I’m writing this less than 36 hours before the polls
open in Kentucky for what I believe could be the most crucial presidential
election in my lifetime.
I’m not excited. I’m actually not even looking forward
to voting for the top office in the land.
But sometime Tuesday, I’ll vote. Too many people have
given their lives and the stakes are too high to stay home.
Playing hooky was never really an option Tuesday.
There are several other races that are important and have competent people
seeking to serve in public office. My hat is off to them, regardless of their
party. Given the climate and possible consequences of this year’s race for the
White House, those offices will carry more significance than most of us can
even begin to understand.
Let’s just say that the common utterance about the
genius of the country’s founding fathers being seen in the checks and balances
of the Constitution are correct. That,
in itself, makes the races for the Senate and House important every election,
maybe never more so than this year.
But back to the race that has burdened us for the
better part of two years.
My politics lean heavily Republican. I proudly cast my
first presidential vote for Gerald Ford in 1976, plastered my car with Ronald Reagan
stickers and wept when The Gipper died. While I did not always agree with either
President Bush, I have long admired what I believe to be their genuine decency
and kindness.
I’ve never missed a presidential election and have
supported the GOP every time.
I have crossed over to vote for Democrats several times
in other races, including voting for Kentucky’s late senator Wendell Ford more
than once. I’ve crossed party lines for races ranging from local offices to
governor.
But to label me as a Republican who believes in
compassionate conservatism would be accurate.
Because of that label, I don’t really want to vote for
Donald Trump. While I agree with some of his main talking points and believe
Washington needs a major shakeup, I still question his readiness to lead the
nation. While he’s selected some good people to be around him – the pick of
Mike Pence has easily been the high point of this election in my book – there are
too many unknowns about Trump for my liking. It’s scary.
I won’t vote for Hillary Clinton. No way, shape or
form. Let’s just say you’d have a better chance of surfing in the Sahara than to
see me voting for who I believe to be the most corrupt person to run for
President in my adult lifetime.
I felt that way long before a similar phrase became a
standard line of Trump’s speeches. If you need a recap of why so many feel the
way I do, you have not been paying attention. She’s terrifying.
Ultimately, though, the finger-pointing needs to be at
ourselves for allowing the situation to come to this.
Think about the things Trump was saying in the
primary, such as “We’re going to build a (border) wall and make Mexico pay for
it.” Really? Enrique Pena Nieto is going to just write a
check to the USA? I guess I am just one of these guys that believes a nation is
sovereign, so I just don’t understand how that statement took such deep root.
(For the record, as a Republican, I voted for Sen.
Marco Rubio in the caucus. I loved his personal story and enthusiasm for what I
believe to be the American dream.)
As for the Democrats, I wonder how anyone could ignore
the cloud of corruption that has followed Hillary and Bill Clinton for more
than two decades. Even though the FBI has decided again to not pursue criminal
charges – again – for her handling of classified material, is there not a
problem with such recklessness? Again, I don’t understand.
I could go on and on and on and on about the problems
with both candidates but you should know them anyway.
What’s especially troubling is the majority of people
I have talked with concerning Nov. 8 have said the same thing, regardless of
which candidate they support.
“I am voting for the lesser of two evils.”
When that’s the number one reason for voting for
President – it has been supported by several national polls – we are in serious
trouble as a nation.
You can blame the party hierarchies, blame the media,
or point fingers in many directions but ultimately the predicament we are in on
Tuesday is because of an electorate unwilling to pay attention, more interested
in style than substance and getting far too much of its information from
Facebook memes instead of actually paying attention to what is really going on.
We won’t come to the same conclusions, but I would bet
we would not be in the predicament we are in.
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