I am no one with political credentials — no one you have ever heard of. But right now I, and voters who think like me, may be the Republican National Committee’s worst nightmare.
Over 50 years, I have never voted for a Democrat for president, but this year I will not vote Republican, and I will not waste my vote on a wish-upon-a-star write-in. I will vote for Hillary Clinton specifically to repudiate Donald Trump’s blend of ignorance, demagoguery, egotism and bullying.
This will be a very painful choice for me. Mrs. Clinton correctly notes that some of us do not trust her. Her explanations about those emails have held as much water as a cheese grater. She and her husband seem capable of saying anything that might win over some voting bloc. For example, judging from some of her speeches, Mrs. Clinton seems to have discovered only recently that racism is a serious problem in our society; I have not heard any specifics — which voters have a right to expect — about how she plans to address the issue. And how could someone who commands $200,000-plus for one speech possibly understand the needs of people whose annual income is less than a third of that figure?
But by comparison, loose cannon Donald Trump could leave wreckage strewn about the deck and end up battering down the gunwales of the ship of state. I can remember election campaigns going back to Dwight Eisenhower versus Adlai Stevenson, twice, in the 1950s. Donald Trump is the most dangerous presidential candidate I have seen in all those years.
I would have serious reservations about voting for candidates who support him.
He seems to view the president as the CEO of America, Inc. He does not seem to understand that the president cannot simply fire congressmen and women or judges and justices who are in his way. Under our Constitution, the president is obligated to work with governance from Congress and review by the judiciary. But Donald Trump does not play well with others.
In international diplomacy, he would be an embarrassment. His braggadocio would be no match for the shrewdness of a Vladimir Putin, and his crudity would likely be offensive to many. He has said he can act “presidential.” Being presidential isn’t something one puts on and takes off. It has more to do with genuine concern for other people and the ability to deal rationally with other viewpoints. Rational, thoughtful discussion does not appear to be one of Mr. Trump’s strong qualities.
Immigration is an ongoing, serious problem that needs a well-considered, cooperative solution. Mr. Trump’s dogged insistence that we will build a wall along the Mexican border, and that Mexico will pay for it, highlights several of the lapses in rationality in his campaign.
I have spent critical years of my life living in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas and in Central America. I know that a physical barrier hundreds of miles long will never solve immigration problems. Mr. Trump’s stubborn devotion to the idea seems uninformed and irrational. The most likely result of building such a wall would be creation of many new jobs — for El Chapo’s skilled tunnel builders on the south side of the Rio Grande. If Mexico refuses to pay for the wall, Mr. Trump proposes to cut off shipments of money by migrants to their families south of the border. The most likely result of this tactic would be an entirely new industry handling underground money transfers. And if cutting off the legal transfers doesn’t work, what will be Mr. Trump’s next step? Sending troops into Mexico to collect? Bombing them?
It is frightening to think of this man’s finger on the nuclear trigger.
Hillary Clinton seems to want the power of the presidency so badly that she can almost taste it. I would wish for someone with more integrity as our first woman president, but questionable integrity can be countered by the checks and balances in our constitutional government. Where, though, is the constitutional safeguard against a candidate’s impulsive, unbridled arrogance and unstable thinking? The best solution seems to be at the ballot box.
In recent years, I have often asked myself, “Where are the statesmen and stateswomen we deserve in office, instead of the politicians we are getting?” And then the answer comes: “Maybe these are the candidates we deserve.” That is the most frightening thought of all.
Don L. Searle is a retired journalist and former editorial writer for the Deseret News. He lives in West Valley City.