by Mark West | May 11, 2016 | Conservative, Constitution, Donald Trump, God, GOP, Political, Republican Party
As I’ve spoken for some time now concerning my complete rejection of Donald Trump and my support for #NeverTrump, the most common response I get from Trumpsters and Republican party faithful is this same old worn out comment: “But if you don’t vote for Trump, you’re voting for Hillary.”
If I’ve heard that comment once I’ve heard it a thousand times. And no doubt you have too.
But is that true? When one rejects one option does that automatically mean they are embracing another, even if they reject that one as well?
Let’s see if that argument holds water.
In America, one of the most popular vehicles is the pickup truck. I own one, a Ford F250 King Ranch to be exact. I love my truck, and it’s served me well. And chances are you, or someone you know, owns a pickup truck too.
I’m currently in the market for a new truck and as much as I like my Ford, I’ve looked at some other manufacturers as well. In doing my research, I came across the statistics of the top three selling pickup trucks in America. And they are: #1 Ford, #2 Chevy, and #3 Dodge.
For the sake of argument, let’s say that after I’ve done ample research I conclude that while I own a Ford, I believe a Dodge is more in line with what I want and need. So I decide to make the leap and purchase a Dodge. By making that choice though, did I just vote for or embrace either of the other two manufacturers? Or did my refusing to purchase a Ford and selecting a Dodge mean that I endorsed a Chevy?
Of course not.
I simply affirmed that a Dodge is more in line with my needs or wants. Or perhaps I’m convinced the Dodge is of greater value and quality. Regardless of my reasoning, buying a Dodge does not in any way affirm either of the other two options in our example.
Let’s go back to Trump, Hillary and what I will call Option #3 (which I believe will appear soon). If the Republican Party is the Ford in our example, I can attest that I have always voted for the Ford. Not because I’m a mindless Party zombie, simply following the party line and pulling the lever just because a candidate has the “R” after their name. Rather, I have always been a voter who kicks the tires first to see if what I’m about to purchase aligns with my views and values. If the candidate doesn’t, then I will reject him or her.
In 2016, with Donald Trump as the heir apparent to the Republican nomination, I will be unable to vote for the Republican Presidential nominee. I have written extensively about why I cannot vote for Donald, and here are a few articles. But at the end of the day, I will not trade the shot at a short term political win with the knowledge that I will stand before God someday and have to answer for why I affirmed evil with a vote for Donald. In fact, this verse, along with many others, is quite clear as to how a believer should vote when a candidate or his actions are evil: “Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.”
However, if the Democrat Party is the Chevy in our example, I can honestly say that this year, as in every election since I first voted for Reagan, I will again reject the Chevy. Hillary’s record is quite clear (as is Trump’s by the way) and her endorsement and advancement of evil throughout her entire life and career as a politician is without question (as is Trump’s as a businessman). So I will refuse to pick a Chevy at the polls in November.
But in my belief system, I cannot simply stay home and not vote as I understand I am accountable to God for my vote. So I will do my homework, and research the other options available to me. And at the end of the day, I will select Option #3, the “Dodge” in our analogy. And when I do so I will be selecting a Dodge. Not a Ford. Not a Chevy. And because I will select a Dodge at the polls this year, it does not in any way mean I am affirming the Chevy. Rather, I am rejecting both the Ford and Chevy options. They are both broken, inferior vehicles and not worthy of my vote, and hopefully not yours either. But if you chose to embrace one of them, have at it.
Just don’t be foolish enough to suggest that because I reject Trump and affirm Option #3, I am voting for Hillary. And I won’t suggest that because you reject Option #3 and embrace Trump you are affirming Hillary, particularly given that Option #3 will certainly be a Constitutional conservative with a track record to prove it.
by Mark West | Mar 14, 2016 | Donald Trump, Freedom, Political
As our nation has watched the rise of Donald Trump from a billionaire celebrity to the front runner for the Republican Party Presidential nomination, the media has claimed that his support is revealing dissension, chaos and turmoil by the party’s voters. While there is no doubt that voters are tired, frustrated and disgusted with the Republican establishment, is it fair to chalk up Trump’s success to simple voter unrest and anger?
While the press has focused to great extent on the anger of voters, what has largely gone unnoticed is the role the Republican Party itself has played in elevating to front runner status a man whose 40 year history has been characterized by values that are the antithesis of the Party. Throughout Trump’s entire adult life, he has used his power, influence and wealth to support progressive liberal policies and politicians which are at total odds with Republicans.
Despite Trump’s unambiguous record though, Republican leadership both nationally and in states across this nation have undermined the values they purport to support by allowing democrats to weigh in on their nominee. Research reveals that much of Trump’s support flows from independents and democrats. So to use a football analogy, what Republican party leaders have done would be akin to allowing the fans of the Carolina Panthers to select the quarterback for the Denver Broncos, just prior to the SuperBowl.
Let me explain why this is the case.
America is dominated by a two party system, Republicans & Democrats. Depending on which poll you look at, Republicans make up around a fourth of voters, Democrats around a third, and independents account for the rest, approximately 40%. However, when polling which direction independents lean, Democrats rise to 48% and Republicans to 39%.
