WHY WOULD DONALD TRUMP NOT MAKE A GOOD PRESIDENT?-----Aaron Bludworth

I’ve voted for every Republican presidential nominee since I’ve been of voting age. I have worked extensively for many of them and have made significant financial contributions to most. In one recent campaign I was an active member of the candidate’s national finance committee. I’ve been a committed participant in the process of presidential elections for decades.

I haven’t completely agreed with any of them, but they have all been decent people (yes, I believe this) who I agreed with much more than the alternatives. This year, as it currently stands, I will not be voting for the presumptive Republican nominee. Nor will I be voting for the presumptive Democratic nominee. I will vote, but I am not yet sure who I will cast my vote for. I typically employ a process of elimination, based on various principles and beliefs, in my selection (though most often this has only been useful in the primary phase of presidential elections as, due to a few key gating items, I am usually decided on the Republican candidate by the time the general election campaigns start).

I could vote for Donald Trump simply because he is the “Republican” nominee, but I won’t. This has caused consternation among some of my friends (and euphoria amongst a smaller group); some because they are partisans and are “falling in line” because they are supposed to (I’ve been there in the past, I understand), some because “not voting for Trump is a vote for Hillary” (not true, but the argument is a popular one), and some because they actually like the guy and think he is the politically incorrect disruptor needed to shake up a broken system (this theory isn’t crazy, well it kind of is).

I’m not a radical partisan, but I am a committed conservative. There are things I don’t like about every party’s platform, including the Republican’s. The party’s nominee is considered the head of the party and a party that would select Trump out of the 17 options which were available is a party that has left me (maybe I left it, but it has changed more than I have). I don’t know that this departure is permanent, but at the national level it certainly has abandoned me for now. This isn’t about Trump alone; I am generally unpleased with Republicans in Congress as well, they stay too long and focus too much on self-preservation, they lose sight of their purpose, and they have contributed to a massively bloated government and crushing deficits and debt. That said, there are absolutely members of Congress who are the opposite of these characteristics; I support them fully and am glad they serve honorably.

I don’t buy the “if you don’t vote for this candidate then you are voting for that candidate” arguments. I’m voting for who I vote for and others are voting for who they vote for – that’s how it works. Additionally, in the United States we don’t have popular elections for president, and the Electoral College makes this argument a fallacy in most ways. Sure there are times that I have chosen “the lesser of two evils” in my voting decisions, but there has always been daylight between the two options. When it comes to the Republic and Democratic presumptive nominees this year, I can’t find that daylight. Sure there are differences in rhetoric, but when investigating their actions and past positions or statements they are substantially ideological twins. I believe people can and do change, but that doesn’t mean we should gamble the presidency over hope of “change” so recent that the ink isn’t even dry enough for position consistency during the campaign. I simply have seen no evidence that Trump believes what he says or is a conservative on principles that are of significance to me - or that I feel will serve the nation well.

I do think Trump is disruptive and I’m usually a fan of disruption. I think our national government needs disruption, but I don’t think Trump disruption would be the type of positive and creative disruption we need to solve our problems, in fact I think it would deepen our problems and accelerate their consequences.

Most importantly, I don’t think Trump is a decent person (an accusation I’m rarely comfortable making – who am I to judge) and I think it is essential that our country be led by decent people. We’ve struggled in this respect in recent years and we don’t need to double down on indecency. I’m not a prude, I have thick skin, and I can tolerate harsh doses of reality, but a total lack of decency repulses me.

Trump prides himself on conquests of immorality; we should expect the opposite.

Trump is a braggart; we should expect some humility.

Trump is a divider (see Twitter for thousands of examples); we don’t need more division.

Trump insults people based on looks and other superficial characteristics (“The Face of a Dog”, “no longer a 10”, “fat, ugly face of hers”; we can do better.

Trump has super thin skin and lashes out when someone gets under it; that won’t serve the country well – especially when it comes to foreign policy.

Trump lies or is uninformed, probably both. At some point the campaign needs to be about policy, not simple rhetoric. When it comes to policy, Trump gets hollow very fast.

Trump is dangerous, he spews nuclear threats (use and proliferation), insults and generalizes huge classes of people (mainly Mexicans and Muslims, but others too); he seemingly has no moral compass.

I believe differently and feel an obligation to defend these beliefs. I don’t believe my expectations and qualifications for a president are “fringe”. I think many are so caught up in understandable concern and anger over the direction of the country that they have let emotions take over. Emotions start battles, but commitment to correct principles wins wars.

So, I’m going to keep pointing out those characteristics and behaviors that I think make Trump unfit to be president, because I don’t want him to be president. I’ll do the same for other candidates for the same reason. I look forward to continuing to support decent and principled women and men in their pursuits of representative office, whether for city council of Union, Kentucky or president of the United States. I don’t expect perfection, but I do expect a history of decency, a respectful campaign, and a strong commitment to conservative principles. Sadly, Trump doesn’t check the box on any of these requirements.

Writer: Aaron Bludworth, the President and EO of Fern Exposition and Event Services