I am, like most voters, aghast at the choice we have for president in the 2016 election. We all knew the Democrats would wind up with Hillary Clinton. The Democratic primary was rigged from the start, and nothing was going to stop her coronation.
The Republicans, on the other hand, had a plethora of excellent candidates; with one or two exceptions, I would have been happy with any of them. Unfortunately, with the compressed primary, the large field and thoughtful voters divided, the GOP ended up with Donald Trump, the brash, billionaire egomaniac.
Like it or not, Clinton or Trump is the choice each and every voter faces. Republicans and small-government-leaning Democrats who choose not to vote for president, on principle, are, in effect, casing a vote for Hillary Clinton.
They know it, and they make no bones about it. They want Trump to lose so they can be proven right, and they want to punish anyone who doesn't feel that way. They are guilty of doing the very thing they dislike most in Trump. They want to gloat! They have made the decision that it is better to give the election to a left-leaning, big-government, dishonest Democratic nominee than to allow Donald Trump to become the nation's chief executive. They are, for all practical purposes, ready for Hillary.
Personally, I would rather have an inept, brash candidate than one who steals from those who are willing to work hard and play by the rules in order to reward those who pony-up to keep her in power and in a lifestyle she could never afford if she had to go out and get a real job. I would rather have a candidate who can't pass a mirror or a TV camera without preening than one who can lie with a straight face. Frankly, I would take someone who is marginally qualified than someone who is, at her very core, dishonest.
Sure, there is a case to be made that both candidates have made wrong decisions in the past and statements they can't back up. However, there is an important difference between Trump and Clinton. Trump is an unseasoned politician who often shoots off his mouth without knowing the facts. When confronted with facts, he often backs down or changes his mind. Hillary knows the facts, but will flat-out lie about them. Rules simply don't apply to her.
There is another important difference: Trump will openly try to punish anyone who attacks him. Hillary will do the same, but in secret, and – more often than not – get away with it.
Frankly, it is time we had a leader who has the ability to put fear into the hearts of our enemies, and that includes all our enemies in Congress who work against the very people they are supposed to represent.
The very least we should demand of a candidate is honesty. I will take an honest man or woman over a dishonest one anytime, even one with whom I sometimes disagree.
No, Trump and Hillary are not equally bad. Hillary is far, far worse.
I will also take someone who has run something in the real world over someone who has made a killing in politics.
Sure the Republican leaders hate Trump. He has called them to task for their stand on illegal immigration, over spending, bad trade deals and playing footsie with Obama. Will Trump remain true to his principles? It's anybody's guess. One thing's for sure: Hillary will.
Some say a Trump victory will be the end of the Republican Party. Well, the Republican Party, as it stands now, is completely worthless. Compare its stated principles to what it does, even with a lock on Congress: At best it is a toothless tiger, at worst a fraud. Trump's defeat will be a validation of their fecklessness!
Don't give me all the reasons not to vote for Trump. I made them myself during the primary. However, it is better to swallow one's pride and accept the GOP candidate, warts and all, than it is to stand idly by and allow a woman who has been one of the most corrupt and dishonest politicians in my lifetime – who will lead this country further down the road to socialism, open borders and unsustainable debt – to become president. It is time to say "no" to the woman who will finish the job Barack Obama has started and turn the Supreme Court into a rubber stamp for leftist policies that would never pass Congress, even one controlled by her own party.
That is why I'll vote for Trump.
Media wishing to interview Jane Chastain, please contact [email protected].
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