A question was recently posed looking to understand the actual trade-offs people were making that allowed them to vote Trump.
Let me caveat by saying how crazy a time we live in where people are afraid to share their opinions because of the threat of being cancelled or losing friends and followers. What a dangerous echo chamber we have created. On that note..
I voted for Trump. Before you say I am a die-hard Republican, I am not. I don’t associate with any one political party. I align myself with my personal opinions, ideals and those policies that align with my moral fabric.
Here were my trade-offs:
Biden is a Weak Leader
I find Biden to be weak to his party. Trump has already shown his willingness to go against the entire establishment. In his 40 + years in government Biden has done little to push his agenda, what makes us think it will be different the next four years?
Why does this matter?
Well, if you’re weak and conform to the will of those around you then you have no choice but to really focus on the policies those around you are pushing.
Taxes
At the core of the Biden / Harris campaign is taxes. We’re not talking small tax changes, we’re taking material tax changes. I am not against paying taxes, but I am against paying more than my fair share.
When you couple the proposed changes with those being imposed by states like California and New York it will be a monumental financial blow for many. The net affect will not be what they expect, as those being targeted have means of optimizing until the next administration.
50 cent said it best, “I don’t want to wake up in 2021 and be 20 cent.”
Government
I originally responded with the idea of smaller government, but was rightfully corrected. The government hasn’t been smaller with Republicans. The main difference has been where the money goes. Democrats typically lean into social programs, while Republicans lean into military and security.
That’s a fair point. For me, having strong military and security is critical in the world we live in today. My time in the service took me to places in this world few would appreciate, and shown me the brutality that humans can inflict on each other.
I prefer to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war.
Immigration
I am a first-generation immigrant. Both my parents came to the US legally, and worked through the system to get their citizenship. I had the good fortune of being born here. I took advantage of that, build the world I live in today.
That being said, I believe having open borders is a threat to our economy and security. Yes, there are many amazing people that want to do amazing things, but there are also many that want to do horrific things.
I don’t want to see my tax dollars spent on social programs for those that came here illegally, instead I prefer to see them invested in our existing communities.
Second Amendment (2A)
I actually believe in gun control. I believe in things like background checks, age limits, training, etc…
What I don’t believe in what I find to be stupid rules. Stupid rules might be things like no pistol grips, the paranoia around AR’s, muzzle suppressors, no collapsible buttstocks, and pretty much everything else on the feature-less list in California. These rules affect law-abiding citizens, not those intent on doing bad things.
But what really scares me is when those running for office start proposing the removal of the 2A.
Anti-Law Enforcement Rhetoric
Do I think there is a misconduct amongst LEO’s? Yes. Should there be more time invested to train and provide the tools necessary to the do job? Yes.
But while I breathe, I will never be able to get behind the idea of reducing their size, defunding, or painting them dangerously as villains.
Continued Racial Campaigns
I believe there are racial inequalities. I just dislike the current narrative and approach. Everything is racially motivated, even when it’s clearly not. I think race is being used for political points, and with very little interest in solving real race disparities.
Voting for Policies, Not People
I don’t like Trump very much. He’s not what I think of when I think of a President. He is his own worst enemy with his rhetoric on Twitter, and his antics at press conferences.
Unfortunately, the Democrats have done little to win my vote over the past four years. At the core of the campaign it’s been about being anti-Trump, not about policies.
You see this same rhetoric online, amongst the smartest of people I follow it is always about, “How can you vote for the orange man?” instead of the policies. The answer has been political extremism by both parties, where it feels almost impossible to find overlap and common ground.
I personally just dislike groups of people, and individuals, that are not self-aware. This election was on the Democrats to lose, and I personally think they will. There was no better year to do this than with 2020 with the pandemic, but the reality is that the past four years the Democrats have been about attacking the person, not the improving the state of things.
They could have rallied when Trump stumbled, not on his errors but on the recommendations and policies that could have rectified the problems. Instead, they resorted to finger pointing and succumbed to the same dirty politics.
The biggest thing, however, contributing to my decision is California. I lived there for 19 years. There is a reason that California and New York are experiencing the biggest exodus in history. There is no better real-world example of what we can expect from the policies being proposed by Biden / Harris. I do wonder why more liberals are not migrating to those states, it offers the Utopia they are in search of.
300+ million people, and these are our two best options… there is something wrong there.. in the end, it’s all just noise. People will vote for those things that affect them most.
