Never Trump ex-Republican: Why I'll vote for almost any 2020 Democrat
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
I'm good with anyone who is mentally stable and in no way sympathetic or beholden to a hostile foreign power. That's it. Policy just doesn't matter.
I don’t care if Sen. Elizabeth Warren is a mendacious Massachusetts liberal. She could tell me that she’s going to make me wear waffles as underpants and I’ll vote for her. I don’t care if Sen. Kamala Harris is an opportunistic California prosecutor who wants to relitigate busing. She could tell me that I have to drive to work in a go-cart covered with Barbie decals and I’ll vote for her. I don’t care if Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is a muddle-headed socialist from a rural class-warfare state (where I once lived as one of his constituents). He could tell me he’s going to tax used kitty litter and I’ll vote for him.
I don’t care if Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is clearly influenced by a hostile foreign government or that Marianne Williamson is a weird, anti-science guru . They could …
Wait. I do care about that. It’s the reason they won’t get my vote next year, and why the president won’t either.
Trump is getting worse
All of the policy “what about” hypotheticals from my conservative friends are diversions. They’re trying to move the argument to policy to blind us to the reality that President Donald Trump is both unstable and compromised.
As I have argued for well over two years, there is plenty of evidence that the president is compromised by our most dedicated enemy. Even before the Mueller report laid bare the degree to which the Trump campaign welcomed Russian help, it was obvious that Trump feared Russian President Vladimir Putin — not only because Putin knew how much Trump had lied to the American people during the campaign about his dealings with Russia , but also likely because Moscow holds Trump’s closest financial secrets after years of shady dealings with Russian oligarchs .
President Donald Trump on Aug. 13, 2019, in Monaca, Pennsylvania. (Photo: Keith Srakocic/AP)
And obviously, I would care if Warren or Harris wanted me to do something insane, because it would be evidence of their mental or emotional impairment. As much as conservatives hate to admit it, governing by executive order or supporting the financial evisceration of rich people is not a sign of an emotional disorder.
I can live with policies I hate
Compulsive lying, fantastic and easily refuted claims, base insults and bizarre public meltdowns, however, are indeed signs of serious emotional problems. Trump has never been a reasonable man, but for two years, he has gotten worse. He literally cannot tell the truth from a lie, he often seems completely unable to comprehend even basic information, and he flies off the handle in ways that would make most of us take our children to a pediatrician for evaluation.
Montel Williams at wit's end: Trump has gone off a narcissistic cliff
This is why policy doesn’t matter. I have only two requirements from the Democratic nominee. First, he or she must not be obviously mentally unstable. Second, the nominee must not be in any way sympathetic — or worse, potentially beholden — to a hostile foreign power. This rules out Gabbard, Williamson and maybe New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, although in de Blasio’s case it’s hard to tell whether he is unstable or just a terrible person.
As for the rest of them, I am willing to live with whoever wins the Democratic primary process. I will likely hate the nominee’s policies, but at least I will not be concerned that he or she is incapable of understanding “the nuclear” or “ the cyber .” I will feel like I have a shot at trying to convince my elected representatives that they should listen to the policy preferences of normal human beings instead of two old men wearing shirts that say they’d “ rather be a Russian than a Democrat ,” or a woman in a shirt indicating that she is willing to have the president grab her genitalia .
I can't believe I miss Eric Holder
The Democratic candidate will promise to nominate people into Cabinet posts who will make me tear my hair out. But at least I will be confident that they are in charge of their own inner circle, instead of surrounded by unprincipled cronies who keep their own boss in the dark while taking a hatchet to the Constitution. Is there anyone that Warren or former Vice President Joe Biden could bring to, say, the Justice Department, whom I would fear more than an odious and sinister courtier like William Barr?
I never thought I could miss Eric Holder, yet here we are.
It is a sign of how low we have fallen as a nation that “rational” and “not compromised by an enemy” are now my only two requirements for the office of the president of the United States. Perhaps years of peace and prosperity have made us forget the terrifying responsibilities that attend the presidency, including the stewardship of enough nuclear weapons to blow the Northern Hemisphere to smithereens.
As long as the Democrats can provide someone who can pass these simple tests, their nominee has my vote.
Pass the waffles.
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Tom Nichols is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors and author of " The Death of Expertise : The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters." Follow him on Twitter: @RadioFreeTom
Tom Nichols (born December 7, 1960) is an academic specialist on international affairs, currently a professor at the U.S. Naval War College and at the Harvard Extension School . His work deals with issues involving Russia, nuclear weapons, and national security affairs. He was previously a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies , the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs , and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University . [3]
His most recent book is The Death of Expertise ( Oxford University Press , 2017), a study of why people mistrust established knowledge and how this damages democratic stability.
He sounds an awful lot like several wacky out of touch left wingers who post bullshit here.
Some might not like Trump's character or style, but that is not why I will vote for him again.
I am concerned about policy and the direction this country is headed, and it's becoming more obvious all the time where the left wants to take the US.
