A Quiner’s Diner reader reacts to Donald Trump
By Tom Quiner
I received this reaction to my post earlier today: “How I plan to vote in this November’s presidential election:”
“There is no question that the people that handed Trump the nomination have put thoughtful, issues-based Republicans in a very tough spot. I believe Hillary is a crook and does not represent my views politically. That being said I am fully in the “never Trump” camp and would encourage you to also vote against Trump.
I vote Republican because the party broadly stands for limited government, free market economics and respect for all life. The party does not get a free pass to nominate anyone they want and expect me to be a loyal voter. I think in the long run the Republican party will be better off losing this election by a land-slide and re-evaluating what it stands for, rather than electing Donald Trump and opening the White House to somebody that is hostile to women, minorities and as far as I can tell, does not represent anything the party stands for.
Making the case against Trump is easy, but making the case against Trump in favor of Hillary is a little tougher. One thing that is very important in selecting a president is to evaluate their ability to be commander in chief, as he can make use of the military in many instances without congressional approval. Trump is a loose cannon and is unpredictable. The world is a dangerous place and Trump’s unpredictability makes him a serious threat to US security and global security.
I think this is the most compelling case to not vote for Trump. Hillary certainly has a record we can point to as secretary of state. We can pick that record apart and identify serious lapses in judgement and choices that are philosophically at odds with what you and I believe. That being said, I think if the choice is Hillary or Trump, Hillary is a safer bet.
I am still somewhat hopeful that a viable third party candidate will emerge. But this election has gotten to a point where we can’t simply throw away a vote on principle. Donald Trump is dangerous and cannot be president. I would encourage you, if the choice is Hillary versus Trump, to hold your nose and pick Hillary.”
I don’t think so. Never would I vote for a party that murders babies, encourages same sex marriage, supports trans genders in their quest to utilize such facilities used by opposite gender, just because of a so called, an identity crisis, and demeans Christianity. That’s my take on this. Blessings.
Thanks for weighing in. I suspect this is the beginning of a grueling conversation on the meaning of a vote for Trump.
I will not vote for Hillary Clinton. That said, I would have to be over the top inebriated to vote for Donald Trump. And sadly, I don’t believe there is enough alcohol in the world to make that happen. He’s just too scary.
So what do you think you will do?
I’m not sure. I have never not voted in a presidential election and I never thought that would be an option for me. However, barring a third party option I just don’t know if I will vote for President this year. I am a Christian and I believe that we will have to give an account to God for the choices we make. I don’t know if I want to stand in front of my maker and try and explain either vote.
I respect your decision.
The world is definitely a more dangerous place thanks to the Obama/Clinton policies. But I think we are still strong enough in terms of the military and the economy to hold our own for a few more years.
Because of that, I believe the most important consideration with this upcoming election is the balance of the US Supreme Court. For many decades the liberals have relied on the federal courts to make changes to American society that would never have been approved if they had been left to the voters to decide. The court now has four pretty solid liberals, two pretty solid conservatives, and two “kind-of” conservatives. But most of the justices are getting up there in age.
If Clinton gets elected, she will more than likely get a second term. That would give her up to eight years to wait out the older justices and stack the court with liberal judges. Once there is a liberal majority on the court, we can expect to see successful liberal challenges to the 1st Amendment (both freedom of speech and religious freedom), and the 2nd Amendment (Clinton has already stated that the court went too far in deciding that the right to bear arms is an individual right). We can also expect to see federal encroachments on the 10th Amendment.
Most of the Republicans in Congress have already shown that they are too weak to stand up against such a liberal assault. On the other hand, Clinton will have no qualms about not only relying on the stacked court, but also using executive orders whenever she wants (assuming the Democrats don’t get the majority of both houses of Congress – if they do, we’re in big trouble!).
Trump was not anywhere close to my first few choices for President, but now it is either Trump or Clinton. We know what Clinton’s positions are, and after 8 years of a Clinton presidency, this nation will be irreversibly changed, for the worse. As Tom pointed out, there are a lot of unknowns about Trump, so it might be a gamble. And if you vote “third party,” you might as well admit you are willing to let Clinton be elected.
It has come down to the devil we know and the devil we’re not sure about. I’m going with the latter in hopes that the conservative movement will then have time to regroup. And I am also going to vote for the Republicans on the rest of the ballot. We need to maintain the House and the Senate, along with state offices.
Thanks for weighing in, Steve. Your position is the one I’m grappling with. I need more time to see what happens.
The ONLY thing that has me considering voting for Trump is the Supreme Court. Even then, I think, “4 years of Hillary won’t be too bad. Maybe after that, we can have a true conservative beat her out.”
As you can see on these pages, Shawn, opinions vary, and the are intense.
