I just posted this to my Facebook account — I know there are many others who have stated much the same more eloquently than me, but I have tried to condense the multitude of reasons against voting for Trump into a digestible bite.
The Case Against Trump
I have voted for the Democrat in every presidential election since I first became eligible in 1984, so it is no surprise that I support Hillary Clinton for President. But this is the first time I fear for the Republic. While I would have been unhappy with a President McCain, a President Romney, or a President Dole, I would have dusted myself off and consoled myself that this was democracy at work, and that this is a beautiful thing. Not this time. Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to the values we hold dear, as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Here are the reasons you should not vote for Trump:
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He is not qualified – Donald Trump has shown scant knowledge of U.S. or world affairs, often repeating that he’ll have the best plan and the best people, but he doesn’t want to tip off our enemies. How about letting us, the people you are asking to elect you President, know your plans for defeating ISIS or reducing poverty? And you really think Mexico is going to pay for your wall?
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He is bigoted – From the beginning of his campaign he has denigrated Latinos for being murderers and rapists, warned of vote rigging in “certain areas” and has a history of housing discrimination. Normally I wouldn’t bring a father’s sins into this, but since he was in the KKK, one wonders how far the apple fell from the tree, particularly given that the KKK has endorsed Trump as representing its values.
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He is a misogynist – Remember “blood out of her whatever” and how “disgusting” it was that Hillary Clinton took a longer bathroom break than her opponents during a primary debate (the women’s bathroom was further away than the men’s bathroom, by the way), that he has referred to Rosie O’Donnell as a pig, and for the rest of it, see the next point.
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Sexual harassment, at a minimum – We all know of the Access Hollywood tape where he said as a celebrity he could do anything he wanted with any woman on the street, up to and including grabbing her by the p*ssy without her permission. Then there was his penchant for walking into beauty pageant dressing rooms unannounced while the women and girls (as young as age 15!) were half-naked. At least a dozen women have come forward with claims of unwanted sexual advances. Howard Stern interviews are fodder for creepy comments about his daughters (Ivanka as a “nice piece of *ss” and speculating about the future breast size of his infant daughter Tiffany). There are sordid stories about the practices of his modeling agency, Trump Model Management.
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Trump is Putin’s puppet – Donald Trump has gleefully shared news stories from Russian propaganda outlets, including those that have not made it into the American press. He has praised Putin as more capable than President Obama (and has also praised other despicable dictators around the world, including Kim Jong Un of North Korea and Bashar al-Assad of Syria). He has pushed Russian talking points that run counter to U.S. government policy, including those that are damaging to our allies (remember “Russia wouldn’t go into Ukraine?”). He and his lackey Roger Stone have trumpeted Wikileaks, much of which is sourced from Russian hacking and manipulation of emails stolen from the Democratic party. Many of Trump’s associates have strong ties to Russia, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who worked to prop up Viktor Yanukovych, the former Ukrainian President who fled to Russia after protests there unseated him.
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Conspiracy theorist – Trump’s current campaign CEO is the former Chairman of Breitbart News, known for pedaling unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about the Clinton’s and other democrats.
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He is a liar – There are many, many, many examples of Trump lying on camera. Some are of the more mundane variety, like, “I never said that” about supporting the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Others are more blatant, such as this weekend giving an account of President Obama’s handling of a pro-Trump protester at a rally that completely contradicted what really happened (it is on film – check it out). Donald Trump, Jr. was peddling the story of an assassination attempt this weekend at a Trump rally, when there was simply a protester with a “Republicans Against Trump” who was manhandled by Trump supporters.Oh, and about that “Crooked Hillary” thing where he states she should be in jail (and some of his supporters have advocated execution or assassination) – based on completely unsubstantiated claims.If you want to look for corruption, how about asking where Trump surrogate Rudy Giuliani got insider information from the FBI on trumped up allegations days before they were delivered to Republicans in Congress?
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About that temperament – Donald Trump is rude and boorish, responds in a tirade to any perceived affront (particularly on Twitter at 3am – remember Alicia Machado?), consistently offends large categories of people of all stripes, including the disabled, women, African Americans, Latinos, and many others. Is this a person we want to represent America, to negotiate with foreign leaders, to lead this great nation?
I believe any one of these is enough to disqualify Donald Trump from consideration. Eight is surely enough! If you agree, please vote for Hillary Clinton for President on November 8th if you haven’t voted early already. Thank you!