Why I'm holding my nose and voting for Trump...

[Gil Dobie]

well, I actually agree with them on one aspect. Get rid of the national anthem, flyovers, military appreciation pandering, camo uniforms, etc., etc. that have invaded sports.

I look at it as just another commercial. I do like these commercials better than the "normal" commercials though. Flyovers are awesome when you are in attendance.

[Ibanez]

Why I‘m voting for Trump (but not holding my nose):

Domestic:
1.Judicial appointments (3 SCOTUS judges + close 300 others
2.Tax cuts for 2/3 of taxpayers.
3.Getting tougher on Illegal Immigration.
4.Unemployment before the China Virus.
5.Stock Market.
6.Ending Obamacare mandate.
7.Deregulation.
8.Aprroving Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines.
9.American Energy Independence- net exporter.
10.VA Reform/Greatly expanded what had been a limited, temporary, VA Choice Program.
11.Criminal Justice Reform.
12.Creation of Space Force.

Foreign policy:
1.Renegotiating NAFTA (United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement
2.Pulling out of TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership).
3.Getting tough on China. A trade war is bad, but with China:
-we have a massive trade deficit.
-China puts tarriffs on US goods.
-They manipulate their currency.
-They committ massive state sponsored economic espionage.
4.Nixing the terrible Iran Deal
-Didn’t allow for unannounced, unfettered inspections
-Unfroze 150 billion in Iranian assets.
-1.7 billion direct cash to Iran
5.Pulling out of the Paris Climate deal.
-Not a treaty.
-Didn’t hold China & India to same standards.
-Would cost our economy trillions long term, with marginal benefit in terms of stopping any human caused global warming
6.Getting deadbeat NATO countries to to pay more.
7.Pulling out of Syria.
8.Opening dialogue with North Korea.
9.Middle East Peace deal (Nobel Peace Prize nomination)
10.Balkans peace deal. (Nobel Peace Prize nomination).
11.3rd Nobel Peace Prize nomination.
11.Killing of Al Baghdadi- founder ISIS.
12.Killing of Soleimani.
13.US Embassy moved to Jerusalem.

And those are just the 1st 25 off the top of my head..

I'm paying more in taxes under Trump..but that's also due to being a high wage earner. So i'm not sure if that's helpful or not.

I'm not sure you can give any POTUS credit for the stock market or unemployment. Sure they may help create conditions that would affect the markets - maybe that's the more accurate gauge of success. I'm open to the possibilities there...

New NAFTA is probably one of his greatest achievements.

We still have a massive trade deficit with China (not to mention our national debt has exploded). I'd like to see some forward progress on this front. It's about time someone stood up to China.

Moving the Embassy to Jerusalem was a pander to the Jews. i'm not sure it's an achievement.

[SeattleGriz]

Why I‘m voting for Trump (but not holding my nose):

Domestic:
1.Judicial appointments (3 SCOTUS judges + close 300 others
2.Tax cuts for 2/3 of taxpayers.
3.Getting tougher on Illegal Immigration.
4.Unemployment before the China Virus.
5.Stock Market.
6.Ending Obamacare mandate.
7.Deregulation.
8.Aprroving Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines.
9.American Energy Independence- net exporter.
10.VA Reform/Greatly expanded what had been a limited, temporary, VA Choice Program.
11.Criminal Justice Reform.
12.Creation of Space Force.

Foreign policy:
1.Renegotiating NAFTA (United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement
2.Pulling out of TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership).
3.Getting tough on China. A trade war is bad, but with China:
-we have a massive trade deficit.
-China puts tarriffs on US goods.
-They manipulate their currency.
-They committ massive state sponsored economic espionage.
4.Nixing the terrible Iran Deal
-Didn’t allow for unannounced, unfettered inspections
-Unfroze 150 billion in Iranian assets.
-1.7 billion direct cash to Iran
5.Pulling out of the Paris Climate deal.
-Not a treaty.
-Didn’t hold China & India to same standards.
-Would cost our economy trillions long term, with marginal benefit in terms of stopping any human caused global warming
6.Getting deadbeat NATO countries to to pay more.
7.Pulling out of Syria.
8.Opening dialogue with North Korea.
9.Middle East Peace deal (Nobel Peace Prize nomination)
10.Balkans peace deal. (Nobel Peace Prize nomination).
11.3rd Nobel Peace Prize nomination.
11.Killing of Al Baghdadi- founder ISIS.
12.Killing of Soleimani.
13.US Embassy moved to Jerusalem.