But Shawn, if you are concerned about the Supreme Court, just the first year of Hillary would be bad because she would nominate a relatively young liberal justice to fill Scalia’s seat, automatically tilting the court 5-4 for the liberals. Justice Kennedy, a “swing vote” is almost 80 years old, so he could quite likely retire during Hillary’s first four years, allowing her to nominate another young liberal. And Ginsburg and Breyer could see Hillary’s first four years as an opportunity to retire and be replaced by younger liberal justices. So in Hillary’s first four years we could end up with 6-3 court stacked with relatively young liberal judges who will have many years to shape American society to their liberal agenda.
Theoretically, if Republicans retain the US Senate they could keep Hillary from stacking the court. I say theoretically because, unfortunately, the Republican congressional leadership as a group have shown little interest in taking on Obama, and I don’t see any new-found backbone among them if Hillary wins.
Anyone concerned about the make-up of the US Supreme Court, and its impact on American society, should just resign themselves to voting for Trump.
There’s a big BUT … what kind of judges would Trump nominate? I agree with everything you said about Hillary’s probable course of action. But Trump is unpredictable and dishonest. He promised he would nominate pro life jurists vetted by the Heritage Foundation. By all accounts, he has backed away from that rhetoric now that he thinks he doesn’t need pro lifers. He will renege on any deal. I am reserving judgement until all the cards are on the table. I’ll make a prediction: there is a good possibility will see impeachment actions taken regardless of whom is elected. Obama could get away with anything. I don’t think a President Clinton or Trump can … or will. The media won’t have their backs like they do Obama’s.
I’m pretty sure I know a lot of the things Hillary will do if she is elected, and I disagree with them. In terms of Trump, I don’t know for sure what he will do if he is elected. So in terms of electing a president, I have three options this November: 1) Vote for Hillary, with whom I disagree; 2) Sit out the election/vote for a third party and enable Hillary to be elected to do things with which I disagree; and 3) Vote for Trump because I don’t know for sure he will be as bad as Hillary, and it is possible he might turn out to be good for our country. It is a sad commentary on American society and the state of the Republican Party that these are the three options. I’ll take No. 3, and encourage others to do so. And don’t forget to vote for the Republicans down the ballot.
Good analysis, Steve. I’m leaning towards #3, but I’m not committed yet. I’m a conservative first, and a Republican second. As Bret Stephens wrote in this morning’s Wall Street Journal, Trump could hurt the conservative brand and set back conservatism for years. His attacks on Paul Ryan, who I consider the leader of conservatism, is a case in point.
Unfortunately we’re back to a question of degrees. If Hillary has her way she will do everything she can to destroy to conservative movement. If Trump only sets back the conservative movement by a few years, I would consider that a “win” compared to what Hillary will do if given the chance.
You couldn’t pay me enough money to ever vote for Hillary. I will be voting for Trump.
I understand.
The morality of choosing not to support Trump
https://liberalsbackwardsthink.com/2016/05/06/the-morality-of-choosing-not-to-support-trump/
Thought-provoking response. Thanks for sharing.
The morality of choosing not to support Trump
https://liberalsbackwardsthink.com/2016/05/06/the-morality-of-choosing-not-to-support-trump/
Any action….and I do mean ANY action….other than voting for Trump results in enabling Hillary to become our next president……and THAT SHOULD BE A TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE OPTION for anyone with a single drop of conservative/Republican/Libertarian blood in their veins.
I am clearly not a big Trump supporter. However, now that it comes down to Trump vs Hillary….THEN THERE IS NO CHOICE BUT TO VOTE FOR TRUMP. Yes, we can all rattle off a long list of things we do not like about Trump…..and we can all take a pure or righteous approach on why we might either stay home, vote for a third party candidate….or even vote for Hillary. Short range that might sooth your conscience and make you feel better that you showed your opposition to Trump. However, in the long run all you will have accomplished is to be an ENABLER TO HILLARY…..a president who will a) appoint 3-4 liberal Supreme Court judges b) continue to expand the role of government, c) continue huge budget deficits d) embrace the moral decay of our country and e) ignore the constitution in order to change our country into her world view.
So….we should all lick our wounds a little and express our frustration that we didn’t get a more solidly conservative and traditionally Republican candidate….but THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE MUST GET OVER IT….AND WE MUST VOTE FOR TRUMP. Any other action makes us an enabler to at least four years (and probably eight years) of Hillary as president……and THAT SHOULD BE TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE TO EACH OF US!
Solid points, Roger. Thanks for sharing a very legitimate point of view.
Here’s how I feel: http://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2016/05/09/i-am-going-to-vote-for-trump-though-it-makes-me-want-to-projectile-vomit-n2159414?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad=