The first election I paid any attention at all was the 1956 race between Eisenhower and Stevenson. There was a mock election at school after which I went home to tell my dad that he should vote for Eisenhower because most of the class did.
Dad asked if that was the only reason I had for choosing Eisenhower, I said, "Yes," and earned a long lecture on how we should choose to cast our ballots. The gist of it was that what others thought shouldn't be the decider. He said we should learn for ourselves what we valued and who best represented those values and then make our decision. I was eight years old. It went in one ear and out the other at the time. I was far more interested in how the Cincinnati Reds (then the Redlegs) were doing and that Frank Robinson was on his way to tieing the rookie home run record.
Now I'm sixty-eight, have seen many elections, and am well able to evaluate candidates for myself. That said, the current Republican nominee is less mature than I was in 1956. My dad, dead since 1961, simply would not believe the GOP could/would nominate such an ass. Neither would mom, who died in 1999. Hell, I can barely believe it myself. I'll describe it (with a little cleaning up) as an old millwright I once knew might have said. "I've been to Maine, Spain and Ft. Wayne, and I've seen goats (breed) in the market place, and I have, never, EVER, EVER, seen a pile of (crap) like this."
Some people are actually going to vote for T-rump. If you are one of them, God help you; you're a fool, a racist, or blinded by misguided hate, and if you work for a living you are committing suicide by ballot. Sorry, but it is true. Yes, I know you don't like Hillary. She wasn't my first choice; Bernie was. But the truth is, Bernie, as much as I love him, couldn't have gotten a damned thing through congress and (despite some polls) wouldn't have kicked T-rump's fanny nearly as thoroughly as Hillary will. The "Socialist" tag would have frightened some people too much. The truly good news of Hillary's candidacy is that she just might (read slightly) have a chance to put both the house and senate in play for the Democrats.
The best part of a Hillary landslide might just be to knock some common sense into the Teapublican right. Okay, I know it isn't likely but it is possible. At the very least it will force some sensible, moderate Republicans to come out of the closet and try and reclaim their party from the Village of the Damned. (Movie reference--look it up, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AUBlW5EWnI
Please, please, don't compare T-rump to Goldwater. Goldwater at least had principles and a sense of honor. T-rump has neither principles nor honor. . . Come to think of it he doesn't have sense either. He is simply a spoiled blowhard having an ego trip at the country's expense--and NO he's not self-financing his campaign! He has "loaned" his campaign money and will repay himself with YOUR contributions and those of rich oligarchs who are laughing at you while they prepare to grind you further into the dirt.
One final note--although I suspect you already are aware of it. When T-rump says "Believe me," that is T-rump speak for, "I'm lying again." Don't fall for it. Please. Please.
Hold your nose if you must, but vote for Hillary. Not T-rump, not Johnson and not Stein. Don't shame yourself or your country. Please.
