Why I am voting for Donald Trump & You Should Too:
Former Title: I'm not so much voting for Donald Trump as I am voting against Hillary Clinton
But a funny thing happened between then & now. I started listening ... really listening to the candidates and studying the issues and in the last several months my views have drastically changed. I recognize real potential in Trump as our next president and the leader of the free world. Okay ... I pause here for you pitch rotten cantaloupes at me or leave the page.
But wait. Don't leave. Here me out.
- Let's see, the democrats pretty much own California and New York and they aren't afraid to share their fervid hatred of Trump. So, I'm ostensibly sabotaging any hopes of my career getting a jump start by a major publisher in the near future -- so, no, that's not why I'm voting for Trump.
- I'm on a mission to lose the Twitter followers I've worked so hard to gain. Nope -- wrong again. Not my reason
- I want anti-Trump, pro-Hillary people bombarding me with cruel messages and calling me a racist, redneck, bigot and xenophobe. Nope. That's not it, either. And for people ITRW, who actually know me, I'm the last person anyone would call me a racist, a xenophobe or homophobic or any other negative label. This post isn't about me defending my personal beliefs or opinions, but I'm not a racist. I'm certainly not homophobic. I have as many gay friends as straight friends and I have a gay sibling. I fought for gay marriage. I'm not a xenophobe, but I'm most certainly a "terrorist-a-phobe." I don't give a dead rat's ass where the terrorist originally came from, what his/her nationality is, what their religious beliefs are or anything about their culture ... all I care about is whether or not a person poses a significant risk to the safety of my country, and the safety of my family.
I'm also getting tired of the race card being over played. I don't for one second dispute that racism still exist in the United States. It's more rampant now than it's been in my lifetime and it's right out in the open. What I find mod disturbing about racism today is how much it's heightened and intensified during Barack Obama's Presidency. Do not misinterpret what I said. I did not in any way blame the current state of racial tension on President Obama. I'm merely pointing out my observation. I had hoped and thought that after electing the first African American president, racial tension would have subsided. But we, as a whole, all of us have a lot of work to do to mend the rift and restore the balance. Racism used to be easy to define. It simply meant hating someone because of their race.
Now racism is used more often for political reasons without any regard or proof as to whether something bigoted, prejudged, or slanted was said or done. This is not the fault of the the parties involved in the incidents giving rise to the political use of "racism." Liberals are quick to shout "Racism," anytime someone doesn't agree with them. Okay enough on racism. That's another post for another day.
Now onto the reasons I am voting for Trump. Why open myself to the ridicule, scorn and contempt associated with publicly supporting Donald Trump for President.
That's actually 2 Questions:
(1) Why am I voting for Trump?
(2) Why can't I just do so, shamefully, in secret, like so many people I know, instead of publicly supporting the man who is so viciously hated?
I'm a republican, from the south. I'm also a college educated woman. I'm not a redneck. Don't drive a pickup trick (no offense intended, many of my relatives drive trucks, and hunt and do all that southern stuff, I don't) I'm a southern belle. Saturdays mean all day SEC football. I like my tea sweet, my stuff monogrammed and my handgun where I can shoot the burglar if necessary. My go to shoes are cowboy boots. They can be worn with cocktail dresses, cutoff shorts ... hell even a wedding gown. Please and thank you are requirements and so are hand written thank you notes on monogrammed stationary. That's a must, y'all.
This republican does not always vote the party line. I voted for Barack Obama (the first time he ran), I voted for Bill Clinton, both times. In fact, as a prosecutor, my boss often screamed at me for being such a liberal ... a democrat ... a bleeding heart. I'm either a republican who sways so far left she almost falls down or I could be a democrat who leans so far to the right that most of the democrats wouldn't want me on their team either. I'm in the middle of no man's land and we don't have a political party that represents all of my views.
I have a strong belief in the constitution, but I believe exceptions exist, such as exigent circumstances, that permit an interpretation of the constitution that has been developed through years of case law. These interpretations are based on facts and circumstances that our founding fathers could not have possibly foreseen based on the conditions and information available to them at the time of the creation of the constitution. I believe in the bill of rights, but again, with exceptions.
Freedom of speech is not an absolute right and we are in a new world where the courts and the legislature are constantly trying to play catch up with technology. Free speech was easy ... once upon a time. With the advent of the Internet and cyber trolls hiding behind anonymity -- not so much. Free speech does not grant someone the right to defame another and slap the name "journalism" on it.
