but it was right all along. in the general election, i presumed he would never win because the polling was right, but it was wrong all along. in an election in which i wanted both candidates to lose, the man i wanted to lose beat the woman i wanted to lose, and i am o.k. with that. if i was wrong about the election, i am willing to admit i can be wrong about donald trump. i hope others will embrace some humility on that front as well. mr. trump will be the president. i, along with much of the right, collectively freaked out about barack obama<u+2019>s election in 2008. the political left is now doing the same with mr. trump. but i never veered into <u+201c>he is not my president<u+201d> territory with president obama. whether i liked him or not, he was and still is my president. in january, donald trump will become our president. as a conservative, i am optimistic that he will appoint good people to the supreme court. senator harry reid signaled a few weeks ago that senate democrats, anticipating gaining the senate, intended to finally end the filibuster for supreme court justices. i have no doubt the left will conveniently forget that now, though i suspect the republicans will oblige them by ending it for them. as a conservative, i also hope republicans repeal the dodd-frank financial oversight legislation; the lilly ledbetter fair pay act, which loosened time limits for bringing workplace discrimination suits; and the affordable care act. there are, however, several things about which i have growing concerns. first, we have arrived at an unknowable future. the data we have relied on in the past to help shape the direction of the country is no longer reliable. public opinion surveys were wrong. polling averages were wrong. exit polling was wrong. even the parties<u+2019> internal surveys were wrong. because we cannot trust the data, many will begin trusting anecdotes from friends, family and tribe. policies will be based on what people think are good ideas, not what data show. this will potentially further divide the country and further segment an already divided nation. i am also concerned about conservatives and christians seeking seats at tables of power. during the george w. bush administration, <u+201c>republican<u+201d> and <u+201c>conservative<u+201d> became synonymous. conservative defenders of president bush referred to him as a <u+201c>big-government conservative.<u+201d> conservatives were suddenly willing to embrace nationalized education plans, prescription drug benefits and huge increases in federal domestic spending in the name of preserving power. only in the past eight years have conservatives re-established their ideological bona fides outside of the republican party. likewise, many christians supporting mr. trump did so hiding behind terrible theology. when liberals pushed for transgender rights, gay marriage and laws forcing bakers to bake cakes for same-sex weddings, evangelicals concluded that the left<u+2019>s secularism had become an existential threat. they responded by adopting an <u+201c>ends justify the means<u+201d> philosophy and rallied around mr. trump <u+2014> a man who never seemed to fully embrace christian teachings <u+2014> and selectively chose scripture to justify that support. christians now need to be cautious about taking a seat at the table if it means harming their ability to lead others to faith. justifying sin in the acquisition of power is the very thing the old testament shows will lead to the downfall of faith communities. lastly, i worry that the election will be misread. in 2012, mitt romney received 60,933,504 votes. as of this writing, with the vote still being counted, donald trump has received 59,253,172. as much as mr. trump was able to flip support from barack obama, he also benefited from hillary clinton<u+2019>s inability to mobilize her base. the party out of the white house historically does well in off-year elections <u+2014> meaning democrats might come back strong in two years. for republicans to succeed moving forward they will need to understand the true meaning of the election. since 1994, when the democratic party suffered catastrophic losses in the midterm elections, conservatives have counted on the republican party to support their policies. in 2016, that came back to bite them. free-market, limited-government conservatives have just helped elect a protectionist who wants to be a strongman in washington. those of us who opposed him should pray for him and give him a chance. but conservatives should realize they won a battle, but are losing a war for ideas. they need to begin again to reach across the aisle and go outside washington. an honest conservatism willing to help the next president, but also hold him accountable when he advocates bad policy, will be the conservatism that helps temper tribalism and unite the country. erick-woods erickson is the editor of the website the resurgent and a talk-show host on radio station wsb. follow the new york times opinion section on facebook and twitter (@nytopinion), and sign up for the opinion today newsletter . a version of this op-ed appears in print on november 10, 2016, on page a23 of the new york edition with the headline: eating crow on donald trump. today's paper | subscribe
erick erickson: eating crow on donald trump
erick-woods erickson