Light On Dark Water

Off to Vote

For Marco Rubio in the Republican primary, because polls show him second behind Trump in this state, and I want the Trump alternative to get as many votes as possible. 

The Trump phenomenon is like a metastasizing cancer. As the evidence mounts that he is a bad man who will very likely do bad things, he gains more and more votes. I'm not on Twitter, and have an immediate reaction of irritation to any string of letters following a pound sign (except as a construct in a programming language like C). But I'm with the people who are saying #NeverTrump.

My casual distinction between right-wing and conservative seems to be applicable here. This is pretty much separating the right-wingers from the conservatives.

Before going to vote, I have to go to the dentist and get a couple of cavities filled. Seems appropriate for this election.

Addendum: thanks to Marianne for pointing me to this piece by Megan McArdle: "The Die-Hard Republicans Who Say #NeverTrump".

22 responses to “Off to Vote”

  1. Louise

    Very appropriate, IMO.

    Reply
  2. Janet

    I’m wondering if I will even be able to vote next week.
    AMDG

    Reply
  3. Mac

    What do you mean?

    Reply
  4. Janet

    I mean that there might not be anybody left in the race that I can vote for in good conscience.
    AMDG

    Reply
  5. Marianne

    Go, Mac! Since I’m living overseas, I can vote only in the national election, not a primary because I’m not a resident of any state. So, I’ll think of you as sort of voting for me as well ;-).
    Megan McArdle wrote a good piece on Republicans who will never vote for Trump: The Die-Hard Republicans Who Say #NeverTrump. She has family and friends who are “stalwart Republicans” who “consistently vote, and consistently vote (R) straight down the line. And they are tortured because they cannot bring themselves to vote for the Republican nominee this year, if the Republican nominee is Trump.”

    “She’s beside herself,” my mother said of a near relation, who is apparently seriously considering voting for a Democrat for the first time. I wanted to understand this phenomenon better. I asked on Twitter whether this was a real thing, just as the hashtag #NeverTrump began trending. And I got an earful. So I invited lifelong Republicans who had decided that they couldn’t vote for Trump in the general, even if he got the nomination, to tell me their stories. Hundreds of e-mails poured in, and are still arriving.

    McArdle sorted the responses into major themes. They make for thoughtful and interesting reading.

    Reply
  6. Janet

    I pretty much whittled my reasons for not voting for Trump down to, “He’s a complete ass.” This is unlike me, because I HATE ad hominem attacks, but sometimes the issue is the man.
    AMDG

    Reply
  7. Janet

    That is a really good article, Marianne. Thanks for linking to it.
    AMDG

    Reply
  8. Mac

    I’ll have to wait till later to read the piece, but Megan McArdle is usually worth reading. And it’s certainly an interesting topic.
    Janet, I don’t know how long before an election ballots can be changed, but I’d think that everybody who’s on it today will be on it next week.
    “complete ass”–yeah, I’m willing to overlook a lot of personal flaws in a politician, but this guy’s personal flaws are his whole identity, and his platform. I really just can’t believe it. If I didn’t think everybody or almost everybody who reads this blog already opposes Trump, I’d have been denouncing him a lot more over the past few weeks.

    Reply
  9. Janet

    Well, if they drop out, it won’t do much good to vote for them. It will only half count against Trump if it doesn’t go to somebody who has a possibility of winning.
    AMDG

    Reply
  10. Janet

    OH, and I keep meaning to say that, yes, this really illustrates your distinct between right-wing and conservative well.
    AMDG

    Reply
  11. Mac

    Seems extremely unlikely that everybody you could vote for in good conscience would drop out between now and next week.

    Reply
  12. Janet

    Okay, Maclin. I’ll just admit I’m stupid. 😉
    Maybe overly negative. I don’t know why anybody would be overly negative at this point.
    AMDG

    Reply
  13. Craig

    I don’t know how anybody could be overly negative at this point.

    Reply
  14. Mac

    Too true. Although I always say never say things can’t get worse.

    Reply
  15. Janet

    Sanders, Clinton & Trump could form a triumvirate.
    AMDG

    Reply
  16. Mac

    Secret Service duties would need to include food tasting. Maybe we’re heading back to classical politics.

    Reply
  17. Janet

    I don’t understand why these people who are voting for Trump don’t understand that they are electing Hillary.
    AMDG

    Reply
  18. Louise

    OT – Maclin, I tried to comment on Janet’s blog but still haven’t been able to.
    Hawai’i feels closer to Texas! Also the airfare is probably cheaper from here and now Nick is paid in US dollars.
    🙂

    Reply
  19. Stu

    Although I believe Hillary is preferable to Trump I think this election will push me back to third party candidates. Which is fine. I’m happy to vote my conscience, especially in such a red state where any vote I make is simply a “protest” vote.
    I’m not sure that Hillary vs. Trump means that she wins. She may be just as disliked as him, and if her presidency really does mean “four more years of Obama” people on the fence might be curious about what his presidency entails. I know I am! But I’m still not voting for him. His rhetoric is just too much for me to support in any way.

    Reply
  20. Janet

    Maclin,
    Louise’s answer about Hawaii is two comments up. It probably got buried before you saw it on the sidebar.
    AMDG

    Reply
  21. Mac

    Oh yeah, I missed those last few comments completely. Thanks.

    Reply
  22. Mac

    Stu said “if her [Clinton’s] presidency really does mean “four more years of Obama” people on the fence might be curious about what his presidency entails.”
    A couple of weeks ago I started to post a link to someone saying that the only way he could imagine voting for Trump would be as a sort of knock-over-the-chessboard move–just wreck things and see what happens. I’m not at all on the fence about Trump, but I will admit that there’s a part of me that is very curious about what would actually happen if he were elected.

    Reply

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