And those are just the 1st 25 off the top of my head..

I'm paying more in taxes under Trump..but that's also due to being a high wage earner. So i'm not sure if that's helpful or not.

I'm not sure you can give any POTUS credit for the stock market or unemployment. Sure they may help create conditions that would affect the markets - maybe that's the more accurate gauge of success. I'm open to the possibilities there...

New NAFTA is probably one of his greatest achievements.

We still have a massive trade deficit with China (not to mention our national debt has exploded). I'd like to see some forward progress on this front. It's about time someone stood up to China.

Moving the Embassy to Jerusalem was a pander to the Jews. i'm not sure it's an achievement.

The move to Jerusalem had been voted on and approved by Congress, but nobody had done it because the "experts" said it would cause a war in the Middle East.

A little more than pandering.

[CAA Flagship]

I'm not sure you can give any POTUS credit for the stock market or unemployment. Sure they may help create conditions that would affect the markets - maybe that's the more accurate gauge of success. I'm open to the possibilities there...

You are slowly getting there, Grasshopper. Keep working on it.

[Ibanez]

I'm not sure you can give any POTUS credit for the stock market or unemployment. Sure they may help create conditions that would affect the markets - maybe that's the more accurate gauge of success. I'm open to the possibilities there...

You are slowly getting there, Grasshopper. Keep working on it.

Getting where? I've long held that belief. If Presidents could control the markets, we'd all have jobs and the DOW would never drop and we'd all be gazzillionaires.

[Ibanez]

I'm paying more in taxes under Trump..but that's also due to being a high wage earner. So i'm not sure if that's helpful or not.

I'm not sure you can give any POTUS credit for the stock market or unemployment. Sure they may help create conditions that would affect the markets - maybe that's the more accurate gauge of success. I'm open to the possibilities there...

New NAFTA is probably one of his greatest achievements.

We still have a massive trade deficit with China (not to mention our national debt has exploded). I'd like to see some forward progress on this front. It's about time someone stood up to China.

Moving the Embassy to Jerusalem was a pander to the Jews. i'm not sure it's an achievement.

The move to Jerusalem had been voted on and approved by Congress, but nobody had done it because the "experts" said it would cause a war in the Middle East.

A little more than pandering.

Yeah, it was a pander move. Honestly, name me a politician who DOESN'T pander i'll write you a check.

[Ibanez]

My voting is based on what's good for America as a whole, and not what is good for me personally.
With that said, I have three main pillars of political posture:
1. Liberty - Freedom afforded to Americans based on current laws and the Constitution.
2. Safety/Security - Both nationally (strong military) and locally (law enforcement)
3. Jobs - People need to have jobs and be accountable for their own consumerism and have ability to advance in class.

Anything else is a distant 4, 5, 6,....but as those are added in, it becomes harder and harder to find a perfect match. Not that the Top 3 are an easy match, but it's a matter of choosing the better candidate.

Until Trump, we really didn't have to worry too much about divisiveness due to personality. Previous candidates were mostly divisive because of policies and not personality. Trump has created a new category to consider that falls somewhere on the list below the Top 3. But it still doesn't supplant any of the Top 3 so it's not a factor for me.

With all that said, I voted for Trump in the General Election (not primary) in 2016 and will do so again in 2020 because I think he is the better candidate for the Top 3 pillars.

I would add that you DO have to look at the character of the person. If someone is known to have no integrity, for instance, then you know won't be able to trust them. If I can't trust my leader, I can'e vote for them. The policies are important, but the personality is equally important. If their personality is so vile that that can't work with both parties, then it doesn't really matter how good their policies may be b/c they'll never get anywhere.

It's difficult to reconcile the character of a candidate with their positions and what they want to do. But you also need to take into account that while the President can support ideas and have an agenda - he's basically powerless if he can't work with 535 Congresspeople. Executive Actions only have so much force and effect.

