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Opinions are fun. My friends tell me I am someone with lots of opinions and that's fine since I don't get mad at others when they disagree with me. In this same spirit I am interested in hearing yours views as long as you are able to share your views without boiling over. I look forward to hearing from you. I tend to write in the form of short essays most of the time, but contributions do not need to be in this same format or size. Some of the content here will date itself pretty quickly, other content may be virtually timeless, this is for the reader to judge.
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Why I voted 2024
Posted at: Nov/01/2024 : Posted by: Mel
Related Category: Politics & Gov, Watching America,
It is only days before the 2024 election, and I want to clarify one thing. I don’t like Trump, but I have voted for him. I'm a Republican, but I don't uniformly vote the party line. I would like to believe that by leveraging my accumulated years of life, I can intelligently weigh the issues and the candidates. I don’t see anything wrong with saying “Make America Great Again,” but I don’t treat MAGA like a cult. The riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, scared me. I don’t believe that the events of that day should be called an insurrection. I also don’t believe that Trump encouraged that watershed moment, though he may have missed an opportunity to cool that fire, rather than fuel it. I voted for Trump in 2016 because my choices were him, or Hillary Clinton representing ”business as usual.” I am confident I made the right choice then. Additionally, I work within government security boundaries. It offends me greatly that Hillary violated so many security protocols with her mail server without any punishment. I am disappointed that the primary system of 2024 did not generate a better alternative to Biden, Harris, or Trump. There is a phrase about choosing “...the lesser of two evils…”, and for that reason my 2024 choice is Trump. It is likely that about 75 million Americans, perhaps more, will also vote for him in this election. Here's why. Donald Trump is stronger on policy than his opponent. When I was young and idealistic, I cared about a bevy of social issues. But I think that's shortsighted and silly now. There's so much at stake. Three things matter to me in this election: foreign policy, the economy, and border security. Trump has shown he can handle all of these. Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' economic plans are abysmal. They reflect purely socialist ideas, including handing out down payments for homes and a slew of "free" programs. America will go bankrupt trying to pay for Harris' planned bloated bureaucracy. Under the Biden-Harris economy, inflation spiked to a 40-year high of 9.1% only two years ago. Grocery prices, rent, mortgage rates, fuel, and auto prices remain high. Many Americans are struggling to pay for necessities as a result. When Harris was asked if there was anything she would have done differently, she said “I can’t think of anything.” Trump's tax cuts, which he could extend if elected, are almost enough to garner my vote. Middle- and upper-class Americans pay far more than their fair share of taxes. Most families would be better off - and would stimulate the economy - with a few more dollars in their bank account. I believe Trump is right about implementing additional tariffs on imports, but I prefer it not to be to the scale he suggests. Americans are the consumers of the globe; China needs us much more than we need them. This would help level the playing field making American manufacturing more competitive. The contrast is; more industry and business, or more government and government handouts. Energy policy matters. The Democratic Party has been pushing a green agenda. Gasoline and diesel are the drivers of our economic prosperity. Diesel fuels most farm equipment, the trucks that move our groceries, and the locomotives that haul mile-long trains of cargo across our vast continent. Oil products also contribute to insecticides and fertilizers contributing to our global leading agricultural industry. An environmental agenda that encourages EVs is noble, but it means we have to build more electrical generation and distribution. Electricity as it is currently produced could become a rationed resource. Deregulating the energy industry would be a boon for everyone. Some projections estimate in 4-5 years an all-electric house will be 4 times more expensive to fuel than one leveraging natural gas for cooking and heat. Foreign policy is another crucial matter. Under the Biden-Harris administration, the United States has looked weak. From Israel's war against Hamas, enabled in part by the Biden administration's decision to lift sanctions on Iran, to the withdrawal from Afghanistan and Russia's war against Ukraine, the world is dangerously unstable. As billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman said in a viral interview, "All of this has led to a world on fire." While Trump flatters bad guys in public as a counterintuitive and strategic tactic, no world leader doubts his resolve for America. We need that sort of leadership on the international stage because, thanks to the disastrous Biden-Harris foreign policy, allies and adversaries alike doubt America’s convictions and are confused about our positions. If Biden-Harris had not lifted sanctions on Iran, it is doubtful that their proxies of Hezbollah and Hamas would have had the resources to pull off the October 7th attack. This would be problematic in any era, but especially worrisome in the shadows of a rising China and expansionist Russia. At home, Harris turns a blind eye to foreign influence that’s radicalizing our students to hate America. She never discusses the similarities to radicalized Iranian students who installed a fundamentalist government in Tehran that chants "death to America" and sponsors 13 terrorist groups, including Hamas. In politics, perception is powerful, and Trump is more likely to be perceived as a stronger leader than Harris. He is nothing if not a dealmaker, and that is what America needs in