Counting Votes

By this time, many of us are extremely tired of politics. The level of election fatigue we are experiencing is unprecedented. I've seen people take Facebook breaks, or wish they could mute everything political. I understand this feeling, but I have a different take on it. These feelings present a real opportunity. If enough of us are tired of the way this election has been handled, we should engage MORE, not LESS. Otherwise we will be back in the same situation in four years.

I understand why some would choose to support Clinton or Trump. I believe that you can make a moral and ethical case for why each candidate is the right choice. It really comes down to how you weight different priorities. For many Republicans, Trump represents the best option for preventing a Democratic takeover of the Supreme Court. For many Democrats, Hillary Clinton has the experience, credentials, and temperament to serve as President, representing many of the beliefs that are central to the party.

I happen to have different criteria than either of these positions, and as a result cannot support Trump or Clinton. So what do I intend to do on election day?

I will vote.

Since I find both of these candidates unacceptable, I think it is important to register my distaste with an officially counted vote for President. This limits my choices to one of several small party candidates or a registered write-in candidate. Up-and-coming candidate Evan McMullin is not an option because he is not a registered write-in candidate in Florida.

I will probably vote for Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party. I understand that this is a protest vote and that Johnson has no chance of winning. The Libertarian Party is a bit of a trainwreck, so this is not expressing my new party affiliation. However, my vote does need a home, and this is where it will probably go.

This brings us to an argument that we see often. Expressed by both Democrats and Republicans, it goes something like this:

"The winner will be either Clinton or Trump, so a vote for anyone other than Trump helps Clinton and a vote for anyone other than Clinton helps Trump."

I will vote for someone other than Trump or Clinton, understanding and accepting the statement above as fact. I don't think there is any reasonable scenario where Trump or Clinton is not president. Is it very likely that my vote, as someone who has voted Republican in every presidential election since I registered to vote, will help Hillary Clinton? It is.

But that does not mean that I should vote for Donald Trump.

The Republican Party has traditionally been a fair reflection of many of my political views. But the party is not my religion, it's politicians are not prophets, and its platform is not my doctrine. And during this electoral season, especially with Trump as nominee, the Party has moved away from me (and as a result, me from it).

I owe nothing to the Republican Party. I certainly owe nothing to Donald Trump. My vote is not something to be blindly bestowed on whichever candidate my party selects. The candidates job is to win that vote, through a combination of policy and demonstrated leadership. And neither major candidate as done so. I would be happy to discuss my specific concerns with anyone, but that's not the main purpose of this post.

As I said in an earlier post, I do not want Hillary Clinton to be President of the United States. But I am willing to accept that occurring if it means that a more effective and representative party emerges. For that to happen, Donald Trump has to lose, and badly. He will have himself to blame.

The Republican party needs to become something capable of winning presidential elections, or it needs to go away. I choose to use my vote to express that, and to me that counts for something.

Nothing to Show

That might not be fair actually. After nearly three years in office, President Obama did authorize the mission that ended Osama Bin Laden's life. Other than that? Meh.

He continues to use his credibility and capital unwisely. The latest example is his upcoming jobs speech. Michael Barone looks at the kerfuffle over its scheduling. To me it is another example of the president's leadership failings.

Believe it or not, I wanted the president to succeed. He has had some significant challenges. More often than not, he has made the wrong choice. This is especially evident in his economic stewardship. We are paying the price for that.

Moral Failure

This post was inspired by this tweet from baseball writer Rob Neyer:

My brilliantly nuanced memo addressed to every head of state who can't
figure out how to help the Libyan rebels: You suck. #libya

I couldn't agree more. We need look no farther than 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington D.C. to see a horrendous and cowardly absence of leadership with regard to Libya.

What do I expect him to do? Or any other leader? Don't talk about a no-fly zone. Make it happen. Put Gaddafi INTO THE GROUND. This is a certifiably evil man, a dictator, murderder, and sponsor of terrorism.

Courageous people are staring death in the face, even as I write this, and they are doing it while we do nothing. We don't need to send troops. We don't need to put any of our people in direct danger. They don't need us to provide human rights investigations. They need us to even up the odds, even just a little bit. We will look back at this moment as we do the Bay of Pigs in 1961, or our abandonment of the Iraqi opposition after the 1991 Gulf War, as a moment of moral weakness, and it is a tragedy.

Dive Deep

There is a new movie coming out on February 4th, Sanctum. It was inspired in part by an experience that the filmmaker had while diving with Wes Skiles. I've written about Wes before. He passed away in a diving accident last June and was a great guy.


You can read more about the origin of the film and how Wes took Jim Cameron on his first cave dive a few years ago.

Peacemaker

I didn't hear Rush Limbaugh say this, but blogger Ann Althouse did, and I think it is a very compelling quote-

"The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Winner hosted a dinner for the guy holding the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Winner in prison...and the media does not get the irony of this at all."

I didn't think about it until I saw this. I understand the need of the President to meet with the China's head of state. There are many complicated issues to deal with, but it would be nice to see a little more leadship from him on this issue and others.

