Why I’m Voting for Trump

Yesterday, Donald Trump was officially nominated to represent the Republican Party in the race for the White House. I wrote this about two weeks ago, and I’ll admit that the goings on of the RNC made me think twice about my vote and publishing this article. But frankly, I’ve chalked it up to another L, and likened it to one of the many L’s that I took throughout my college career, most of which I don’t remember. But I’ve matured and I’m praying that Trump and his campaign will too.

Of all 19 candidates that ran for president during this election cycle, Ted Cruz was by far the most qualified for the job. He wasn’t the most experienced, the most popular or the most personable. He had his flaws as every politician does, but he outmatched every last one of his opponents in his vision and tenacity. While so many other elected officials would say and do whatever they needed to to further their interests, Ted would stand for the American people even when he had to stand alone. He ran a dynamic, honest campaign of dedicated patriots who held strong despite the constant slander and unsubstantiated accusations of “dirty tricks” that were hurled at them. His plan for the country would have easily reminded so many disenchanted citizens that the American Dream was not only alive and well, but within reach. But he lost. We can go back and forth with “what ifs” and “should haves” until 2020 but it won’t change the fact that Donald Trump won the nomination of the Republican Party.

It’s saddens me that eight years of the Obama administration’s incompetent leadership will only be followed by eight more years of incompetent leadership whether that administration is led by Clinton or Trump. It saddens me that the man that is supposed to be fighting for a restricted government, an upheld constitution and a thriving economy is almost entirely ignorant of the principles he’s supposed to be representing. It saddens me that millions of Americans allowed their frustration with Washington to cloud their judgment so severely that they chose a nominee with no conviction, substance or virtue. It saddens me that as voters we have no actual clue about what distinguishes the nominees from one another policy wise, as they have both changed their positions based on political expedience and convenience. Most of all, I’m saddened that a life long liberal that doesn’t know the Declaration of Independence from the Magna Carta has become the face of the Republican Party.

Conservatives and Republicans are more divided than they’ve ever been. #NeverTrump republicans refuse to vote for our nominee for a wide range of reasons, largely revolving around the fact that Donald Trump in no way represents their views or objectives. Many of them say that voting for Trump would be a violation of their principles, and say they will focus their energy down ticket, and try to maintain our majority in the House and Senate.

But the unfortunate fact of the matter is that our chances of maintaining that majority are slim. I like to think positively, but I also like to think realistically, and no matter who is elected in November I can’t imagine a feasible GOP victory in the House or Senate, save public rebuke of the Democratic Party’s kumbaya approach to terrorism and radical Islam. If you think we can afford a gung-ho HRC in the Oval Office passing every last progressive piece of legislation brought to her desk following some of the most miserable leadership this country has ever seen, fine. But I don’t.

#NeverTrump republicans insist that the long term damage that trump will do to conservatism as a brand will handicap us for decades to come. They’re convinced that republicans supporting him as the nominee will legitimize every accusation of bigotry that has been hurled by the left in the last 30 years and that we can kiss the future of our values in this country goodbye. And with all due respect, I can’t help but wonder where these people have been. It could have been Rubio, it could have been Cruz, it could have been Rand or Fiorina, and liberal media would still be calling us the same racist misogynist xenophobic classists that they were in 2012 and 2008. It’s unfortunate, but it’s true. Now isn’t the time for public relations politics, it’s time for saving and restoring the Republic.

As much as this line annoyed me while working on the Cruz campaign, I will be voting for Trump because he’s anti-PC. From the college classroom to foreign policy, political correctness has gone from a mild inconvenience to an enabler of violent terror. As much as conservatives love complaining about political correctness, I think we are forgetting the very real threats posed by this beast and the rapidly changing dynamics of our culture. If we really value our constitutional rights, tackling and defeating political correctness needs to go from a talking point to a priority and of the choices we have, Donald Trump is the best person for the job.

Not to mention, Trump’s accusations of bigotry are categorically manipulative and far fetched. He may not be the most articulate or sensitive person to run for president, but I have yet to be presented with hard evidence demonstrating racism or any other of the big bad phobias he’s been charged with.

Two awful candidates stand before me. Neither were my first, second or third choice and neither seem to have any regard for our constitution. Trump has some preposterous ideas and policy proposals but given his lack of experience and knowledge of American politics, I’m not particularly worried about him following through on them.

Interestingly enough, one has donated to the other, as well as to many other Democrats and Republicans. I can only speak for myself, but I’m personally I’m more concerned with the accepted contributions of a career politician than the contributions that a private citizen looking out for his company has given.

Trump will never be Ted Cruz. He will never be Marco Rubio. He will never be Rand Paul, and he will never be Carly Fiorina. But he will also never be Hillary Clinton. None of us are perfect, but none of us are naturally as prone to corruption or foul play as the Clintons seem to be. She’s not hated because she’s a woman, or because she’s fighting for us in Washington but because she is so unapologetically evil and is never held accountable. She has the unmitigated gall to lecture law abiding citizens on criminal justice reform and no one being above the law when anyone but her would be in federal prison for what she’s done. She has the audacity to lecture us on income inequality in outfits that cost a year’s worth of tuition, and talks about Donald Trump like some 1% super villain as if they haven’t been in the same circles, at the same events for years. She has the temerity to lecture us on believing all victims of sexual assault despite having silenced, degraded and belittled every last one of Bill’s alleged victims. She pretends to care about our men and women in uniform, despite her refusal to adequately arm and equip our servicemen in Libya, as well as her inaction at the time of the attacks being directly responsible for Benghazi and the lives lost there. She plays us for fools, dabbing, women-carding, and hot-saucing her way to the White House. I, for one, won’t be playing along. As flawed of a candidate as he may be, Donald Trump is a better person than Hillary Clinton will ever be, and will be a better president than she ever could. And thats why I’m voting for him in November.

I wish I lived in an alternate universe with better nominees, or where withholding my vote didn’t directly help Hillary Clinton- who by the way, is desperately trying to woo millions of Bernie’s far left supporters- and didn’t critically threaten the future of this country, but this is the situation we’re in, and we all have a choice to make. We can cover our ears and yell about principles, but I can’t help but wonder how we’ll feel about the “principle over party” argument 5 years down the line entering Clinton’s second term with guns completely outlawed in every state but Texas, the border virtually abolished, a tax for everything you can think of and “hate speech” (see: facts) being punishable 10-12 years in prison. You probably think I’m being dramatic, and to your credit, I probably am- but take a look at the world around you, and the rhetoric becoming policy, and tell me how far fetched what I just described really is.

In my humble opinion, saying the lesser of two evils is still evil to explain not voting for Trump makes about as much sense as comparing a torn ACL to a leg amputation. If I can avoid both of them, I will, but if it’s one or the other, the choice is obvious. And that choice is Donald J. Trump.