Do you still have an uneasy feeling about this election two weeks out? People are already early voting and given that Hillary Clinton is up in the polls she is likely banking a plurality of the vote. But I am still uneasy.It is Brexit. It is Columbia. It is Donald Trump.
The democratic populous are making bad choices these days because our democratic leaders throughout the world are failing poor and middle-class America. The British made a poor choice with their Brexit vote, a choice that will hurt the poor and middle-class more so than the plutocracy. The Columbians’ rejection of the peace deal with FARC may feel good for those who want to extoll maximum pain out of the ‘rebels.’ But it hurts the masses. The Republican Party made a poor choice. Will America irrespective of the current polls elect our first, in the words of Democratic Primary Presidential Candidate Martin O’Malley, fascist president? The polls say no, but I am still uneasy.
Donald Trump has a passionate vote that will continue to support him and vote for him even if, as he says, he shoots someone on Fifth Avenue. No one else with the ethical problems, the demeaning statements made on audio and video, and a caustic character would remain a viable candidate. But he has. Hillary Clinton’s supporters do not seem as passionate for her. Yes, so far most say they are voting for her. But I am still uneasy.
Can Americans not see how important this election is?
I have very liberal friends who continue to talk about blowing up the electoral system by dissing Hillary Clinton because she has not lived up to their ideals. They decided to vote for Jill Stein or Gary Johnson. They attempt to convince themselves that these votes are a moral choice and not an implicit vote for Donald Trump.
Jill Stein is a good person. In fact, I interviewed her at the Democracy Convention in Madison a few years ago. But the same type of political posturing and shenanigans she accused the establishment candidate of doing are what she is doing now. She appeared on Alex Jones’ InfoWars.com with an interview that was simply off the rails. Is that a moral or ethical vote?
Gary Johnson was caught off guard when asked about Aleppo. More shocking was his inability a few weeks later to name one living foreign leader and could not. Moreover, his staunch anti-government libertarian stance is anathema to most who are voting for him under the false belief that his liberal stance on social issues and marijuana makes him more palatable than Hillary Clinton. Is that an informed or for that matter a patriotic vote?
I have evangelical relatives who believe their pastors who tell them that Trump as imperfect as he is, was sent by God. This one should not surprise many. After-all, many organized religions always found doctrinal justification for war, slavery, prejudice, mistreatment of women, and more.
I have Conservative friends who know Trump is terrible but only care about getting a conservative Supreme Court Justice. This shortsighted decision fails to realize that an intellectually lazy president can be manipulated by different interests (e.g, George W. Bush) to create problems the entire country will live with for decades.
I also have friends who are staunch Democrats who say they are not voting. They find every single candidate unacceptable. These friends need to grow up. The candidates we must choose from came from those who voted and those who didn’t vote in the primaries. Whether one likes a candidate or not, the responsibility of a citizen in a democracy is to vote even if one believes they are voting for the better of two evils.
Most do not have the privilege to be selective. You see, they live in a world where elections have consequences. The four candidates are very different. Specifically, Hillary Clinton’s policies are very different than those of Donald Trump.
My wife has Lupus, a preexisting condition. A vote for Trump or a non-vote for Clinton determines my financial outcome.
Millions of parents are struggling to send their kids to college. The higher education of many young adults depends on your vote.
Obamacare, flaws and all, saves the lives of hundreds of thousands every year when extrapolated to the changes to all health insurance. The wrong vote is a death sentence to many.
No one should be undecided in this election. The contrast is clear.