this moment of world history. If Trump reinstitutes sanctions on Iran and can quell the growing alliance among Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, a tenuous peace may be possible. Another issue in Trump's favor: The U.S. southern border must be taken seriously again. It's a matter of national security. Under the Biden-Harris administration, Trump-era policies were reversed, allowing at least 8 million migrants to enter the United States, according to Axios. More than 1.7 million people entered the country illegally by evading Border Patrol. And smugglers brought an estimated 50,000 pounds of deadly fentanyl across the border. If he does nothing else, Trump can secure the border via executive order without going through Congress. This would offer a giant step forward for the well-being of U.S. citizens. The current influx of immigrants is consuming all flavors of government services including housing, education, medical, and police. Many of these same services are now underfunded for supporting actual American citizens needing help. FEMA, as an agency under DHS (Department of Homeland Security) used much of its funding to house immigrants in hotels limiting their hurricane relief budget. Kamala Harris has argued that she and Biden sent an immigration bill to Congress early in their administration that was shot down. The bill in truth, offered no improvements to security but was focused on granting amnesty to 1.8 million immigrants. Effectively, only a ploy to create more likely Democratic voters. The one agenda item Kamala seems to have is abortion, arguing that Trump is waging war on women. A conservative Supreme Court did rule on the Dodd case of 2022 over turning Row v Wade. But they did not make abortion illegal, it was merely returned to the states. A recent report by Health and Human Services reported that more abortions were performed in 2023 than in 2021, indicating abortions have not become inaccessible for women. The real war on women may be taking place at athletic events. While people who identify as transgender should not be discriminated against in society, some common sense is needed. Regardless of whether puberty blockers are used, many studies now show that biological males have an advantage in athletic events. If allowed to be in women's sports, these transgender athletes are taking opportunities from women. Ensuring that women have opportunities is the essence of Title IX. There is also pressure against the conventional family. Across most of the country, schools must call the parents to get permission to give their children aspirin. Yet, many of these same schools can keep from the parents that their child is struggling with their gender identity. Draw your own conclusions. There is no doubt that Trump is a showman who likes to shock. That’s obvious. What might be less obvious is that he’s also a swift and thoughtful decision-maker. He doesn’t hem and haw like his opponent, and he doesn’t need a script to stay on message. And unlike the other side, Trump cares about fostering our country’s exceptionalism, not mediocrity. He believes competition, not socialism, is best for our society. It can be frustrating watching and listening to Trump. In business, strategic and aggressive decision-making matters. For a career politician, perception matters. Trump is trying to run the country by leveraging business skills. It has been hard to pin Harris down on what she believes because she seems to always be waiting to read what her staff put on the teleprompter. Her evasions are strategic and egregious. But when her ideas are clear, they expose the Democratic Party's embrace of extreme progressivism. Harris, alongside Biden, had four years to implement policies that would improve the lives of Americans. They failed. Gallup released a poll this month showing that 52% of Americans say they and their family are worse off today than they were four years ago. Only 39% said they are better off; 9% said they are about the same. It would be easy to say that Trump is a billionaire, and therefore can’t identify with ordinary Americans. He made his fortune building skyscrapers, not moving money in hedge funds. Building tall buildings means meeting daily with your tradespeople and understanding their needs. On the campaign trail, he has spent an hour at a McDonalds, has ridden in a garbage truck, and done numerous impromptu conversations in everyday places like barbershops. There have been pundits and personalities who argue that if elected, Trump would put them in an internment camp, this is really just spouting off. Most people who are successful in business have an “enemies list.” For Trump, everything is about the latest deal. You can make his “enemies list,” then a year later be a favored ally, look no further than J.D. Vance or Vivek Ramaswamy. One thing Trump has never done is speak ill of the voting public. Interestingly, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and a host of their favored talking heads have referred to the people attending Trump’s rallies as fascist, Nazis, deplorable, and garbage. How are you supposed to unify America if you call half the voting public “garbage?” They appear to have no respect for anyone who doesn’t think like them. There is no such thing as an agenda that appeals to everyone, but for most Americans, there is a collective agenda sometimes called “kitchen table issues.” These are the issues that a family discusses when they meet at the kitchen table for dinner. Affordable housing and groceries, the cost of energy, car, and home loan rates all make that list. Parents also always ask their children “What did you learn in school today?” We always hope the response is on core subjects and not about new ways to use pronouns. In 2024, we are a nation suffering from the lingering pain of runaway inflation, with a growing and unsustainable debt, in a world where devastating wars threaten to break into global conflict. This isn't the time to stay the course for four more years. That’s why, even with all of his idiosyncrasies and inflammatory style, I voted for Trump to be my President for the next 4 years.
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