Hillary Clinton could run on the GOP platform and she still wouldn't get my vote b/c she lacks integrity. She is a phony, plain and simple.


Really, i'm looking forward to Nikki Haley 2024. It can't come soon enough.

[SeattleGriz]

The move to Jerusalem had been voted on and approved by Congress, but nobody had done it because the "experts" said it would cause a war in the Middle East.

A little more than pandering.

Yeah, it was a pander move. Honestly, name me a politician who DOESN'T pander i'll write you a check.

Not disagreeing it wasn't, but at least Trump had the foresight to actually move instead of just lip service.

It was the start of him ignoring the Palestinians in regards to the Middle East. That's what I meant by it being a little more than pandering. There was a goal attached to it as well.

[GannonFan]

Yeah, it was a pander move. Honestly, name me a politician who DOESN'T pander i'll write you a check.

Not disagreeing it wasn't, but at least Trump had the foresight to actually move instead of just lip service.

It was the start of him ignoring the Palestinians in regards to the Middle East. That's what I meant by it being a little more than pandering. There was a goal attached to it as well.

I agree with you on this one. Trump is a buffoon, but he may have come across a reset of the Middle East that really has a genuine chance of working. His tearing up of the Iranian agreement was probably the biggest thing, but the symbolic move of the embassy was certainly part of it as well. One of Obama's biggest failings was his foreign policy, and especially his foreign policy in the Middle East. His Iranian agreement was more desperation to get something to hang his hat on and was entirely deferential to the Iranians. Now with countries normalizing relations with Israel without regard to the Palestinian question, it's possible you will see more countries follow suit as they decide that's better than trying to hang on to that. It's a far better situation than the one he started with. John Kerry is almost the Neville Chamberlain of our time in this regard.

[HI54UNI]

Why I‘m voting for Trump (but not holding my nose):

Domestic:
1.Judicial appointments (3 SCOTUS judges + close 300 others
2.Tax cuts for 2/3 of taxpayers.
3.Getting tougher on Illegal Immigration.
4.Unemployment before the China Virus.
5.Stock Market.
6.Ending Obamacare mandate.
7.Deregulation.
8.Aprroving Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines.
9.American Energy Independence- net exporter.
10.VA Reform/Greatly expanded what had been a limited, temporary, VA Choice Program.
11.Criminal Justice Reform.
12.Creation of Space Force.

Foreign policy:
1.Renegotiating NAFTA (United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement
2.Pulling out of TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership).
3.Getting tough on China. A trade war is bad, but with China:
-we have a massive trade deficit.
-China puts tarriffs on US goods.
-They manipulate their currency.
-They committ massive state sponsored economic espionage.
4.Nixing the terrible Iran Deal
-Didn’t allow for unannounced, unfettered inspections
-Unfroze 150 billion in Iranian assets.
-1.7 billion direct cash to Iran
5.Pulling out of the Paris Climate deal.
-Not a treaty.
-Didn’t hold China & India to same standards.
-Would cost our economy trillions long term, with marginal benefit in terms of stopping any human caused global warming
6.Getting deadbeat NATO countries to to pay more.
7.Pulling out of Syria.
8.Opening dialogue with North Korea.
9.Middle East Peace deal (Nobel Peace Prize nomination)
10.Balkans peace deal. (Nobel Peace Prize nomination).
11.3rd Nobel Peace Prize nomination.
11.Killing of Al Baghdadi- founder ISIS.
12.Killing of Soleimani.
13.US Embassy moved to Jerusalem.

And those are just the 1st 25 off the top of my head..

I'm paying more in taxes under Trump..but that's also due to being a high wage earner. So i'm not sure if that's helpful or not.

Did your income change a lot or did you have some other changes that your taxes went up?

[CAA Flagship]

My voting is based on what's good for America as a whole, and not what is good for me personally.
With that said, I have three main pillars of political posture:
1. Liberty - Freedom afforded to Americans based on current laws and the Constitution.
2. Safety/Security - Both nationally (strong military) and locally (law enforcement)
3. Jobs - People need to have jobs and be accountable for their own consumerism and have ability to advance in class.

Anything else is a distant 4, 5, 6,....but as those are added in, it becomes harder and harder to find a perfect match. Not that the Top 3 are an easy match, but it's a matter of choosing the better candidate.