I believe in the right to bear arms. I whole heartedly believe in this right and I fear if Hillary Clinton is elected, this right will be thwarted until it is eventually eradicated. Making it more difficult to purchase guns is all fine and dandy, but guess who those laws will affect? Who they apply to? You and me and the average law abiding citizen. Only those who actually follow the law.
Pay attention here: It's not a difficult concept.
Those of us already obeying the law are the very people who need ... and have the right to arm and protect ourselves against the thugs (no, thug is not a racist term) I once used it in a legal brief and the African American defendant made that argument on appeal and lost. Sidebar: I also used it during my closing argument in a capital murder trial when a young white boy killed a very reputable black man. I called the killer a "Thug." Of course, he took issue with the word and on appeal claimed it was prejudicial and inflammatory. The supreme court disagreed. You see, a criminal is a thug. White, black, pink or polka dot. A thug is a thug.
As I was saying, we law respecting folks have the right to buy a gun and protect ourselves against the thugs who are breaking into our homes intent on causing our family harm. The difference is -- in about 89% of the cases, the thug-criminal, who means to harm us, is armed with a gun, he obtained ... unlawfully. So, if we make it harder to legally buy guns, we only hurt the law abiding citizen. The thugs don't waltz into the local sporting good store and say:
"Hello, sir. I'm here to buy a new handgun. Oh you need to see my current and valid picture ID." He scratches his head "Hmmm. Whoa ... what do you mean you have to run a background check on me. What's that mean? So, you're saying if I've done time or I've I got me a felony conviction, I can't get no gun, huh? Does that dime I did down in Angola count? Well shit. How long's all this gonna take cuz my posse's waiting on me. Three days! Shut the fuck up. Forget this. I'll head down to shorty's where I can rent me a piece for a sawbuck. Let me grab some of that ammo while I'm here. Say what? You need ID for ammo. Screw this. Let's roll."
The dude above, the thug, criminal, he ain't about to pay full price for a weapon at a retail store and fill out a bunch of paper work, even if he could meet the requirements.
Criminals get their guns off the streets from other criminals!
Which is why we need to allocate more money for local, state and federal law enforcement and we need a president who stands behind law enforcement officers and is willing to have their backs. Because law enforcement officers are the only ones who can successfully get the illegal weapons off the damned streets. Stricter gun laws won't do it.
My Main Issues of Concern with the Country and What I'm Looking for in a President.
1. Foreign Policy -- Safety for our country, Safety for my family, Defeating terrorism, defeating ISIS, Securing our borders. We live in a dangerous time. Obama has done nothing to help our safety. We are leading from behind. We are no longer the powerful nation that all other counties looked up to. Our allies no longer respect us or trust us and our enemies no longer fear us. America can become the leader it once was, but we must set the standards for other countries to follow. For the past eight years we have failed. We don't keep our word or follow through on our threats. We have not enforced the red line in Syria. And probably the worst foreign policy decision ever made, we've legitimized Iran's nuclear weapons program. We've paid ransom money, setting a terrible precedent and our president lies to the American people
2. Health care -- Repealing The Affordable Care Act. The outrageous cost of health care is making many of us health care poor. Obama Care failed. More and more large health care corporations are pulling out. The cost of health care is expected to increase between 18 and 40% in 2017. Obama Care was a bust. Health insurance companies are a business and businesses must turn a profit. When companies are forced to insure elderly people and previously uninsurable people or those with pre-existing conditions, they are going to recoup those losses somewhere and guess who is making up for it -- you and me. Those of us who've been insured. I'm sure it helped some, but not many and it also forced many small businesses into bankruptcy. And if Obama thought it was such a fabulous deal, why then was it necessary to make an exception, exempting congress from the restrictions of Obama Care.
3. Economy -- I don't know how many of you are doing better off financially than you were eight years ago. I know that our economy is in bad shape and we need a president with business and negotiation skills. Someone who recognizes bad trading agreements, someone willing to negotiate new deals from a position of power. Donald Trump won't be indebted to any special interest groups or lobbyists and he won't be owned or controlled by anyone. Hillary Clinton, on the otter hand is a puppet for special interest groups. Trump cannot be bought. The liberals are all about big government and we already have too many government regulations. We can't afford anymore or we don't stand a chance of getting any of our major businesses to return to this country. We need less regulations for small businesses to open. Too many regulations infringes on liberty. Big government favors special interest groups and large corporations. The little man, the hard working middle class person, and small companies get lost in the process. We have to stop government bailouts. We have to stop the FCC from making up regulations as they see fit with no recourse. As a republican, I'm hurt by this because this plan wants to tip the scale against trial attorneys, but if that's what it takes to jump start America ... I'm all in.