I am against open borders and unregulated immigration. I have a real problem with abortion after the first trimester...especially during and after the third. I am pretty much against what the Democrats/Progressives/Socialists/Liberals have become and will never vote for them again
Their lies and broken promises are legendary, and they seem to have lost all decency and tolerance of other views. They appear to have lost all positive values and vision for the future in the quest for a liberal LaLa Land. They break more laws than the make. They seem to have forgotten what due process is.
It is imperative that we retain control of the White House and regain control of both houses of Congress. We need another couple of conservative SC and Appellate Justices, who will apply the law instead of creating it.
Everything looks "left wing" when one is so far out on the fringe of the right.
I am barely right of center, being moderate on most social issues, and there are millions more just waiting to cause your worst nightmare.
We have to listen to unmitigated nonsense here on a daily basis. Its a shame.
[deleted]
Greg, the right has gone to the extreme right, even moderates are extreme right now. Think about it...
GWB, two terms, republican's loved the guy... 8 years later, Jeb, his brother who politically is a carbon copy of his brother, runs for president and the right wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole because, "he is too far to the left".
Reagan, who was THE Republican Conservative.....I was told yesterday he is was a liberal.
When Infowars, Brietbart, Alex Jones, etc.. Are considered by the right to be mainstream??? The right is now extremists. Moderate republicans don't exist anymore and the republican party is dying.
How did someone with the credentials of Tom Nichols become an ex-Republican?
Trumpism.
We are likely stuck with an incompetent, emotionally unstable president through 2020. Please treat voting like our country’s future depends on it.
Political independent Montel Williams, a former Republican and a 22-year veteran of the Marine Corps and Navy, was host of the Emmy-award-winning "Montel Williams Show" that ran for 17 seasons. Follow him on Twitter: @Montel_Williams
Largely as the result of President Donald Trump’s behavior over the past month, it’s hard not to wonder whether we’ve reached a place where nothing matters. A few weeks ago, after the tweets about "the Squad" and before the suspected domestic terrorist attacks in El Paso, Texas, and Gilroy, California, I wrote racism is a powerful drug that, in combination with single-issue voting, has led to this moment we’re in.
Since then, the president seems to have gone off a narcissistic cliff.
With America facing a rising tide of white nationalism and a world on fire, we have a leader who is dangerously unfit, makes everything about him and takes advice on war and peace from cable news hosts.
Trump grievances litigated daily
We wake up each morning to the president of the United States live tweeting "Fox and Friends " and litigating a laundry list of personal grievances. So obsessed with cable news is Trump that he regularly attacks the hosts of a rival morning show before criticizing Fox News' more moderate dayside coverage before promoting Fox News’ prime-time opinion shows while simultaneously raging about CNN’s prime-time opinion shows. That is absurd, and we need to say so, because the world is watching.
Over the weekend, as protests flared in Hong Kong with the specter of another Tiananmen Square looming large and America still reeling from three mass shootings in a week (two of them under investigation as acts of domestic terrorism), the president was busy tweeting conspiracy theories about a suicide and waging a Twitter war with a former employee who is now a private citizen. That is absurd, and we need to say so, because the world is watching.
President Donald Trump on Aug. 13, 2019, in Monaca, Pennsylvania. (Photo: Susan Walsh/AP)
Tuesday, as the situation in Hong Kong continued to deteriorate, to the point where all flights had to be canceled for a second straight day , the president predictably made the crisis about him by tweeting , “Many are blaming me, and the United States, for the problems going on in Hong Kong. I can’t imagine why?” He then wrote a tweet indicating that China was amassing troops on the border with Hong Kong and said, "Everyone should be calm and safe!”
New campaign shirt, no China warning
Noticeably missing was a warning to China that any crackdown in Hong Kong would result in disastrous consequences. But Trump’s campaign did launch a new line of merchandise making fun of CNN news anchor Chris Cuomo. That is absurd, and we need to say so, because the world is watching.
Montel Williams: Racism got Trump elected and could win him a 2nd term
Our constitutional system of government relies on the basic assumption that our elected leaders will put country over party when it matters the most. Instead, my former party has spent the past few years covering for Trump’s incompetence. Instead of telling the president his behavior is unacceptable, even crazy, Republican leaders have chosen ambition, hate, greed, fear, lies and winning their next election over their country.
We will be defined by what we do in this moment. Because of my former party’s intransigence, we are likely stuck with an inept, emotionally unstable president until the next election in 2020. Who shows up to vote matters, so please treat voting like our country’s future depends on it. A low turnout election will lead to four more years of escalating chaos and depravity.
So, he is against any POTUS that shows any sign of being controlled by a foreign power, or just generally crazy.
That would rule out the entire Democratic exploding clown car of candidates.
All, except Biden, want to decriminalize crossing our border illegally. Effectively gutting our immigration policy. And, grant illegals free medicare. That is the very definition of unstable and insane.
Then he just has to hope that Biden isn't having a never ending "senior moment", assuming he even wins the Democratic nomination. Biden has been on one long "senior moment" since he announced he was running.
