Source: http://townhall.com/columnists/davidlimbaugh/2016/10/14/still-voting-for-trump-must-defeat-clinton-n2231881
Oct 14, 2016
Each passing day, this presidential election becomes more distasteful, but that doesn't relieve me of my duty to do what I believe is right.
During the primaries, there were 17 GOP candidates, and I chose the one I believed would be the best for America. Now my realistic choices have been narrowed to two candidates -- Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton -- one of whom will be the next president.
What does this mean for me? Well, some people on the right faced with this binary choice have concluded they can't in good conscience vote for Trump, no matter how bad Clinton is. Some acknowledge that Clinton is terrible but believe that Trump could do more damage to conservatism and thus the nation in the long run -- even more than a Clinton presidency at this precarious moment in our nation's history.
I confess that I momentarily weighed all the possible scenarios, but I could never remotely convince myself that a Trump presidency would be worse for the nation than a Clinton one. I have not changed my mind despite the recent charges against Trump.
We are used to seeing Republicans beating one another up during the primaries, and the most recent three cycles -- 2008, 2012 and 2016 -- involved extremely vicious infighting in some cases. As a frequenter of Twitter, I have witnessed this firsthand. This year's primary was hands down the worst, but that's not the only way this year is different. In the previous two cycles, there was some residual discontentment, but most eventually united around the GOP nominee, notwithstanding lingering rumors that millions of evangelicals sat out the 2012 election.
The fighting among the never-Trumpers, the Trumpers and the never-Hillarys is approaching a fever pitch, with mutual accusations of abject immorality.
As the election gets closer, I see the horrors of a Clinton presidency in increasingly clearer relief. I acknowledge that this may cause me to rationalize some of my earlier distaste for some things about Trump, but I have to remember that my vote for Trump isn't an endorsement of everything he's done. I'm not saying I no longer have reservations about him or his policies. I do.
My decision to vote for Trump isn't a contradiction of my position during the Clinton impeachment that character matters or that private conduct is relevant in the election of public officials. Nor am I betraying my Christian values to vote for a candidate who, in almost any scenario I can imagine, would be better for America than Clinton. People suggesting that Christians voting for Trump have sold their souls are ignoring the moral implications of not voting for Trump and thereby enabling Clinton's destruction of our nation. Now that, my conscience wouldn't tolerate, though I don't judge those who disagree with me on this.
If I were voting for Trump in a vacuum, this would be different. But Clinton isn't a vacuum. She's more like a vulture lying in wait to end the republic as we know it. Accuse me of hyperbole or alarmism if you must, but I genuinely fear Clinton could do irreversible damage to the country. And millions agree with me.
Some say, "Look at what you are condoning if you vote for Trump." And I say, "I'm condoning nothing, but if you want to use that metric, look at what you're condoning if you don't try to do everything you can to prevent another Obama-Clinton term." Evangelicals withdrawing their support for Trump need to consider what they're abetting by not doing everything in their power to prevent Clinton's election. In my view, we can't pretend we have other choices and wash our hands of responsibility by sitting this out. Nor does acknowledging that God is in control absolve us, as Christians, from doing our part.
If you want to know what we'd be in for with Clinton, consider what she's done and how she's wholly escaped accountability for all of it. In every respect, she is worse than the worst allegations against Trump, including the treatment of women.
Look at what happens when Democrats are in control. The Justice Department and IRS have been politicized. If recent reports about the outrage of FBI agents over Director James Comey's refusal to indict Clinton for her email felonies are even 25 percent true, this is incredible. Clinton won't even get a wrist slap. Consider also the Clinton Foundation corruption, as well as the WikiLeaks bombshells and the media collusion in ignoring them.
Fear a Trump presidency if you choose, but in electing Clinton, America would be ratifying her egregious misconduct, her self-serving corruption and President Obama's agenda on steroids. It would be giving her a mandate from hell.
It's not just about Supreme Court appointments, though more liberal activists would enable an unprecedented assault on our liberties and the Constitution. A Clinton presidency would result in more babies destroyed in the womb; more encroachments on the Second Amendment; further degradation of the military; open borders and all that entails; the continued disaster of Obamacare and possibly worse with single-payer, which has always been Clinton's dream; higher taxes and dramatically increased regulations; ongoing economic malaise; more government dependency; continuing escalation of racial tensions; a further breakdown in law and order, with more violence in the streets and an ongoing war on cops; the acceleration of the dangerous national debt and of the insolvency of our entitlement programs; an escalation of the war on business; more demonization of the so-called wealthy; further deterioration of our vital relationship with Israel; more domestic and foreign terrorism; further proliferation of the Islamic State group; the sucking of more revenue and human resources into environmental and globalist projects; a possible IRS vendetta against Clinton's Republican and conservative opponents; nightmares from Iran; and more hostility to the energy industry, making us less energy-independent.