As the nation’s two parties select their candidates for state and national offices, the nominees are selected via open or closed primaries or caucuses. An open primary/caucus simply means that any registered voter can vote in a party’s primary/caucus. So a democrat or independent can walk into a voting booth during a Republican Presidential Primary and help Republicans select their nominee. Conversely, in a closed primary/caucus only registered voters of the party holding the primary/caucus can vote.
In Tennessee where I live, we recently held our Presidential Open Primary. So democrats & independent voters were free to determine who Republicans would select as their nominee for President. Again, using the football analogy, what we have done would be similar to calling on Roll Tide fans to pick the Volunteer’s quarterback. Can you imagine such a scenario ever occurring in college football? Yet, for some insane reason, Republican Party officials have long supported such nonsense in the selection of their “quarterback” for the highest office in the land, as well as local offices.
To illustrate how large of a role open primaries, and thus democrats & independents, have played in fueling Donald Trump’s momentum and victories, let’s look just at some summary numbers that illustrate how the life-long democrat, turned Republican, has fared in closed versus open primaries/caucuses.
To drill down further into the numbers, in the 13 closed contests to date, Donald Trump has won only 5 of them, or only 38% of them. Whereas in the 13 open contests so far, Trump has won 10, or 77% of the open primaries. If one can draw any conclusion from these numbers, it is that when the home team picks their quarterback, they generally win the contest. But when Republicans allow the other team’s fans (democrats) to help pick their quarterback, they will end up with a player whose commitment to their values is suspect, at best.
To be clear, the Republican party should strive to grow its support amongst voters. However, while open primaries allow for new voters to engage in the process, there is no mechanism to insure that democrats with ill intentions are not purposefully meddling in the selection of the Republican nominee. It’s a well known fact that democrats have deliberately crossed over into Republican primaries to undermine the outcome of Republican primaries. As this is done, the votes of authentic Republicans are diluted and their will is marginalized, if not defeated.
Open primaries have been opposed by many voters for years now. In fact, last year the Tennessee Republican Party party was strongly encouraged by grassroots voters and activists to change its primary from an open to a closed one. Yet, despite the efforts of many Republican voters from across our state, the Tennessee Republican State Executive Committee (“SEC”) ignored our warnings and last year voted to continue the Open Primary system in our state.
And now we see the result of the Tennessee SEC vote. A man who is now the poster child for RINO’s (Republican in Name Only), given his 40 year history of supporting democrats and their leftists policies, is enjoying front runner status. And those who enabled his rise should be held to account for their unwillingness to allow the home team to pick its own quarterback, free from the interference of the other team.
Should a party that willingly and knowingly contributes to its own demise expect the support of voters who warned them against such suicidal behavior? In my lifetime I’ve heard democrats say that they didn’t leave the party but rather the party left them. As Republican leadership continues to dilute the values that made it the party of Liberty, we are now beginning to hear those same comments from its base: “I didn’t leave the party. The party left me.” Or perhaps we should say the party committed suicide and its leaders pulled the trigger.
by Mark West | Mar 8, 2016 | Constitution, Donald Trump, Flaws, Political
As a majority of the nation’s voters have yet to vote in the 2016 race for the Republican nomination, we have heard the cry by many that Donald Trump is inevitable, and his victory is a foregone conclusion. At the same time, many who oppose Trump’s candidacy have begun the #NeverTrump effort to announce that should Donald win, they will find another candidate to support. I too have embraced the #NeverTrump effort in affirming my commitment to certain values and principles that are non-negotiable to me. If one is honest and objective, they must also conclude that Trump’s 40+ year track record reveals he has consistently opposed and vigorously funded the defeat of constitutional conservative values.
But regardless of your views on Trump, one thing is certain, the fat lady has not yet sung.
Let’s consider these facts:
- To date only 23 states have voted and awarded delegates.
- Trump has only garnered 35% of the raw votes, which means that 65% of the voters have either rejected Donald or not affirmed their support for him.
- Out of the 1,032 delegates awarded to date, Trump has received 458, representing only 44%. Ted Cruz trails Donald by only 99 delegates with 359. And Rubio has garnered a total of 151 delegates to date. A total of 1,237 delegates are needed to win the nomination.
In a recent scientific poll, Marco Rubio’s supporters favor Ted Cruz over Trump by a margin of 3 to 1. But consider that this poll was taken before Carson and Bush dropped out. Thus, were Rubio to drop out after a possible defeat in his home state of Florida, Cruz would be the beneficiary of the lion share of Marco’s supporters. And consider that the poll cited was taken before the continuing surge by Cruz and his solid performance last week in the FoxNews debate.- In the contests over the last week, non-Trump voters have for the most part begun to coalesce behind Cruz. Whether this is a rejection of Rubio’s recent strategy of getting into the muck and mire with Trump or whether voters simply recognize that splitting the anti-Trump vote is a strategy that will widen His lead is uncertain. But it is clear that support for Cruz is growing and voters of all stripes are coalescing behind Ted as the only consistent constitutional conservative. In fact, RINO Senator Lindsay Graham’s recent semi-endorsement of Ted Cruz may indicate that not only has “hell frozen over” but some of Ted’s most ardent critics are now uniting behind Cruz to insure a boisterous and profane celebrity does not ascend to the highest office in the land.
