To begin with, thank you for taking the time to read this. The title alone is probably something that makes the true audience for this article very uncomfortable. But I hope, by the end of it, your conscience will thank you, no matter what you decide.
And note that I am not going to focus on the negatives about Donald Trump. That is for other articles, and frankly, I am pretty sure you know what they are. If you are like a lot of people I know, you have no interest in voting FOR Trump, but rather you are voting AGAINST not only the party you have probably opposed for decades, but against a specific person that for a variety of reasons makes you very uncomfortable.
And to be up front, I do not sit here telling you that you should. There are a lot of things that would be difficult about a Clinton Presidency. But as someone who has voted for the GOP in pretty much every election but this one, rather than someone who is pro Clinton, lend me your ear to the idea that while she is problematic, she probably isn't as problematic as you think, but more importantly, when you look at her negatives objectively, they are contained. We are not talking about "losing our country." We are talking about simply another Big Money, Liberal Democrat that a strong GOP Congress can handle. We have done it before, and we can do it again.
So if you truly believe in the principles of the Republican Party and the conservative movement, please read, and hopefully understand that a Clinton Presidency is survivable, and you do not need to vote for someone as wrong for America and the GOP as Donald Trump to contain her negatives.
Also, note that in a lot of places, I do not recommend that you actually vote for her. Granted, in certain swing states like Florida, you don't have as much choice. And the idea of voting against the GOP is probably a bridge too far, which is understandable. See the letters that I published on Friday for options. And frankly, if you haven't already, please do read one of them - probably the Write In version. But that isn't what this article is about. This article is about not fearing Clinton, but understanding her.
Before I go into the details, though, I want to also share that there are a number of prominent Republicans and conservatives who share this view, not the least of which are the past two Republican Presidents and a number of people who support them. And also the Governor of Ohio, John Kasich. You would be far from alone. Rather, you would be showing the kind of courage and patriotism that the Founding Fathers envisioned when they talked about an educated citizenry.
First, as mentioned above, she is a Big Money democrat. We have seen them before, and to the extent that she will continue the general "establishment," its true. But again, a President only has the power that they can negotiate with Congress.
Second, she is Liberal. No doubt. But again, that is what Congress is for. Its the same here as it is for the Supreme Court - the President can get little done without approval of Congress. So if you make sure to vote GOP down ballot, her negatives will be contained. Frankly, when the numbers come out, and if they come out with her winning the White House but many voters choosing Republicans down ballot, it will be clear she has no "mandate" no matter how big the win might be.
But - and here we go - she is not a continuation of Obama's foreign policy. Far from it. If you look closer at her actual views on foreign policy, you will find that she is very much a hawk and would be much more aggressive about securing the foreign relationships we need to protect the United States. And while there are some concerns about her potential immigration policy, take a moment to think about the actual details - despite the lax immigration policies of the past decades, the FBI and CIA have been able to keep us mostly safe and keep attacks on US soil to a minimum. Contrast that hypothetical fear you have about terrorism with the actual impact pulling back from NATO would have. Russia is very eager to regain the influence it lost in the 1990s due to the efforts of Ronald Reagan. Clinton understands this dynamic. Donald Trump either does not, or he agrees with it. Neither are good in a US president. Again, the Bush family is voting for Clinton in large part because of this very reason.
Frankly, the policy Donald Trump is advocating on foreign issues is the same one that failed in the 1930s, and the United States has needed to be a strong presence in foreign affairs ever since. Not for the world's benefit, but for ours. Study the decisions of every president since Roosevelt - to Eisenhower to Reagan to Bush - and see that every time we took a step back on the international stage, it hurt American interests in the long run. This simply is not an option, and while there is much about a Clinton Presidency that would be difficult, foreign policy is one place where, while she probably isn't our flavor of strong, she would be strong enough.
Abortion. Its a massive issue. But again, that is an issue being handled by agencies outside the White House. And if the reason you are worried about Clinton is abortion, have the courage to really look at Trump's views on it. He has been given multiple opportunities to state that he would support overturning Roe v. Wade, but has declined to say so. He is not the savior you want on this issue, and that is because not only is he not a proponent of Life, but the Presidency isn't the branch that VOTES on the Supreme Court. That is the Senate. And if you have doubts there, is Garland - Obama's nominee to replace Scalia - on the Court? Nope. Why? Because the REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED SENATE HAS REFUSED TO CONSIDER HIM.