A Leader of the Band

Band of Brothers is one of my all-time favorite books. One of the people profiled in it, Dick Winters, passed away last week. He was beloved by the men that he commanded:

When he said 'Let's go,' he was right in the front," Mr. Guarnere, who was called "Wild Bill" by his comrades, said Sunday night from his South Philadelphia home. "He was never in the back. A leader personified."
Another member of the unit living in Philadelphia, Edward Heffron, 87, said thinking about Mr. Winters brought a tear to his eye.
"He was one hell of a guy, one of the greatest soldiers I was ever under," said Mr. Heffron, who had the nickname "Babe" in the company. "He was a wonderful officer, a wonderful leader. He had what you needed, guts and brains. He took care of his men, that's very important."

It is impressive that they continued to respect and honor his memory over 65 years since they served under him. If you have not read the book, I suggest that you pick it up!

Doing it Right

Randy Shannon's firing as coach at the University of Miami was unfortunate, especially because he has been linked to that program for so much of his athletic and professional career. His interest in the program went beyond a job. He truly cared about the players and he could understand where they came from, because that is where HE was from.

This post from the Miami Herald's Eye on the U blog highlights a perfect example of Shannon's concern for his players. He left notes for many of them, if not all. A classy gesture.

Awesome Video Saturday CL

This is the first part of a pretty entertaining interview by Jay Leno of President George W. Bush.

A Loss of Connection

It seems clear that frustrations with Obama are not unique the Tea Party or very conservative voters. He has lost a lot of mainstream support, and it seems linked to his inability to connect with voters on an emotional level. His political choices have played a role, but the emotional angle can be critical. This post from The Anchoress makes a good point for why George Bush is becoming a figure of some affection when compared to the current POTUS:

One of my husband’s friends–hated Bush, loved Obama and defended him vociferously for the first year, less passionately the second–told him over lunch this week that he’s done with Obama and “I never thought I’d say this but I miss Bush. We knew that he said what he meant, even if we didn’t want to hear it. We knew who he was, even if we didn’t like him. And we never had to wonder whether he liked us. He always did.”
And that is it, in a nutshell. Bush is missable, because we miss having a president whose affection for his country and its people–even the ones who hated him–was never in doubt.
We miss Bush because he never lectured us or harangued us, and when people disagreed with him, they were not immediately called names in an attempt to simply shut up debate.

Obama's success in 2008, driven by an emotional connection to his persona and background, seems a distant memory.

Better to be Lucky

This is a good piece from Peggy Noonan on the President Obama's string of bad luck (and bad choices). A favorite part:

No reason to join the pile on, but some small points. Two growing weaknesses showed up in small phrases. The president said he had consulted among others "experts in academia" on what to do about the calamity. This while noting, again, that his energy secretary has a Nobel Prize. There is a growing meme that Mr. Obama is too impressed by credentialism, by the meritocracy, by those who hold forth in the faculty lounge, and too strongly identifies with them. He should be more impressed by those with real-world experience. It was the "small people" in the shrimp boats who laid the boom.
And when speaking of why proper precautions and safety measures were not in place, the president sternly declared, "I want to know why." But two months in he should know. And he should be telling us. Such empty sternness is . . . empty.

More praise for Uribe

Max Boot at Commentary Magazine also has praise for Alvaro Uribe. He mentions Uribe's worthiness for the Nobel Peace Prize. Wouldn't it be nice for it to actually be given to someone who has accomplished something in that area?

As we've discussed before, the prize is mostly political and largely meaningless, and I think Uribe is much happier about the peace actually enjoyed in his country.

RIP Jack Kemp

Jack Kemp passed away over the weekend. He was a great ambassador for Reagan-era conservatism. He articulated the core values of the philosophy, which is the greatest failing of the current Republican Party.

Here is a nice remembrance in the Wall Street Journal and some excerpts from Op-Eds writtem by him that appeared there. Here is a favorite of mine:

In my opinion, people of all colors and income levels don't hate the rich. They want to get rich. They're more interested in generating wealth than they are in redistributing wealth. They want to own property, educate their children and build a nest egg that can be passed on to their heirs. Unfortunately, some aren't able to access the same ladder of opportunity that is so readily available to the majority. . . .
By giving people access to capital and allowing them to take ownership of assets, entrepreneurship will be encouraged and the cycle of poverty can begin to be broken. All persons should have the opportunity to go as high as their merit and determination can carry them. My favorite quote is from Abraham Lincoln, who said, "I don't believe in a law to prevent a man from getting rich; it would do more harm than good. So while we do not propose any war upon capital, we do wish to allow the humblest man an equal chance to get rich with everybody else."
Lincoln's definition of entrepreneurial capitalism is the best I have ever heard.

I like it too.

On Economic Leadership

I am concerned by the lack of economic leadership in our time. Neither Bush nor Obama has given the American people much to look forward to. Yesterday saw Obama talking about economic recovery, and how "It will take longer than any of us would like — years, not months. It will get worse before it gets better." Joe Biden said "There is no short run other than keeping the economy from absolutely tanking. That's the only short run." Indelicate words.

I don't mean to imply that the economy is healthy right now. It isn't, but we don't need leaders thst confirm the most negative assessments proferred by the media. We need leaders that acknowledge our problems while offering a clear understanding of America's unique advantages. Are we getting that from anyone right now? Obama was elected in part on his ability to inspire people. Though I failed to be moved by him I could understand the appeal. I'm not seeing a whole lot of inspiration right now.

Meanwhile, Congress failed to demonstrate leadership by allowing a scheduled pay increase to pass. Good work folks.

At least Illinois seems likely to provide a fascinating sideshow for a while.