Posted on 10/23/2016 5:32:52 AM PDT by Kaslin
Last time a Clinton was on the ballot, I voted for Ross Perot. My vote didn’t deny Bob Dole the White House, but I confess I felt a smug sense of satisfaction in “refusing to settle.” I sure showed them, didn’t I?
I haven’t been as vocal as other “Never Trump” writers, but neither have I hidden my dislike or tempered my criticism. In a field of 17 Republican candidates, Donald Trump wouldn’t have been my 18th choice. I’m still not a fan. But they didn’t just ask me; they asked everyone. And more of everyone chose Donald Trump.
I couldn’t do it, I just couldn’t. For countless reasons I’ve covered over the last year, I dug in my heels and proudly basked in my self-satisfaction. I still defended Trump in this column and on social media when he was wrongly attacked by the left and the media, but I was steadfast in my opposition to the man.
So what changed?
Not Trump. He still gives rambling speeches with little focus and spends far too much time defending himself against insignificant slights when he should be focusing on policy (though his ethics reform proposal is excellent and will irritate all the people in Washington who need to be irritated)
Hillary hasn’t changed either. At least not in who she is – a corrupt, self-serving liar willing to do or say anything to win and/or sell out to the highest bidder. There isn’t enough Saudi Arabian money in the Clinton Foundation to get me to vote for someone who got rich off “public service” and a “commitment to helping the poor.”
No, what’s changed is me. Not through introspection and reflection, but through watching the sickening display of activism perpetrated by a covert army with press credentials.
Bias has always been a factor in journalism. It’s nearly impossible to remove. Humans have their thoughts, and keeping them out of your work is difficult. But 2016 saw the remaining veneer of credibility, thin as it was, stripped away and set on fire.
More than anything, I can’t sit idly by and allow these perpetrators of fraud to celebrate and leak tears of joy like they did when they helped elect Barack Obama in 2008. I have to know I weighed in not only in writing but in the voting booth.
The media needs to be destroyed. And although voting for Trump won’t do it, it’s something. Essentially, I am voting for Trump because of the people who don’t want me to, and I believe I must register my disgust with Hillary Clinton.
I am not of the mindset that any vote not for Trump is a vote for Hillary, but a vote for Trump is a vote against Hillary. And I need to vote against Hillary. I need to vote against the media.
After the last debate, when no outlet “fact checked” Hillary’s lie that her opposition to the Heller decision had anything to do with children, or her lie that the State Department didn’t lose $6 billion under her leadership, I couldn’t hold out any longer.
A Trump administration at least will include people I trust in positions that matter. I don’t know if they will be able to hold him completely in check, but I know a Clinton administration will include people who have been her co-conspirators in corruption, and there won’t even be a media to hold her accountable.
The Wikileaks emails have exposed an arrogant cabal of misery profiteers who hold everyone, even their fellow travelers deemed not pure enough, in contempt. These bigots who’ve made their fortune from government service should be kept as far away from the levers of power as the car keys should be kept from anyone named Kennedy on a Friday night. My one vote against it will not be enough, but it’s all I can do and I have to do all I can do.
I won’t stop being critical of Trump when he deserves it; I won’t pretend someone is handing out flowers when they’re shoveling BS. But I’d rather have BS shoveled out of a president than our tax dollars shoveled to a president’s friends and political allies.
The Project Vertias videos exposed a corrupt political machine journalists would have been proud to expose in the past. The Wikileaks emails pulled back the curtain on why that didn’t happen – journalists are in on it. I can’t pretend otherwise, and I have no choice but to oppose it.
This isn’t a call to arms for “Never Trumpers” to follow suit; this is a choice I had to make for myself after much reflection. I wouldn’t presume to tell others how to act any more than I would accept the same from someone else. I would encourage them to consider what awaits the country should Hillary win. If they can’t vote against her by voting for him, at least spend these last two weeks of the election directing their ire toward Clinton.
Although most are principled, far too many “Never Trump” conservatives spend more of their time attacking him than pointing out her corruption. I get it – in him, you see the fight you’ve been a part of being betrayed, and that leaves a mark.
I’m not saying you should support him, but you shouldn’t lose sight of the importance of opposing her. If, or when, Hillary Clinton takes the oath of office, she needs to have as little support as possible. Frankly, she needs to be damaged. The mainstream media won’t do it; they’re in on it.
This is my choice, what I must do. Each person has to come to this decision on their own terms. And the fact remains there simply aren’t enough “Never Trump” Republicans to make up Trump’s current deficit, and that’s on him. But I know what I’ve been wrestling with these past few weeks is not unique to me. And I don’t know about you, but I simply cannot sit around knowing there was something else I could have done to oppose Hillary Clinton and I didn’t do it.
A simple protest vote for a third party or a write-in of my favorite comic book character might feel good for a moment. It might even give me a sense of moral superiority that lasts until her first executive order damaging something I hold dear – or her first Supreme Court nominee. But the sting that will follow will far outlive that temporary satisfaction.
I oppose much of what Donald Trump has said, but I oppose everything Hillary Clinton has done and wants to do. And what someone says, no matter how objectionable, is less important than what someone does, especially when it’s so objectionable. A personal moral victory won’t suffice when the stakes are so high. As such, I am compelled to vote against Hillary by voting for the only candidate with any chance whatsoever of beating her – Donald Trump.
Unless he wrote in Perot, you are correct.
I guess they call them “stories” because they just make up the parts they want.
He sure did.
I am voting FOR Trump just like I voted FOR Reagan. These self righteous douchebag late comers should STHU and just vote.
Good article.
I wish to hell someone of these people will specifically point out what the hell they have an issue with Trump over with respect to ISSUES.
