This election season confronts some conservatives, independents, liberty-lovers and patriots with grave dilemmas whose solution, I submit, resides in the lyrics of the 1971 song by Stephen Stills.
There is exactly no one running for our highest office with whom they feel comfortable.
Hillary Clinton? Out of the question. Donald Trump? Not with a clear conscious.
But, wait. Let’s apply closer scrutiny to the Trump response.
The Republican torch-bearer has said and done things that disqualify him, they say.
Charles Krauthammer, the Fox News commentator, is a good example of this. He cannot vote for Clinton and will not vote for Trump. He will write in someone and let us know whom after the election.
Friends and family think the same way – and thank goodness for them. There is still moral fiber on the conservative side. I respect and understand their sentiments. It would be a disappointment if we were not having this debate on the Republican side.
Yes, there are many who still understand the difference between right and wrong, as well as the attributes of leadership. Fortunate we are to have true leaders like Lincoln and Washington over the course of history by whom we can measure others.
Yes, it is acknowledged by many Republicans that Trump has serious flaws, and therein lies the Clinton advantage. Why? Because, in case you haven’t noticed, on the Democrat side there is no similar discussion.
Clinton’s flaws and lifetime of corruption dwarf Trump’s. Yet, where is the discord or debate on the Democrat side?
This alone should tell us all we need to know about modern Democrats. The corruption is not merely about a candidate but permeates the entire party. This is a pathetic verdict on the party and a sad portent for America.
Yes, for the Democrats, the Machiavellian creed whereby ends justify means is the policy de jour.
Without a doubt, a Clinton Presidency will be the greater evil. Will anyone stand in President Clinton’s way of doing anything she wants?
The press won’t; they are accomplices. We already know the State Department and the FBI won’t. Congress won’t because it is more concerned with preserving its own power and will be afraid to kick back against a first woman president. The Supreme Court won’t, as the President will be appointing its new members. The entire establishment will not, as it will be eager to feed at her trough. The only hope will be the states — and the people. If there is a President Clinton, we need to be ready.
A Trump Presidency will bring about true transparency, the kind it serves up daily on candidate Trump. Suddenly, we will be cognizant of goings-on in real time. Whatever minor misstep by President Trump occurs, we will know instantly.
The political correctness we have witnessed for eight years with President Obama will vanish. If Trump deviates at all from his legal powers, you can bet that Congress will not hesitate to start impeachment. Even with Trump appointees on the Court, it will do little more than preserve the status quo of the last 15 years. The Establishment will fight tooth-and- nail to thwart his every move.
Why then would you choose Clinton in office with by a deliberate anti-Trump vote?
America has a long history of choosing to work with those whom we don’t feel 100% comfortable in order to defeat the greater evil. Think Russia against Germany in World War II; China against Japan in the same war; France against England in our Revolutionary War, and; a number of strange bedfellows as we fight ISIS today.
Let’s defeat the greater enemy of America (Clinton) first. At this point, Trump is the only person standing between her and the White House. Voting for Trump as the lesser of two evils is not in contravention to a principled vote that keeps Clinton out of office.
There is ample precedent for what we, as a nation, have done throughout history in defeating the greater danger first.
And, if Trump strays as President, we will have a much easier time reining him in than we ever could with Clinton.
Many gaping issues with both parties present themselves in 2016 but I am glad to at least be part of one that recognizes problems when it sees them and has the courage to openly discuss and debate them, even at the risk of implosion. Yes, there is still hope.
We ought take seriously the lyrics.
If you’re not with the one you love honey… love the one you’re with.