On the Upcoming Election....

 Four years ago, I made my vote while holding my nose.  I felt like my choices were between bad and worse, and I made my own decision with many reservations, and without much hope.  I didn't know if this business man would do what he said he would do.  I didn't know if I could TRUST him to represent me and my values.

It's been another four years, and time to head to the polls once again (or to the mailbox, as the case may be in these Covid-ridden times).  This time around, I don't even have to think about.  I don't have to hold my nose (well, maybe a little).  Because I have seen what has happened over the past four years, and it makes my decision far easier than back then. 

I still think he's a big-mouth, and brash, and a narcissist.  I wish the guy would stay off of Twitter, but I understand why he does it.  He looks for a fight... all the time... but at the same time, why wouldn't he?  If he was nice and polite (like the Bushes were), they'd still try to destroy him, so he might as well fight back.  Yes, it's caused a lot of screaming and angst, and "can you believe what he SAID?"  It's caused a lot of people to loathe this man inhabiting our White House, with feelings of indescribable hate.  I keep hearing from the left that "he lied" to the American public.  And I want to say back "NO.  He didn't.  He did what he said he would do, while you all were screaming at the top of your lungs about the stupid stuff he says".  

I admit, I rarely listen to the man.  His persona (and I do believe it's a persona.  He is a reality TV star, and this over-the-top persona doesn't match the interviews he gave before all of this) is not pleasant to listen to.  But I don't have to.  Because I am voting for what he DOES, and not what he SAYS.  I am voting for the changes he is enacting, and not the individual human being that he is.  I admire his fight.  He is not afraid, and they have heaped attack after attack on him, and vilified him night and day for four years.  He's a boxer, a fighter by trade, really.  He thrives on the fight, and I hate confrontation.  It doesn't matter.   I see how the public is being manipulated, see how the media is spinning things, because quite honestly, it's all they've GOT right now.  Manipulation, crisis, fear, and self-loathing. In the absence of any real political power, they are creating mayhem, and it's all a ploy to get political power back.  So....this time, I am voting for a record of things accomplished, not just a person, and they are things I can throw my support behind 100%.  I don't care anymore that he's not "presidential".  Obama was presidential, and where did that get us? 

THESE are the reasons that the current administration gets my vote this time, without hesitation:

• Thus far, Trump has installed two (soon to be three, most likely) Supreme Court justices and 205  judges overall to the federal bench — all for lifetime appointments. Even if Trump is not reelected in 2020, his presidency will continue to have an impact on the direction of the US due to the sheer number of conservative federal judges he’s installed.  This, above all, made my 2016 vote worthwhile.
• The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The law was the biggest overhaul to the nation’s tax code in three decades, permanently slashing the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35% while also providing temporary benefits for individuals and their families.  This helped our economy to boom, and led to record-breaking growth prior to the COVID pandemic.  If we want this nation to get back to economic prosperity for its citizens, we need this man at them helm.
• The greatest increase in manufacturing jobs in the history of the US, and the lowest unemployment rate in 49 years, especially among African Americans and women.
• The First Step Act passed into law in December 2018, marking the first legislative victory in years for advocates seeking to reform the criminal justice system. The bill also aims to lower recidivism by offering more rehabilitation and job-training opportunities, and it includes provisions intended to treat prisoners humanely — banning the shackling of pregnant inmates, halting the use of solitary confinement for most juvenile inmates, and mandating that prisoners be placed in facilities within 500 miles from their families.
• The defeat of the ISIS caliphate.  The reduced threat from North Korea and Iran.  The leaders of our enemies know this man is not afraid to use force if necessary, and they haven't pushed the envelope during his Presidency.
• Trump finalized the Protect Life Rule, cutting Planned Parenthood’s federal funding by $60 million.
• He reinstated the Mexico City Policy that ends federal funding of overseas abortions. The Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance program safeguards more than $8.8 BILLION in overseas aid from being used for abortions.
• Signed a bill that allowed states to defund Planned Parenthood of Title X (family planning) funding, reversing an Obama attempt to force states to fund abortion providers.
• Defunded the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) which supported China’s population control program (which includes forced abortions).
•  Cut HHS funding for fetal tissue research
• Decreased the cost of FDA approved generic drugs
• Brokered middle-east peace deals between Israel and other mid-east countries such as Bahrain and the UAE.  

There is more.  A lot more.  But for brevity's sake, I'll stop there.  

And he is running against a man who has been around for 48 years contributing to the "swamp" of DC politics, with a vice presidential candidate whose aim is socialism, and was rated by the independent govtrack.us as the most liberal of all the Senators.  I've seen many people recently say "what's so bad with socialism?"  The idea of "helping" everyone with handouts seems appealing.  By DEFINITION, though, socialism is "(in Marxist theory) a transitional social state between the overthrow of capitalism and the realization of Communism.".  It is further defined as "a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole."  How does the "community as a whole" own the means of production?  By the government running it, that's how.  Socialism takes away the individual rights and responsibilities of private ownership, the economic system on which our nation was founded.  

I see the media pitting Americans against Americans, spewing American self-loathing as a campaign strategy  ('we were never great to begin with!')('America is racist'!).  They are fomenting unrest, fomenting a civil war, and it is part of the playbook, make no mistake about it.  This is how governments get overthrown from within.  America is under attack, with the ultimate goal of changing the very structure of our democratic republic.  I can see it so plainly; in every riot, every defunded police department, every twist of words, every cancelled social media post that doesn't fit the narrative, every illogical and repressive executive order that comes out of Lansing without input from the legislature.  

So yes, I'm voting FOR his strong pro-life stance with actions to back up his words, his handling of the economy - which is good for ALL Americans- and his appointments to the federal bench and Supreme court. Top 3.  I am also voting AGAINST socialism in all its coercive forms.  I am voting against a culture of death.  I am voting against the lunacy of destroying statues and businesses and cities without repercussion.  I am voting against the closure of businesses and livelihoods in fear of an unseen virus. I am voting against identity politics, and the "woke" mentality that glorifies and encourages victimhood.   I am voting for decency, logic, reason, national prosperity, and for common sense.  I don't see that anymore on the other side of the coin.  America is a GOOD country, founded on honorable principles.  NO.  We are not perfect, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.   Our country needs us now more than ever.  We, the silent majority, the American people, the ultimate "check and balance" of our Republic - time for us to speak.

This year, I'm not torn at all.  I know what I have to do.