IF ANY of the other candidates were nominated, Hillary would be way ahead of them. NONE of them would have had the testicles to attack her on issues of character or her sordid defective past. They ALL would take the traditional “high road” to defeat. Further, they would never have called out the special interests Trump demonstrated control elections.
Rubio even advised against making the Wikileaks data an issue!!
Yes. And it needs to be done without any snark or belittling of the people we need on board. We need to make it as easy as possible for pride to be set aside and all lovers of America to come together. Too much is at stake.
“He still gives rambling speeches with little focus and spends far too much time defending himself against insignificant slights when he should be focusing on policy “
Another flat out lie from someone who hasn’t been paying attention. These people based their hatred of Trump on lies and misrepresentation.
Without Perot nobody today would even know the name Clinton.
He did. I made the mistake of voting for Perot. I was young, my first vote. I liked his charts, his business acumen as I am an analyst. I didn’t understand the reprecussion of voting for a 3rd party. But I do now.
Pretty good article. He nails the problem...
The Project Vertias videos exposed a corrupt political machine journalists would have been proud to expose in the past. The Wikileaks emails pulled back the curtain on why that didn’t happen – journalists are in on it.
I've always been the type to vote my conscience, not the lesser of two evils. It is displayed on my profile page as such for years. That said, this election is truly different.
I was a big Perot supporter. In fact, if we'd elected him, it is very likely we'd still have the economic engine chugging away at 4-6% GDP growth. Many find it hard to agree, but the Bush family as well as the progressive socialist have harmed our country's economic engine and with regards to personal freedoms.
This election is different. Obozo, congress (republicans and Democrats) have done great damage to our republic. Trump was not my choice, but now, he is the only choice.
Contract with the voter....BRILLIANT! I'm thinking, thanx to Newt Gingrich. I believe he is the brain child behind this.
I guess they call them “stories” because they just make up the parts they want.
Not only did Perot run again in '96, but he got 8.4% of the vote. Not bad for a "write in", eh? Seems that the GOP didn't pay attention in '92.
Perot, like Trump, is just a symptom. The disease was and is the GOP.
Its the ONLY logical conclusion for fence sitters!!!!
Time for them to hold their nose if that's what it takes....a non vote is a vote for Clinton...the choice is that simple!!!
Same here, hence my tag line.
“He helped the rapist get elected twice.”
No he didn’t. If you look at the actual polling data Perot took more votes from Clinton than Bush in 92. In 96 he got less than half of what he got in 92, and Dole was never close. He did prevent Clinton from getting a majority instead of a plurality.
Old myths die hard, and that one is a favorite that the GOPe loves to repeat so they don’t have to acknowledge what lousy campaigns they ran.
Another great Trump non-endorsement by a self-described conservative. At this late point Derek is still to blame for Hillary’s supreme court and everything else.
And what’s this BS he’s trying to shovel with “I have to do all I can do” while excusing nevertrumpers? He can surely do a lot more. Maybe he can make a list of specific things we’ll permanently associate with specific nevertrumpers.
While everything Hillary does will be the fault of every conservative/republican who hasn’t aggressively advocated for Trump the last few month (think where he’d be if he wasn’t fighting his own party) I think we can single out specific individuals and personally decide to give them direct blame for specific future results
Will - destruction of the 1st amendment
Kristol - anti-abortion supreme court
Romney - single-payer health care
Ryan - destruction of the 2nd amendment
McCain - a diminished military
...
Derek can promise that every time a conservative principle falls he’ll write another article pointing back to his Oct 2016 article assigning blame. When the court decides the 1st amendment is dead he can write 1000’s of words blaming George Will and listing everything Will did to get Hillary elected. Sure the blame will fall on all of them for each issue but we can make sure the worst know that they will be specifically called out with individual focus at some point in the future to remind everyone how they personally helped elect Hillary. No more hiding behind some almost-anonymous group of nevertrumpers or a vague mumbling of not being able to differentiate between “Hillary’s message” vs “Trumps message”. Name them and give them a specific issue where Trump & Hillary differ.
We can list dozens of things we know will happen with 8 years of Queen Hillary and not even need to include her corruption. But they’re happy to accept those because of Trump’s temperament (or maybe immigration). They’d rather have Hillary and everything she brings than get on Trumps side - where they may be able to influence him. Trump has learned and changed. Has listened to the “right people” (Sessions, Gingrich, etc). Has got the right people to make his supreme court lists. And so many “conservatives” prefer Hillary and will not be in position to influence Trump if they fail to get Hillary elected.
A silly article like Derek wrote may make him feel better and let him tell himself that it’s not his fault if Hillary wins. But it’s meaningless - he should’ve just written in personally diary so he can look back every time he needs to feel better about the destruction of the country and tell himself that it’s not his fault. At least I will still be blaming him along with the others.
IF you have to convince anyone to vote for Trump ,at this point in the race, America is already lost.
Don’t vote Trump you get Hillary. You get at to totally tip the USC to the loony left. If not gun confiscation definitely more gun restrictions, more of your tax dollars going towards every wacko left-wing enterprize including abortion. And trillions more in debt with NOTHING to show for it!
More solar scams, More regulations, more executive orders, corruption like you have never seen, more propagandist media,more terrorism, more racial tensions?, more invaders, more power to groups like BLM, and you get to pay for it.
Not to mention we get to listen to the hags bellowing voice for the next 4, 8?, years?
Yep, vote for ‘consciences’ you never Trump geniuses.
What he's really saying is that he's not intelligent enough to keep up with the rapid fire manner in which really smart people talk with each other.
So, attack him and drive away a Trump voter?
The money quote. Spot on.
A writer comes to the conclusion most thinking individuals could see the moment Trump won the nomination.
It does not say much for his political sense or judgement, but I am glad to have him on board.
Ditto. Well said.
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