I sent in my absentee ballot for next week’s Massachusetts primary yesterday. I waited until after the South Carolina primary because my first choice was Jeb Bush but I wanted to be sure he’d still be on the ballot for Massachusetts. Well, he is on the ballot but no longer in the race.
So, I cast my ballot for John Kasich – not that I think he has a snowball’s chance of being the nominee but because, simply, he is the best remaining candidate who I confidently believe can sit in the Oval Office and do his best for the country, while worrying about not just some of the citizenry, but all of it. And he would represent us all well when dealing with leaders of other countries. He is a leader i could be proud of.
It may be my last GOP absentee ballot. Not that anyone in the party will care if I leave the GOP. The party has done a lot of things I disagree with over the more than three decade I’ve been a registered Republican. But if Donald Trump leads the ticket this year that will be my final straw. Honestly, it’s been hard enough defending my party affiliation as Republicans continued their rightward march and the party has become increasingly perceived as the party of no, not the party of Lincoln. Trump has won both primaries he’s competed in, placed second in the Iowa caucuses and is looking like a winner today in Nevada. If he is who the Republican voters want, so be it.
The GOP national chairman says, as I believe he has to, that if Trump is the nominee chosen by the party’s voters, he, the chairman, will support him. He may have to say that now but I would hope he would resign if Trump secures the nomination. If I were the chairman and Trump became the nominee I would resign my post. That’s why if Trump becomes the candidate, I have to resign from the party. No one else will care that I’m no longer on the party rolls, but I will. I cannot be a member of a part that has Donald Trump as its standard bearer.
I’m proud of the fact that I worked for Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. They were good men who every day tried to do their best for the right reasons. I didn’t always agree with them but I knew they had the best of intentions and a true love of the country, and a respect for the office they held.
Donald Trump does not meet those criteria. Far from it. And I can’t remain in a party that he leads.
So, I cast my ballot for John Kasich – not that I think he has a snowball’s chance of being the nominee but because, simply, he is the best remaining candidate who I confidently believe can sit in the Oval Office and do his best for the country, while worrying about not just some of the citizenry, but all of it. And he would represent us all well when dealing with leaders of other countries. He is a leader i could be proud of.
It may be my last GOP absentee ballot. Not that anyone in the party will care if I leave the GOP. The party has done a lot of things I disagree with over the more than three decade I’ve been a registered Republican. But if Donald Trump leads the ticket this year that will be my final straw. Honestly, it’s been hard enough defending my party affiliation as Republicans continued their rightward march and the party has become increasingly perceived as the party of no, not the party of Lincoln. Trump has won both primaries he’s competed in, placed second in the Iowa caucuses and is looking like a winner today in Nevada. If he is who the Republican voters want, so be it.
The GOP national chairman says, as I believe he has to, that if Trump is the nominee chosen by the party’s voters, he, the chairman, will support him. He may have to say that now but I would hope he would resign if Trump secures the nomination. If I were the chairman and Trump became the nominee I would resign my post. That’s why if Trump becomes the candidate, I have to resign from the party. No one else will care that I’m no longer on the party rolls, but I will. I cannot be a member of a part that has Donald Trump as its standard bearer.
I’m proud of the fact that I worked for Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. They were good men who every day tried to do their best for the right reasons. I didn’t always agree with them but I knew they had the best of intentions and a true love of the country, and a respect for the office they held.
Donald Trump does not meet those criteria. Far from it. And I can’t remain in a party that he leads.
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