Until Trump, we really didn't have to worry too much about divisiveness due to personality. Previous candidates were mostly divisive because of policies and not personality. Trump has created a new category to consider that falls somewhere on the list below the Top 3. But it still doesn't supplant any of the Top 3 so it's not a factor for me.

With all that said, I voted for Trump in the General Election (not primary) in 2016 and will do so again in 2020 because I think he is the better candidate for the Top 3 pillars.

I would add that you DO have to look at the character of the person. If someone is known to have no integrity, for instance, then you know won't be able to trust them. If I can't trust my leader, I can'e vote for them. The policies are important, but the personality is equally important. If their personality is so vile that that can't work with both parties, then it doesn't really matter how good their policies may be b/c they'll never get anywhere.

It's difficult to reconcile the character of a candidate with their positions and what they want to do. But you also need to take into account that while the President can support ideas and have an agenda - he's basically powerless if he can't work with 535 Congresspeople. Executive Actions only have so much force and effect.

Hillary Clinton could run on the GOP platform and she still wouldn't get my vote b/c she lacks integrity. She is a phony, plain and simple.


Really, i'm looking forward to Nikki Haley 2024. It can't come soon enough.

So what do you do when all candidates that have a reasonable shot at winning lack integrity/character?

[CAA Flagship]

You are slowly getting there, Grasshopper. Keep working on it.

Getting where? I've long held that belief. If Presidents could control the markets, we'd all have jobs and the DOW would never drop and we'd all be gazzillionaires.

What belief have you long held? You said "I'm not sure...", "Maybe...", and "I'm open....", all in one paragraph.

[Ibanez]

Yeah, it was a pander move. Honestly, name me a politician who DOESN'T pander i'll write you a check.

Not disagreeing it wasn't, but at least Trump had the foresight to actually move instead of just lip service.

It was the start of him ignoring the Palestinians in regards to the Middle East. That's what I meant by it being a little more than pandering. There was a goal attached to it as well.

I see what you mean.

[Ibanez]

I'm paying more in taxes under Trump..but that's also due to being a high wage earner. So i'm not sure if that's helpful or not.

Did your income change a lot or did you have some other changes that your taxes went up?

No.

[Ibanez]

Getting where? I've long held that belief. If Presidents could control the markets, we'd all have jobs and the DOW would never drop and we'd all be gazzillionaires.

What belief have you long held? You said "I'm not sure...", "Maybe...", and "I'm open....", all in one paragraph.

Belief that POTUS has no control over the stock market or employment. Seems like too many people think the stock market rises b/c Trump wills it.

[kalm]

I would add that you DO have to look at the character of the person. If someone is known to have no integrity, for instance, then you know won't be able to trust them. If I can't trust my leader, I can'e vote for them. The policies are important, but the personality is equally important. If their personality is so vile that that can't work with both parties, then it doesn't really matter how good their policies may be b/c they'll never get anywhere.

It's difficult to reconcile the character of a candidate with their positions and what they want to do. But you also need to take into account that while the President can support ideas and have an agenda - he's basically powerless if he can't work with 535 Congresspeople. Executive Actions only have so much force and effect.

Hillary Clinton could run on the GOP platform and she still wouldn't get my vote b/c she lacks integrity. She is a phony, plain and simple.


Really, i'm looking forward to Nikki Haley 2024. It can't come soon enough.

So what do you do when all candidates that have a reasonable shot at winning lack integrity/character?

Vote for the one who’s more of a uniter and has at least some intellectual curiosity.

[89Hen]

Vote for the one who’s more of a uniter

You're so cute.

[CAA Flagship]

Vote for the one who’s more of a uniter

You're so cute.

[UNI88]

So what do you do when all candidates that have a reasonable shot at winning lack integrity/character?

Vote for the one who’s more of a uniter and has at least some intellectual curiosity.

Which one is that?

Plagiarism is pretty much the opposite of intellectual curiosity.

[Ibanez]

I would add that you DO have to look at the character of the person. If someone is known to have no integrity, for instance, then you know won't be able to trust them. If I can't trust my leader, I can'e vote for them. The policies are important, but the personality is equally important. If their personality is so vile that that can't work with both parties, then it doesn't really matter how good their policies may be b/c they'll never get anywhere.

