• Home
  • Blog
  • Contact
The Screaming Moderate

Hillary for President - yes, I really said that

7/18/2016

5 Comments

 
As we enter two weeks of political conventions, I need to go on record.

Many of my Republican friends – including those who wouldn’t vote for Donald Trump for a gazillion dollars – are not going to like this piece. No suspense, no drum roll:

I’ll be voting for Hillary Clinton in November.

Not because I agree fully with her policies. I don’t. Not because I think she is the most honest person in the world. I don’t (though she is the most honest major party candidate running for president this year).

I will vote for Hillary Clinton because it is the most I can do to ensure Donald Trump does not become President of the United States.

Sure, Gary Jonson, the Libertarian Party candidate, is an alternative to voting for either of the major party soon-to-be nominees. But, Mr. Johnson cannot win the election. The most he can do -- and this is virtually impossible -- is to win enough electoral votes to keep Trump or Clinton from the needed 270. That throws the election into the House, which is controlled by Republicans who will elect Trump.

 So, sorry Mr. Johnson, I don’t just want to sleep at night, I want to sleep securely at night and you aren’t the Trump alternative. You’re just an acceptable way station for some voters who hate the two major party candidates. But you cannot win. Therefore, I will not waste my vote.

If I voted for Gary Johnson and Trump wins by a small amount, it will really tick me off because I – along with others who vote for Johnson so they don't have to vote for Clinton or Trump – will have elected Trump.

Trump is a danger to this country and to the world.

The main reason I cannot vote for Donald Trump is that he is a world class liar. Hillary lies too but she doesn’t reach quite that Trumpian level.

Trump will lie about anything, and has. He will deny he said something he said minutes before.  He is lying about his net worth. He is lying about his opposition to the Iraq war. He is lying about banning Muslims from this country. He is lying about building a wall to keep the Mexicans out. He is lying about not releasing his tax returns because of an audit. He is lying at the amount of money he’s given to charity. In fact, he lies so much, I’m not sure even he knows he’s lying anymore. His narcissism knows no bounds – which actually I think is part of the definition of a narcissist.  

At best, he believes his lies. At a minimum, he believes he can get away with his lies.

In a New Yorker article making the rounds on the Internet, Tony Schwartz, who ghost-wrote Trump’s “Art of the Deal,” discloses from first-hand knowledge what a liar Trump is. I knew he was a liar but Mr. Schwartz now presents evidence of the lies told in the book and beyond. Trump even lied about who wrote the book, saying he did, which Mr. Schwartz and the publisher’s editors dispute. You can read the article about Schwartz here: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all

Hell, Trump even disputed it in the phone call he made to Schwartz to label Schwartz disloyal for going public. "I made you rich," he told his ghost-writer. How did he do that? By paying him handsomely for writing the book.

Trump is riding an unfortunate wave in this country. Too many people watch – and believe – reality TV. Too many people have lost faith in their leaders. Too many people are suffering from an economy that isn't helping them.

Trump is Mr. Reality TV. Folks, it’s show business. And he’s good at show business. But the presidency – while certainly partly about the show – is mostly about governing and providing as good a life as possible for all Americans, not to mention security against those who want to do us harm.

I won’t make a case as to why someone should vote for Mrs. Clinton. My main reasons are: (1) She is not Donald Trump and (2) She is the only one who can defeat Donald Trump.

Hardly a strong endorsement, I know. But we have two choices: Trump or Clinton.

To me, that’s a no-brainer.


5 Comments
Larz Neilson
7/18/2016 08:56:17 am

Ditto, B.J. The piece on Schwartz is great. He confesses to being Dr. Frankenstein, freaky funny. btw, I heard you can now be charged with driving to endanger for having a Trump sticker on your car. :)

Reply
Marcia Lane
7/18/2016 12:13:09 pm

I feel your pain. I don't share it, but I feel it. I will vote for Hillary because, political lies aside, I think she is fully prepared and qualified to be the president.

Reply
M A MARTINS
7/18/2016 02:04:26 pm

Congratulations on your decision. I do not subscribe to the view that Trump speaks to those who feel betrayed by our leaders and our economy. Rather he has connected to the dark underbelly of America--xenophobic and full of hate. That is not the kind of America I want to live in. Thanks for your vote!

Reply
Roberta Ricciardi
7/18/2016 05:27:42 pm

Welcome to the Dark Side, cousin. Soon as I heard that Trump was running for President, I knew if I voted, it would be for "whoever has the best chance of winning against Trump." Clinton it is.

Reply
Judy Ettenhofer
7/21/2016 11:30:15 am

BJay, I'm glad for your decision and your cogent argument. I believe Hillary is very qualified to be president but agree that she's flawed. But Trump is simply unacceptable because of so many reasons that are too numerous to count.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

     
    Follow @bjaycooper

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    B. Jay Cooper

    B. Jay is a former deputy White House press secretary to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He also headed the communications offices at the Republican National Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Yale University. He is a former reporter and is the retired deputy managing director of APCO Worldwide's Washington, D.C., office.
    He is the father of three daughters and grandfather of five boys and one girl. He lives in Marion, Mass.

powered by bjaycooper.com