- The longer Trump’s fantastic claims are made, with little to no substance to support them, the greater the likelihood is that some who have been wavering in their support will reject the Entertainer in Chief. At some point people grow weary of a brash, boastful, ego-maniac whose track record is diametrically opposed to his grandiose claims.
- It’s clear that there is a certain percentage of Trump’s supporters who will continue to support their brazen candidate, who boasted “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot someone and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” But as time passes and the scrutiny of Trump intensifies, Ted Cruz’ calm, deliberate and superior campaign based on substance will no doubt continue to sway voters who are growing tired and weary of Trump’s gutter tactics and his shallow, void of substance, cliches.
It’s helpful to have facts to back up your views, but at the end of the day, in order to win a battle, a General needs not only a winning strategy, but he needs the troops to deploy that strategy. And that’s where you come in. If you care deeply about your nation; and if you believe the commitment level of our Founders, which led them to pledge their “lives, fortunes and sacred honor” shouldn’t be limited to them; then, in order to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity” you and I must also be prepared to do more than simply share articles on Facebook (although go ahead and share this one) and debate opinions with our friends and family. At the end of the day, Ted Cruz, the only consistent Constitutional conservative needs You to help deploy his strategy. And here’s how:
- Pray for Ted. I have encouraged others to commit to Pray for Ted everyday. Specifically pray for Ted’s health and stamina. Ask God to continue to grant him wisdom and discernment. And pray that Marco Rubio will come to his senses and coalesce behind and with Ted to stand for our Constitution and our founding principles.
- Sign up for Ted’s Phone from Home program that is one of the most user-friendly systems to enable you to talk to pre-qualified conservatives who will be going to the polls in the remaining states. Whether you call 10 voters a week or 100, each call is meaningful and require no special training. Within 5 minutes you can be making reaching voters for Ted.
- Send Ted a few dollars. Can you spare $10, $25 or $50 to help take back the ground we have lost over the last 7 years under Obama? If so, go to Ted’s website and make a one-time or recurring donation here. If it’s one-time, be sure to uncheck the box that references a recurring contribution.
Finally, will you share this post with others either via your email or on Facebook? Let’s get the word out that the fat lady has yet to sing. And if we all do our part we can in fact see the Constitution trump both Donald and the forces in both parties who have been undermining our founding principles for too many years.
Credit: Trump caricature courtesy of DonkeyHokey https://www.flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey/18058245844/
by Mark West | Mar 1, 2016 | Action, Constitution, Donald Trump, Freedom, Illegal Immigration, Leaders, Life, Marriage, Political, Religious Liberty, Taxes
As I’ve begun to share with folks that if Donald Trump becomes the Republican nominee I will NOT vote for him, the standard response I hear is: “if you don’t vote for Trump you are voting for Hillary!” The intent with such a statement is to either 1) shame or coerce me into voting for Trump or 2) demand that I fall in line with the party nominee.
I find it ironic though that as Republicans have grown increasingly upset over their party and its unwillingness to live by its own principles, many are now embracing a man whose track record is the antithesis of the foundational values of the Republican party.
Contrary to the shallow argument that “a vote for anyone but Trump is a vote for Hillary,” one should consider this truth: A vote for Trump is actually a vote for Hillary. You might find your head swimming after that last statement so hang on and let me explain.
I contend that a person’s track record will always reveal the truth of who that person is and it will predict how that individual will act in the future. In the case of a politician, his words should be carefully examined and compared, with great skepticism, against his actual record. So when it comes to Donald Trump, let’s see if my theory holds any truth: that a vote for the Donald is in fact a vote for Hillary. Below are more than 30 examples where both Trump and Hillary are identical in their views on a number of key issues:
Of course there are areas in which their records diverge but when one considers the myriad of consistencies in the positions of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the only conclusion I can come to is that Trump is no conservative. But even worse, the man is a faux Republican. If ever there was a RINO (Republican In Name Only), Trump is such a candidate, but on steroids. Truthfully, Trump is simply a liberal democrat who has deceptively embraced the Republican label, with nothing to justify his conversion.
Over the years I’ve heard the following statement made about those professing to be Christians: “If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you as one?” Perhaps though we should modify that statement slightly and apply it to Mr. Trump as follows: “If Donald Trump were put on trial for being a Republican, would there be enough evidence to convict him as one? Or would the evidence suggest he is something else, say a liberal progressive Democrat?” Follow the evidence and you’ll have the answer.
There’s a verse of Scripture that states, “By their fruits you will know them.” In the case of Donald Trump, his fruit of over 50 years is well known and if we are willing to objectively examine it, there can be no question as to his liberal bona fides. But will Americans care? We shall know soon enough… but it may be too late.
