Democratic presidential candidates keep raising the stakes, particularly on the economy, making the choice for Never Trump Republicans and independents increasingly difficult.

For purposes of this column, let’s define Never Trumpers as people who are center to center right on policy, so there is a lot that Donald Trump has done as president that they like.

They nevertheless find his behavior, as president and as a candidate, abhorrent. And his impulsive and erratic conduct of the nation’s business, internationally and domestically, a threat to stability and tranquility.

The Never Trumpers can be divided into two camps. There are those who are truly anyone-but-Trump. They regard removing Trump from office as the highest political objective and will cast tactical votes accordingly.

I think their numbers are probably pretty small. The larger group could be described as anyone-but-Trump-within-limits. This group may very well decide the election.

If Trump loses the votes of everyone who thinks he’s a cad and an irresponsibly erratic force as president, he’ll lose the election. If Trump wins the votes of those who prefer his policies to those of his Democratic opponent, as those policies are shaping up, he might very well win.

The anyone-but-Trump-within-limits cohort understands that getting rid of Trump means at least four years of liberal governance.

Voters may tolerate creeping liberalism

That’s an exchange they undoubtedly would make for the creeping liberalism of, for example, Bill Clinton’s tenure.

Clinton did raise marginal income tax rates. But, largely checked by a Republican Congress, he mostly played small ball on expanding the role of the federal government. Things like federal funding for street cops. That’s digestible.

They might even make the exchange for the trotting liberalism of Barack Obama’s tenure. Obama did a few big things. He also raised the marginal income tax rate, got a big stimulus package enacted and put Obamacare in place. But these things didn’t fundamentally change the basic structure of the American system of democratic capitalism.

Obama also harnessed the administrative state to achieve liberal ends, such as climate change and labor relations. But, as the Trump administration demonstrated, what is done administratively can be largely undone administratively. Again, no fundamental or irreversible changes.

Candidates offering more sweeping changes

Instead of creeping or trotting liberalism, the Democratic candidates for president are virtually all running on galloping liberalism bent on fundamentally and permanently changing the basic structure of the American system of democratic capitalism. That raises the stakes on ousting Trump tremendously.

Virtually all the candidates want to turn health care into a public good, with the federal government taking responsibly for, at a minimum, its financing. Some want to abolish private health insurance entirely.

Virtually all the candidates want to radically change the U.S. energy market in a short period of time. Rather than doing this through a carbon tax, stimulating private sector adjustments and innovations, they want to do it through massive public investment programs. The green-energy white elephants of the Obama stimulus program will multiply manifold.

Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren want to fundamentally change the nature of major U.S. corporations, turning them into social rather than economic organizations.

Warren would require large corporations to obtain a federal charter with responsibilities to various stakeholders beyond their shareholders, inevitably opening them up to endless litigation. She would require that a certain percentage of board seats be set aside for workers. Sanders would actually require that workers be given equity positions in large corporations.

Where Democrats will lose Never Trumpers

And, of course, the rich would pay for everything, through higher income tax rates, a wealth tax and a confiscatory inheritance tax.

All of this illustrates the economic blind spot of liberal Democrats, a lack of understanding and appreciation for the importance of private investment capital in sustainable private-sector growth.

But the European-style social democracy the Democrats are pledging to transform the United States into can’t be financed just by taxing the rich. A European-style social democracy will require a European-style value added tax, although none of the candidates will openly acknowledge that.

Joe Biden, the frontrunner, was vice president during the trotting liberalism of the Obama years. But he seems prepared to break out in a gallop as well.

At present, how high the Democrats are raising the stakes in this election isn’t clear to the Never Trumpers. As the election approaches, it will become clearer.

Robert Robb is an editorial columnist for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, where this column originally appeared. Follow him on Twitter @RJRobb.