4. Education -- Trump is for improving the educational system. He cares about education. Clinton can't even talk about it because The American Federation of Teachers and The National Education Association, the two largest teacher's union have donated millions to her campaign.
5. Transparency and getting rid of Government Corruption
6. Get rid of overreaching government. Take Control away from the unelected bureaucrats and return it to the elected people to represent the people who elected them.
that's what's needed for Obama to get his TPP "Trade Treaty" with Pacific countries passed into law during the lame duck session of congress. She has always been part of it. Just like she's always been part of NAFTA. Her words seldom match her actions
8. Trump might not be the most eloquent or politically correct speaker. Sure, he says some crappy thing and rants and raves and acts like a baby. I've heard many of you refer to him as a sociopath. That word gets tossed around today like yesterday's "Awesome." We latch onto new words like "Narrative" "Narcissist" "Sociopath" and the next thing you know you can't watch the news or read an article without the new words jumping off the page or out of the announcer's mouths.
People need to recognize the definition of a sociopath before labeling everyone who they disagree with or who doesn't like them from the man who lets his dog take a dump on your front lawn to the rude clerk at Circle K, to your kid's Sunday school teacher. Trump is most certainly not a sociopath. A narcissist ... most likely, but that's not necessarily or always a bad thing. There's a huge difference between a narcissist and having narcissistic personality disorder. In fact, most highly successful people have some narcissistic traits. You don't rise to the level of success in business and accomplish what Trump has if you lack self esteem. There is such a thing as healthy self esteem ... healthy narcissism. People like Bill Gates have it, but not to the point that it disrupts their day. People are drawn to natural leaders. Successful leaders, however are often more demanding. People with healthy narcissism usually have happy, healthy normal family lives and enjoy engaging in family activities. They contribute to their family, the community and are liked and/or disliked by others the same as any other person. On the other end of the spectrum you have people with desperately low self esteem and their sense of low self worth turns into a need for constant reassurance.
People with NPD are scared of being found out, always looking over their shoulder. Their life is a lie. The seek admiration, but the void is never filled. They are never wrong. They normally cannot maintain long term relationships because people figure them out. They aren't nearly as competent as they purport to be. They are manipulative, demanding and lack empathy.
A sociopath
This this isn't a post on mental illness. I'll be brief. The point I want to make is that a sociopath lacks empathy. He can't feel love, remorse, guilt or shame. They believe their own lies. Donald Trump feels true love for his family. It's evident. A sociopath could not have raised a family of well mannered, well adjusted, socially skilled, kids who are so obviously devoted to him, love him and who have demonstrated repeatedly that they possess character, integrity and live by the standards of a moral compass one could only learn growing up in a home filled with love, discipline and respect.
As I was saying, Trump is not a politician. He speaks without a filter. That may piss off a lot of people. At times, it's rather refreshing to hear a candidate's authentic voice. With Hillary, we don't get her true or honest opinion. We get what her speech writers and PR specialist have written for her to sell to to the public. Before she utters a single sentence, it is written, reworded, revised, analyzed, over analyzed, then her team tries it out on a mock group. The they poll it to see if she will get a favorable response or not. The it's back to the revision room for another rewrite. Then Hillary practices her delivery in front of her full length mirror. There's nothing true, personal or authentic about her words. And those are her scripted words. Her scripted and unscripted words consist of truths, half truth, legal dances around the truth and outright lies.
8. Donald Trump may be inexperienced, but I'll take that any day over Hillary's Experience and her proven track record.
Sure, we are taking a risk with the unknown, but it's a hell of a lot better than what we know Hillary is capable of and what her experience has proven.
Including
Haiti
Honduras
Libya
Afghanistan
Ukraine
I'm outraged by what this election has done to our country and to people I know. We live in the greatest country in the world. Countless mean and women have fought and lost their lives to afford us the freedoms we take for granted. We have the right to support whomever we please. I realize that politics and religion are touchy subjects for some, but I've studied politics for most of my life and I've always enjoyed election years. They offer us a chance to share our opinion and if we truly listen to others, the rare chance to learn something we may not have known.