We've already seen the one-sidedness that allows Clinton to escape scrutiny and accountability, and she's not in power. Imagine if she were. Could a Clinton presidency finally succeed in suppressing the dissent of political opponents -- including through the so-called Fairness Doctrine, designed to emasculate conservative talk radio?
In short, if Clinton were to win, in all likelihood, she would consummate Obama's crusade to fundamentally transform America into something the Framers and most of us never envisioned and couldn't tolerate. Suffice it to say that I am not going to be shamed on moral grounds for fighting to prevent this calamity.
Why Vote Trump? By Terry Paulson
Source: http://townhall.com/columnists/terrypaulson/2016/10/14/why-vote-trump-n2231991
Oct 14, 2016
I’m tired of being asked, "How can you support Trump after all the things he has said? How can you as a Christian support such a man?" It’s ironic how many “vile names” Trump has been called for calling others similar “vile names!” I’m reminded of the quotation of Oscar Wilde—“Every saint has a past. Every sinner has a future.” The same could be said of presidents and of the people who elect them. There aren’t any perfect candidates or voters. I don’t have to defend all his actions to vote for him. But why am I voting for Donald Trump?
One of my top three reasons is the Supreme Court. With the loss of Anthony Scalia, the fragile conservative majority coalition is in jeopardy. If Hillary is elected, the court could be lost to leftist judges for decades and the role of our Constitution as a guiding principle would be lost, possibly forever. Donald has listed the kind of judges he will appoint.
Second, he’ll cut income taxes for all Americans, including cutting corporate taxes, the most powerful tool to bring more capital, businesses and jobs back to America. Does America want more jobs and a strong economy or does it want bigger government taxing and regulating the successful to let Washington pick the winners and losers. Small business entrepreneurs have always been the prime driver of America’s economic machine. Donald will cut unnecessary regulations, lower taxes, and once again unleash the America’s entrepreneurial dream. When the reward is greater, more will take the risk of starting businesses, and more will succeed.
Third, you not only elect a President; you’re electing an administration and the team one brings with them. What team and policies do you want to guide our country for the next four years? His selection of Gov. Mike Pence gives you a sense of the people he’d appoint. I’m voting for a more conservative Team Trump that creates an administration more likely to turn around Obama’s entitlement machine that Hillary just wants to expand.
There are more reasons. He’d call an illegal immigrant “illegal” and not grant citizenship as an automatic right. He’d take on sanctuary cities defying national laws. He’d make the border stronger and not take refuges from rogue states without extreme vetting. It’s time we put the focus on accepting immigrants who have followed the rules and waited patiently to be welcomed into America.
He'd be a tougher negotiator. No more one-sided agreements with Iran and our trading partners.
He’s already put an end to political correctness. He won’t be thrown by leftist name calling; he’d give it right back at them. He’s not afraid to call terrorists Islamic if they use radical Islamic beliefs to justify their actions.
He’s an outsider not infected by the “Potomac Fever” that seems to weaken the conservative convictions of most politicians we send to Washington. He’ll take on orthodoxy and politics as usual, whether practiced by Democrats or Republicans. He might even close a few unnecessary departments to help deal with our national debt.
He’ll stop making dependence on government pay better than working for a living. He’ll build an economy that will help create the jobs people need to break the chain of poverty that keeps people dependent on government.
He’ll uphold the Second Amendment and gun rights, reject any “public option” for health insurance while repealing Obamacare, and support the police who are protecting the neighborhoods for all our law-abiding citizens.
He’ll rebuild our military and turn the Benghazi inaction into decisive support for building a coalition to put an end to ISIS and terrorist safe havens. He won’t be drawing red lines that mean nothing to our enemies.
Finally, remember watching the Republican convention and saying to yourself, "His children are amazing!" If the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree, his fruit says a lot about the tree and the principles he has used to raise his children. He believes in them, gives them responsibility, and supports making their achievement. If he can do that as a dad, he just may do that as president.
You say, "Yes, but what about....?" Do I support all of Trump's comments or stands? Of course not, I've never completely agreed with any candidate. But he and the Republican team have my vote in November.
