As Donald Trump effectively won the Republican nomination for president last night in Indiana, I readied myself to have a difficult conversation with my children about the November election. My oldest two are aware of the election, and I have been open about my strong anti-Trump feelings. So what now?
I’m a Republican in New York City, so seeing the candidate I desperately didn’t want to win do exactly that is not a new or rare occurrence for me. My planned conversation every time I would take my children to vote with me and the other guy would win would be “we all want to make the city/state/country better and we just have different ideas on how to make that happen.”
But this election, I don’t feel like I could deliver that spiel with a straight face. The two candidates poised to run against each other in November are the rock bottom of what our country has to offer and I can not, in good conscience, reassure my children that they want what is best for the country and we must choose one of their paths forward.
“You don’t have to agree with Hillary’s positions but at least admit she’s competent,” say my Democrat friends. The problem with that argument is that competency is literally the only pro-Trump argument. He has an extremely shallow knowledge of all the issues, he is a terrible speaker, and he takes the most outlandish position on any given issue. But even with his many failed businesses, it’s hard to deny that the man has built an empire with his name emblazoned across it. Hillary, on the other hand, has not run anything in a very long time. If her emails don’t damn her for mishandling classified materials, they damn her as someone unable to program her TV to record her favorite shows and someone unclear how her phone works. Competency does not come across whatsoever in her personal interactions.
I’m a conservative, but beyond our extensive policy disagreements, I don’t trust Hillary Clinton whatsoever. I don’t believe that the email server in her home was for anything other than to conceal dealings she wanted to keep hidden from the public. She sold influence through her foundation while secretary of state. She does not seem to believe the rules apply to her, and it shows in her behavior. Finally, when asked during a debate in October what enemies she was most proud of making, Hillary Clinton rattled off “the NRA, the health insurance companies, the drug companies, the Iranians” — before settling on “probably the Republicans.” In a world where Hillary Clinton glides by the Iranians as her biggest enemies and settles on the Republicans — that is, me — she will never have my vote.
“Even if you didn’t want Trump to win, at least he’s better than a Democrat” goes the Republican argument for Trump. Is he? How? In many ways Trump is a Democrat. He thinks Obamacare doesn’t go far enough. His trade policies are interchangeable with those of socialist Bernie Sanders. He talks openly of limiting freedom of the press. So, if the Republicans are running a Democrat and the Democrats are running a Democrat, why would voting for a Republican Democrat be better? Republicans have to wait eight years to run against their own Democrat. How is that a win?
Beyond that, how can anyone vote for a man who makes fun of disabled people, who mocks our military, thinks President Bush was responsible for 9/11, makes fun of his opponent’s wife’s looks, spreads conspiracy theories about vaccines and National Enquirer garbage about affairs or killing JFK? I cannot.
“If you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to complain” goes the old adage. I plan to tell my kids that’s nonsense. “Don’t blame me, I didn’t vote for either of those two bozos,” says my non-vote. “I could have voted, but no one deserved me getting up off the couch to go to the polling place. Maybe next time we’ll have better candidates.”
I was #NeverHillary and then #NeverTrump, but now I am proudly #NeverVote.
Voting for one of these two candidates means their vast transgressions are forgiven, and I will join many people this election season who refuse to do that. If people stay home in large numbers, we’ll be showing both political parties that we won’t stand for candidates like this anymore. I’ll be showing my children that they should expect better from people who seek to be their president and that sometimes the best way to choose between two terrible options is to not choose at all.
