A Little Time Means A Lot Of Focus and Politics is Personal
As election day draws near, I cannot deny that my resolve not to vote for Trump began to waiver. Colorado is solidly blue, so a Trump vote would certainly be a wasted vote. Still, I was starting to feel like it would be fun to tell the grandkids that I was part of the unforeseen popular majority.
As I voted today, I just couldn’t do it. And with time running out, the underlying reason finally surfaced. (I don’t know why I didn’t see this happening; it always does. We veterans prefer working under pressure for the clarity it brings.)
The reason I can’t vote for Trump is because I can’t vote for Republicans. The Republicans were in power during 9/11. They had a chance to accomplish what no humans have yet accomplished, and they blew it—including wasting my time and energy by sending me to Iraq in response.
9/11 should have been used to relegate the false god Allah to the myths and legends section of libraries and bookstores. And the only way to do that is make supporting him deadly—which can be done directly or indirectly, but with intention, nonetheless. So many gods have perished. This shouldn’t be controversial. Instead, and unconscionably, the supposedly great Republican party* decided to lie and wage irrelevant (and illegal) wars under the guise of satisfying all interested players and offending no one.
So, no, I won’t buy into the same system that made that category mistake. Nations are okay, but gods are where the action is at.
Anyhow, I know my opinion is unpopular. So it’s not like I expected to find some candidate who wanted to lead and win the coming Holy War. But I also can’t vote for people who have had the opportunity to do so and dropped the ball. So I found the rules for write-in votes (you can’t just vote for anyone) and there is some random unaffiliated and normal looking citizen that satisfied the requirements for Colorado’s ballot and I voted for him. In other words, literally any average citizen is better than Trump/Harris and the major (and minor) parties. His name is Chris Garrity. Best of luck, man.
In short, with time drawing to a close, I have just now realized that, for me, politics is personal.
*To be clear, the Dems would have done no different.
Captain’s Log 
You gotta do what you gotta do.
It is amusing this year for me. Typically, I feel like my vote is wasted because I’m libertarian and, well, you know, when was the last time that particular party won a presidential election? So this year, with my candidate having removed his name from the ballot, I feel like my vote actually counts a bit more than it usually does, since I had to discern between these other two options.
In making my choice this year, I was judging the two prominent parties based on current issues facing the country at present. Since my libertarian mindset doesn’t jive easily with a heavy-handed government, nor with many other things that the left has come to stand for recently…who am I fooling, “recently” as in the past 4 years…I must go red this year.
I may consider borrowing your idea from a few posts ago, the one about hanging the flag upside-down if Kamala Harris actually makes it into office. As far down as the current government has sunk America (and perhaps even the world, in general) in the measly 3 1/2 years of its leadership, it will be interesting to see how much further down the spiral can go before the crash and burn if we get another consecutive round of it with her at the helm. I cringe and wince as I type…
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Oh, I forgot to tell you my state: Pennsylvania. So, a bit more chance exists to make an impact in this particular election than you in your state of Colorado. 😆
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You’re certainly in the mix. I am pretty confident I’d vote the same as I have if in your shoes, but I can’t be sure. Actually being a determiner might sway me to go with the group.
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In case this interests you. It will at least help to explain some of my reasoning to vote red with even more clarity. So many things about this election just seem so dishonest and underhanded.
https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1851406360140759316?t=iSPTeQfRxM9t6XYAGgV5cw&s=19
RFK, Jr.:
“The Supreme Court has unfortunately today sided with the Secretary of State of Michigan and Wisconsin, both Democrats, to undermine election integrity and leave my name on the ballot in both those states. It is a purely political move in the hope that folks who would have otherwise voted for Trump will throw away their vote by voting for me instead. Don’t let them undermine this election. Don’t be fooled. I am off the ballot in every other state I have sought to get off of other than Michigan and Wisconsin. So, if you are in Michigan or Wisconsin, please make sure to vote for Donald Trump — DO NOT VOTE FOR ME. Together we will Make America Healthy Again!”
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