He won't even discuss any third party option. Which only proves how f'd up our political system really is. Choose Establishment Party Wacko A; or other Establishment Party Wacko B.
This is why there is no point to engaging with Trump supporters. Biden makes a few verbal missteps and you want to declare him unfit. Trump has made hundreds of verbal missteps, ignoramus conclusions, and statements that make no sense whatsoever, and you hold him up.
Biden's age does concern me a little. As president he would need a lot of help from his staff and advisers.
Trump, on the other hand, is beyond help.
You're just angry, biased, and confused.
Spare me your bad dead pan comedy.
Spot on diagnosis.
Sadly, the prognosis for the patient isn't good.
The people who just this week lied and accused an exonerated cop in Ferguson, Mo. of being a murderer? Those "honest, mentally stable" people? Mmmm, ok.
Then you don't have kids in school - at least not kids you love.
We have a few dedicated enemies. Our last president tried to secretly tell a Russian representative that he would be more free to do business with Russia after the election. That was no biggie, right? He was also happy to negotiate with the dedicated enemy called "Iran" on no conditions and his supporters applauded him for it. Trump tries to do the same thing with our enemies and he's "insane."
I think I see a lot more insanity in partisan supporters than I do in the politicians themselves.
That cop is a murderer.
'He was also happy to negotiate with the dedicated enemy called "Iran" on no conditions and his supporters applauded him for it. Trump tries to do the same thing with our enemies and he's "insane."
What utter nonsense.
You can't handle or accept the truth.
@5
I will bet that truth will be awfully hard for some to ever accept.
Along with reality, of course.
Indeed. See @5.1 and the message from Neverland.
i'd bet
you
as example A
Saw it, read it, dismissed it for what it is.
That will be 10 seconds of my life I'll never get back.
LOL. I am sorry for your loss.
Hey, you read it and lost time too!!
LOL!
Your side picks through a few comments here and there made by numerous people. Our side has hundreds of statements by one man, D Trump, to go after.
There is no equivalency of scale no matter how hard you try.
Isnt it time to bring up the fact that Obama once said he visited 57 states , as some so called 'proof' that he is as messed up as Trump is. It's just pathetic.
I think that's true, but I also think a lot of the statements that are criticized are not deserving of that criticism.
Not from me. I have considered that a very reasonable gaffe - an oral typo, if you will - that was not deserving of criticism. I have said so on many occasions.
Don't dismiss my comments based on your idea that I am some unreasoning partisan.
My criticisms of Warren, Harris, or anyone else stand on their own merit. You are the one concerned with equivalency, not me. By that, I mean, you turn it into a contest of numbers. i.e. Trump lies more, therefore he's not as good a choice for president.
"She doesn't lie as much as Trump" is, in my view, a pretty crappy standard for making a choice. I really hope most voters are thinking at a more sophisticated level than that.
that would be one issue.
I dont think you are going to get very far saying that Trump voters were more sophisticated than Clinton voters.
But what about....
the Republican policies and goals he is trying to achieve?
Forget his coarse exterior for once....
Coarse exterior? He's a pathological liar. Not realizing that is YOUR problem, not everyone else's .
I don't have a problem with what he is doing or saying, and neither do millions other rational, sane, and intelligent human beings and American citizen. His alleged lies are your problem.
It's a few disturbed leftists who appear to not accept the reality of his legitimate presidency and the good he is trying to do for the country as a whole, instead of a few special interests groups.
Alleged lies?
For the good of the country?
For the good of Donald J Rump and no one else
Apparently you want immigrants with all kinds of health and mental problems, besides having no resources or marketable skills. And don't the criminal elements mixed in with the "very nice people" who just want a chance at a better life....starting with all those welfare programs and benefits.
Your comments are wrong and just plain stupid.
I 1000% agree with that statement.
Nice to see SOME Republicans put country over party.
Sad to see, so few.
No Democrat is putting the country above their abysmal party right now.
Hillary Clinton voter doesn't like Trump. Shocking!
Is she even running in 2020? Just wondering why the right, 3 years after the election is STILL bringing her up?
CDS..
@8.1
Probably because some delusional folks here keep insisting that Abuela "won" something?
Just a reminder to them to join reality again!
She could tell me that she’s going to make me wear waffles as underpants
Okay, that just plain cracked me up. If I had been drinking anything when I read that, I would be cleaning my monitor.
Big deal, maybe he has a waffle underwear fetish ...
Since talc has been linked to cancer, i sprinkle
powdered sugar
omn my waffled underwear, as syrup is uncomfortable
Just keep the Pecans out of there, they’ll chafe .....
oddly enuff, even though it sounds nuts, i hate nut chafed nutz,
so hold the pecans, but butter would be ok.
Butter hold the pecan, cause ice scream
in my waffle under garments, has marginal errors, that might indent too much.
Tom Nickels .... a never Trumper since 2015.
Yawn .... more deja vu all over again