Christianity. It is a big issue. I know a LOT of Evangelical Christians who are so afraid of a Clinton Presidency that they are willfully ignoring the fact that the candidate they are choosing to vote for is in fact worse about faith, and specifically Christianity, than she is. And this is the one that I really do not understand. Is it ignorance? Is it fanatical support of anyone willing to stand up to face what they perceive as Satan (in some cases, literally)? How can they justify voting for someone who is clearly reveling in being the epitome of the Seven Deadly Sins? Especially when there is Evan McMullin and other options to vote "against" Clinton, but not for someone who is anything but repentant. Frankly, their cried of "imperfect" leaders like Paul and Jacob ring hollow when none of them were fighting for God while being abjectly unrepentant. This is like cheering for Paul when he was still Saul and persecuting Christians.
Again, if faith is the reason you want to vote against Clinton, I totally understand. But I do not understand Trump being your champion when he is clearly worse, by any objective viewing of him and his behavior throughout his life. "Grab her in the *****." Really? When did Jesus ever say anything like that?
Let's return to the Big Money aspect. More specifically, here we need to look at Trump some. His economic policies are, frankly, dangerous. The conscious, open discussion of tariffs is so 1920s, its not even funny. They are a proven failure. Granted, for those without jobs, especially ones lost to globalization, this is a difficult subject, and frankly is the one place where Trump is probably very right on the underlying issue. The problem is his solutions not only will not actually solve those concerns, they will make them worse. Go double-check on what the US was doing in the years preceding the Great Depression. (If you don't want to look it up, protectionist economic policy and isolationist foreign policy). Simply put, that did not work. We have already gone through a Great Recession. Another massive economic failure - and that is exactly what it would be - would be worse. Bad enough that it would affect our ability to protect ourselves, militarily.
Now, Clinton again would not be our flavor of good economic policy, and certainly her continuation of Big Business support would continue to make things worse for the middle and working class. But while bad, it wouldn't be an actual disaster.
There certainly are other issues, and this is not an exhaustive discussion of even the limited issues raised here, but this should give you an idea of how to evaluate a potential Clinton Presidency, and most importantly, to show that while not in any way ideal, it is not worth voting for Donald Trump just to stop her. There are other options - ones that, frankly, do more to show the direction the GOP needs to take, which is away from the "alt-right", ethno-isolationist path that Trump has taken us on for the last six months.
Please, take the time to really look at Donald Trump. And really look at Hillary Clinton. Look at them objectively, and in detail. And think about the things you have stood for in your life - America, the Constitution, rugged individualism, Christianity. Then ask yourself, is voting against Hillary Clinton really worth voting FOR the things that is Donald Trump? Or is there another way? Can you write in or otherwise vote for Evan McMullin, John Kasich, or Ted Cruz, or Marco Rubio, or Carly Fiorina?
By all means, make your objection to Clinton known. Vote for Republicans down ballot to make sure that we retain Congress and state governments. Write a letter explaining your vote - feel free to take language from the letters I wrote Friday or come up with your own - but delineate why you voted the way you did.
But no matter what, do not vote for Trump. Not if you love this country, or the Constitution and the ideals that formed and shaped it. And especially if you are Christian. By all things that Jesus taught and wanted of us, do not vote for someone as hateful, mean, cruel, abusive or as discriminatory as Donald Trump. Remember, Jesus spent his time healing. He spent his time with the lepers and the tax collectors and sinners, not with the powerful and the pretty. Donald Trump is not your solution, Christians.
But bottom line, educate yourself on truly why you are voting the way you vote, and then do so. Even if, after all this, you feel voting for Trump is what you have to do. Just know that every vote for Trump supports all of the negative - and unConservative and unAmerican - things that come with him. Hillary Clinton is far from perfect, and pretty far down the list of people who should represent Republicans, but she is containable, and she is not as disastrous as Donald Trump.
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