As a backdrop for the title of my post, way back when the
Republicans had 15 or so Presidential candidates, I indicated that if the
current president somehow emerged as the Republican nominee, I would not only vote
for Hillary Clinton, I would vote for Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Mister Ed,
Howdy Doody, or even a pile of Snickers’ poop from the backyard before I’d vote
for the current president. Sadly, since
then, we had to put Snickers down, and even more sadly since then, America
elected the current president.
Being a life-long Republican, some of my fellow Republicans
had similar issues with the current president, so they could understand, while
others, they couldn’t understand then and they still don’t understand, how
could I betray the party? How could I
say I’d vote for the much-hated Hillary Clinton over anybody? Hard to believe I’m saying it, but I did vote
for Mrs. Clinton. For the first time in my life, after 36 years of voting, I voted for a Democrat for President.
I got it, and I still get it. I have always disliked Mrs. Clinton, even
more than her husband Bill, ever since they emerged on the political scene way
back in the early 90’s. I believe she is
dishonest, unlikable, and I still believe she was complicit in the Whitewater
scandal. Still, I found her to be a much
better candidate for president than the current president. She was smart, she understood politics, and
she had a plan.
What I find interesting or amusing is that some of my dear
Republican friends are upset or offended that I won’t support or accept the
current president as my president. I must admit that the only other time
I have taken this approach was when Bill Clinton was president, again, I truly
believed he was involved in the Whitewater scandal, and I didn’t trust his
integrity or ethics. In the case of the
current president, I find him too offensive, too unqualified, and too divisive
to accept or support.
My question for those of my friends who are upset or
offended are:
Should I support him simply because he occupies the office of President
of the United States? Do you
mean the way you supported President Obama over the last eight years?
Should I support him because nothing will happen in this country over
the next four years, or God forbid, eight years, if we don’t support him? Do you mean the way you tried to help
President Obama with his agenda over the last eight years?
Should I support him because he’s a Republican, and he can push the
Republican agenda? Do you mean
that the Republican agenda is more important than the American agenda?
Should I support him because that is the patriotic thing to do? Again,
I’d go back to the way you supported President Obama over the last eight years,
were you patriotic if that is the case?
To be honest, I don’t get it. I would be happy to understand why it’s so
important for me to embrace this president.
Guys, I’ve been there. I’ve sat
around bashing the Democrats, laughing at their ridiculous agendas, amazed that
the two best candidates they could come up with were Hillary Clinton and Bernie
Sanders, ridiculing them for fixing their own primary, hoping that Nancy Pelosi
is forever in charge. I bashed Bill Clinton to death, I had an
irrational hatred (I really don’t like that word, but really, it’s the best way
I can describe how I felt) for Mr. Clinton.
I’ve heard the way you talked about Barack Obama. Help me understand!
It’s funny, I just saw a survey of Republicans that
essentially said it’s unpatriotic to criticize the current president to
foreigners, but a similar poll four years ago of Republicans said it was
unpatriotic not to criticize
President Obama to foreigners. Have we
grown this divided, have we gotten to the point where logic and rational
thinking don’t matter, it purely comes down to which side of the political
aisle you are on, and by God, you better never cross the aisle?
If you’ll remember several months ago, many Republicans
lauded Ted Cruz when he flip-flopped on his vow to never support the current
president. If you’ll also remember, the
current president had some very harsh words for Ted Cruz’ wife and his late
father. I’m sorry, if you criticize my
wife or my late father, I don’t care how big you are, or how big of an ass-kicking
I may get, we’re going to take it outside to settle the issue. After that, our relationship is ended, my
wife and my father’s legacy are too vital to me. I was never a fan of Ted Cruz, but for him,
or any of the others who have flip-flopped, I hold you in very low
respect. If you have values or
integrity, you hold to that no matter what.
Thankfully at least a few Republicans, like John McCain and John Kasich,
do have some morals and integrity left, most have checked them at the door.
As I noted earlier, I find so many issues with the current
president, but the biggest issue I have when I view him is he is not a
leader. Now, I could find various books
about leadership, and recite for you the traits of a leader, but as I think
back over my 35+ year career, I’ve worked for some great leaders. I’ll mention just a few from the past (it
wouldn’t be fair to mention anyone from the present) for those of you who
remember, but think back to Ray Stickel, Tom Mann, or Kent Spille from Touche Ross or Jim Crane or
Al Herman from Barco. If I think about
those individuals, what comes to mind are:
- Integrity
- Honesty
- Intelligence
- Character
- Compassion
- Work Ethic
Besides that, what I remember most about these individuals
was they gave credit to their people when things went well, and they absorbed
the blame when things didn’t go so well.
They stood up for their beliefs, they stood up for their people, and
they gave us a vision when things were going well and when they weren’t going
well. They could communicate clearly and
intelligently, some weren’t always eloquent speakers, but they still could
string together intelligent thoughts in front of an audience.
Sadly, I find none of these leadership qualities in the
current president.
Finally, what I find the most troubling is the flock of
“religious right” who have backed the current president. Christian “leaders” such as Franklin Graham
and Jerry Falwell, Jr. have come to his support and defended the various transgressions
he’s committed. I would never question
whether a person was a Christian or not, that’s not my place. But please don’t tell me that the current
president is acting in the name of Christianity. There is nothing Christian about what he says
or does. If you are swayed solely by the
abortion issue, I would ask you if you also believe in taking care of those
children once they are born, and also if you are willing to accept refugees
from other countries to allow them to live.
I’m just thankful that most true religious leaders have not sold out
like Mr. Graham and Mr. Falwell.
Is everything lost, am I just preaching gloom and doom for
our country? No, not really, but I do
believe that indirectly the current president will “make America great
again”. I believe that we will continue
to decline. While our history, economy
and military might still provide a great deal of influence in the free world,
other countries, with much stronger and better leaders, will continue to grow
and emerge. We will continue to decline
under his leadership, or lack thereof.
He has absolutely no clue what he is doing, he is too lazy and not
bright enough to try to figure out how to be president, and he has appointed a
cast of stooges to help run our country.
While I believe James Mattis, H.R. McMaster and Rex Tillerson have been
reasonably good choices for the administration, we have a whole slew of sorely
unqualified people like Betsy Devos, Jeff Sessions, Rick Perry and Ben Carson,
along with the family and friends – Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Steve
Bannon, trying to run this country. We
have a dearth of leadership in this country currently, starting at the top, and
it seems, no one is willing or able to step up.
Once we have declined enough, and we realize we are not
great, or even good anymore, we will realize we have to rebuild. We will realize that even though we have two
parties, or maybe more, we still have to come together and cooperate for the
greater good of the country. We will
work together for a common good rather than what is simply good for “my side of
the aisle”. We will remember what made
America great was our compassion for others, and our willingness to work for
the greater good rather than our own personal benefits.
Not sure if any of my dear Republican friends are there yet,
so I’ll at least try to invoke the name of one of our greatest, Ronald
Reagan. As the stories go, and they may
just be stories, but when the Republicans and Democrats couldn’t agree, and
they violently disagreed in the public, President Reagan would quietly meet with
Tip O’Neil, a Democrat, and Speaker of the House of Representatives. Over some drinks at the White House, they
would discuss what needed to be done for the good of the country, not for the
good of each party. They would quietly
agree to something that would be in the best interest of our country. No idea if this is all fact or fiction, but
it seemed to work so much better than the insanity that we face now.
I’m sorry guys. I vow
to vote straight party Democrat until your president is out of office to do
everything possible to block his agenda.
I cannot and I will not support this president.
Not my president. Never my president.