I'm shocked by the number of blog posts I've read about people who've lost real friends over this election. The worst part is the reasoning behind Clinton supporters who've de-friended online and real time friends simply for supporting Donald Trump. One blogger, I can't remember who, stated, that he felt compelled to rid himself of all friends who supported Trump, as a matter of integrity. For him, it was a moral decision. He could not rationalize remaining friends with someone who was a racist, a homophobic, a misogynist, xenophobe, bully, sociopath etc.
I suppose he only follows the mainstream media and they don't do a very accurate job of reporting everything that Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, for that matter, do or say. The mainstream media is clearly biased and they take everything Trump says and report snippets of his speech or conversation (way out of context) then the world grabs hold, spins it and it evolves into something it wasn't.
How do I know? I've witnessed it first hand. For example. Trump never asked Russia to hack into Clinton's email. He was giving a speech about the DNC being hacked and he clearly stated that he didn't have a clue who the hacker was. He said that it could be Russia, or China, or some other country ... then he shrugged his shoulders, made a face, indicating confusion or lack of knowledge and said something like, "Heck it could be some teen sitting on his bed in his parent's basement doing all this hacking." Then he said " Maybe, you can get Hillary's deleted emails." It was so obviously a joke and he never directed the joke to Russia. If Hillary made the same statement, the media wouldn't have picked it up. It's disturbing that the media chose to make Trump's joke the cover story for the next 96 hours instead of the real story ... the DNC emails getting hacked which provided the people of the United States the concrete proof many had suspected all along -- the system is rigged.
It also chaps my ass when people get all fired up and end friendships over an election, but when you ask them why they are voting for Clinton they can't even tell you what she stands for. I respect every person's right to vote for whomever they choose, but don't preach from the pulpit if you don't even know where your candidate stands on important issues like Oil and Gas, a women's right to choose (yea that's an easy one and everyone should know where the candidate stands), the 2nd amendment, NAFTA or if you can't tell me why every one's so fired up about Benghazi or the email scandal.
I've seen zero, absolute zero proof that Trump is any of those horrible words above. But even if he was a racist and he's not, don't impugn that on to me. If you're voting for Clinton, I don't tax you with her negative character traits. You are not corrupt by default just because you choose to vote for Clinton.
We live in the country with most freedom. We should feel free to speak our mind about politics without being branded or without name calling or bashing. We should respect each other's choice and it shouldn't have any impact on our friendships. We live in a democracy.
But, the backlash is why so many Trump supporters are silent supporters. I have a feeling those silent supporters will be out in massive numbers on election day and the polls that are tightening each day are not truly indicative of how many people really support Trump.
It comes down to two basic questions.
- Are you happy with the way things are now, the status quo? The number of people on food stamps? The fear of terrorist attacks we live with on a daily basis? If you are and you want more of the same ... vote for Clinton
- Are you tired of the Washington establishment? Tired of being lied to? Do you want change, more economic growth? A more transparent government that is held accountable? Do you want to stop government overreaching and return the power to the people? Then vote for Trump
Why is this so important? "We won't be able to fix our most intricate problems unless we have a government that is open and accountable to the people it serves." ~ Paul Ryan - Speaker of the House
Find out by reading and listening to Paul Ryan's Video's
A Better Way
Like I said, I'm a republican, but I believe in a woman's right to choose. That doesn't mean I would ever chose to terminate a pregnancy. My views on that personally changed when I gave birth to my triplet daughters at 25 weeks gestation. I have very deep personal feelings about the issue now, but I would never impose my personal beliefs on someone else. And I firmly believe that if the individual states make abortion illegal, people will still find a way to get an abortion, but we will return to back alley abortions thus jeopardizing women's health. I hate to see a woman use abortion as a form of birth control, but it's her body ... her life ...not mine. I have conflicting views with my own party. I also believe strongly in favor of same sex marriage, but the political consensus is that regardless of the political affiliation of the next Supreme Court Justice appointment, Obergefell v Hodges will stand as the law of the land. With 7/10 polled republicans supporting same sex marriages, this issue is not likely to be disturbed. If Ted Cruz had won the nomination, we might be fighting a different battle.
Who are you voting for?
Are you voting for the lesser of two evils?
I hope we are still friends.
