A Letter To My Representatives - Write In

I am voting today. Based on decisions made by you and others, I am writing to make sure you understand my vote in detail. Specifically, as a lifelong Republican, I am incredibly disappointed in the fact that the Republican Party has allowed Donald Trump to not only become the nominee, but to behave in such a way to be an affront to everything I thought the GOP stood for.

By way of background, I became politically aware early in the first Reagan administration and have consistently supported Republicans ever since. But what I see from the GOP nominee makes me question everything that I thought the party represented. This letter only touches on some of the top level issues, but know that all of the criticisms of Donald Trump, of which I am sure you are well aware, apply.

Individual rights, especially as they are detailed in the First Amendment? Your nominee has time and again taken public positions that are antithetical to its basic tenants.

Small government? Your nominee has often discussed programs that would expand an already gluttonous federal government.

Strong foreign policy? Your nominee has made statements that across the board are considered isolationist at best, and kowtowing to Moscow at worst. Ronald Reagan would be spinning in his grave.

Forward thinking on economic policy? Your nominee is in favor of policies that are more at home in the 1920s.

His taxes. As someone who has as checkered past as Donald Trump, but also as someone who has never served in public office, this is a basic necessity, and yet you allowed him to proceed without sharing what the American public deserve to know. When this election is reviewed, I am certain that a percentage of the American people will have not voted for Trump in part because of a lack of confidence that he is who he said he was, and not releasing his taxes is a big part of that.

Christianity has often been at least an important inspiration to the Republican platform, and yet your nominee might as well be the poster child for the Seven Deadly Sins. And those who try to dismiss this as all men are imperfect, and give examples like Paul, ignore the fact that Paul and others were incredibly repentant, while your nominee seems to revel in his lust, sloth, gluttony, pride, greed, envy and wrath.

But let’s go back to the Constitution for a moment. The United States of America was founded in large part by people fleeing religious persecution, hence why the First Amendment contains specific language about Freedom of Religion. Yet your nominee – who is as unChristian as they come – seems to want to protect a white, evangelical perspective at all costs. That seems hypocritical at best.

So while I have never voted for anyone other than the Republican candidate for President in my 24 years of voting, I am forced to not vote for your nominee, Donald Trump, for President.

That leaves me with a choice that is distasteful at best, and awful at worst. So know that what I have finally decided is not something I embrace with any joy.

In addition to Trump, I also consider Gary Johnson and Jill Stein to be totally unacceptable choices.

My options are Evan McMullin, who is clearly the candidate that truly reflects actual Republican positions, or write in someone else who will also not garner enough votes to win, and Hillary Clinton, who I disagree with on so many issues, and who also has her own ethical issues.

My concern about voting for McMullin is that not enough people in my state know him well enough to make an impact, although I am very glad to see that he is having success in Utah. It is my fervent hope that he wins that state.

My concern about voting for Clinton should be obvious.

So I have to decide between sending a clear, but incredibly distasteful message, or voting for someone who represents my positions, but who will not garner enough critical mass to make an impact in my state.

After months of reflection on this issue, I have decided to vote FOR someone, not against someone, so I will be writing in John Kasich for President, even though I worry whether this sends the clearest message that the steps that allowed Donald Trump to become the GOP nominee are totally and completely unacceptable. Hence, this letter. Make no mistake, voting for Clinton – as nauseating as that idea might be – was on the table and had this been a swing state, my decision might be different.

I will, though, for the most part be voting for Republicans on the rest of the ballot. I say “for the most part” because I will look at each Republican individually and judge them based on their position on your nominee. I note that some have taken Paul Ryan’s position of, “He is the nominee,” while not actively supporting him, which is something I can understand and respect.

I also should add that I was incredibly disappointed that John Kasich – someone who has actual executive branch experience, who is someone who knows how to govern, yet is at the same time clearly committed to Republican ideals – was given so little support. He was clearly the best chance to have a center-right national leader that knew that there is a time for compromise, a time to lead. I understand some of that is the candidates responsibility, and that some of that is the responsibility of the voters, but at the same time, I think it is safe to say we are seeing that we have allowed extreme positions to dominate the dialogue within the party.

I voted for Governor Kasich in the primary in the hope that his voice would continue to carry some weight as the party worked towards its ultimate nominee. I also believed, as I state above, that he was the best choice. Frankly, I found some of the rhetoric coming from other major  candidates to be too confrontational and not reflective of what the position of the President requires. Specifically, the leadership that was shown by Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. And I found criticism of Senator Rubio, especially as it related to his efforts to find a solution to certain issues, including immigration, to be not in the country’s best interest.

But I was absolutely sure, for a myriad of reasons, that Donald Trump would not be allowed to actually become the nominee based on a ragged plurality. Certainly, at some point, the adults in the room would sit down with the other three major candidates and figure out how to put a consensus candidate forward that would defeat Donald Trump while giving some voice to the legitimate anger and frustration that comes from parts of his voting block. All of the signs of trouble that came to be true were apparent to me back in 2015, let alone in March. Again, this letter is long enough already that we do not need to list what you already know here, but it is quite a list.

So surely, this embarrassment of an American, let alone a “conservative” “Republican,” would not be allowed to stand as the GOP nominee for President. Right?

Much to my surprise, this never happened. I do not know if it was ego on the part of the other candidates, or a lack of vision from leadership, or some other issue I may not be aware of. But for a party that has been a champion of Constitutional Conservatism, individual rights and the power of the rugged individual, let alone the party of Ronald Reagan, to embrace Donald J. Trump as its nominee? And especially the WAY it happened at the convention, stomping out dissent rather than allowing the voices of opposition to have their say. It was incredibly disappointing and disheartening to see.

I look forward to a vigorous debate in the party after the election, and it is my deepest hope that the party of Lincoln and Reagan can return to the ideals those men fought so hard to establish and maintain, and away from the, frankly, un-American positions of your nominee.

In that debate, I hope that citizens like me will be heard and our positions considered. For the sake of the Republican Party, I think you do not have a choice. Ignoring the lessons learned from 2012 has been disastrous enough. If the GOP ignores the lessons of 2016 and continues on this path, I am pretty certain that it will not exist as a national party in 2020.