It's difficult to reconcile the character of a candidate with their positions and what they want to do. But you also need to take into account that while the President can support ideas and have an agenda - he's basically powerless if he can't work with 535 Congresspeople. Executive Actions only have so much force and effect.

Hillary Clinton could run on the GOP platform and she still wouldn't get my vote b/c she lacks integrity. She is a phony, plain and simple.


Really, i'm looking forward to Nikki Haley 2024. It can't come soon enough.

So what do you do when all candidates that have a reasonable shot at winning lack integrity/character?

Vote for the one that isn’t a lying, cheating, bullying horses ass.


Or stay home.

[Ibanez]

So what do you do when all candidates that have a reasonable shot at winning lack integrity/character?

Vote for the one who’s more of a uniter and has at least some intellectual curiosity.

There’s nobody running who fits that profile

[HI54UNI]

Did your income change a lot or did you have some other changes that your taxes went up?

No.

That's odd. Did you have a lot of state and local deductions that are no longer deductible? In 2019 my AGI was up $18,000 from 2017 and I paid $700 less in income taxes.

[AZGrizFan]

My voting is based on what's good for America as a whole, and not what is good for me personally.
With that said, I have three main pillars of political posture:
1. Liberty - Freedom afforded to Americans based on current laws and the Constitution.
2. Safety/Security - Both nationally (strong military) and locally (law enforcement)
3. Jobs - People need to have jobs and be accountable for their own consumerism and have ability to advance in class.

Anything else is a distant 4, 5, 6,....but as those are added in, it becomes harder and harder to find a perfect match. Not that the Top 3 are an easy match, but it's a matter of choosing the better candidate.

Until Trump, we really didn't have to worry too much about divisiveness due to personality. Previous candidates were mostly divisive because of policies and not personality. Trump has created a new category to consider that falls somewhere on the list below the Top 3. But it still doesn't supplant any of the Top 3 so it's not a factor for me.

With all that said, I voted for Trump in the General Election (not primary) in 2016 and will do so again in 2020 because I think he is the better candidate for the Top 3 pillars.

I would add that you DO have to look at the character of the person. If someone is known to have no integrity, for instance, then you know won't be able to trust them. If I can't trust my leader, I can'e vote for them. The policies are important, but the personality is equally important. If their personality is so vile that that can't work with both parties, then it doesn't really matter how good their policies may be b/c they'll never get anywhere.

It's difficult to reconcile the character of a candidate with their positions and what they want to do. But you also need to take into account that while the President can support ideas and have an agenda - he's basically powerless if he can't work with 535 Congresspeople. Executive Actions only have so much force and effect.

Hillary Clinton could run on the GOP platform and she still wouldn't get my vote b/c she lacks integrity. She is a phony, plain and simple.


Really, i'm looking forward to Nikki Haley 2024. It can't come soon enough.

Are you speaking of Trump here? Because while personality is important, his lack of one doesn’t appear to have stopped him from getting a lot of shit done. He accomplished more in 4 years than Obama could only dream of in 8. And a shitload of it helped black People.

[mainejeff]

I would add that you DO have to look at the character of the person. If someone is known to have no integrity, for instance, then you know won't be able to trust them. If I can't trust my leader, I can'e vote for them. The policies are important, but the personality is equally important. If their personality is so vile that that can't work with both parties, then it doesn't really matter how good their policies may be b/c they'll never get anywhere.

It's difficult to reconcile the character of a candidate with their positions and what they want to do. But you also need to take into account that while the President can support ideas and have an agenda - he's basically powerless if he can't work with 535 Congresspeople. Executive Actions only have so much force and effect.

Hillary Clinton could run on the GOP platform and she still wouldn't get my vote b/c she lacks integrity. She is a phony, plain and simple.


Really, i'm looking forward to Nikki Haley 2024. It can't come soon enough.

Are you speaking of Trump here? Because while personality is important, his lack of one doesn’t appear to have stopped him from getting a lot of shit done. He accomplished more in 4 years than Obama could only dream of in 8. And a shitload of it helped black People.

Lies.

[kalm]

Vote for the one who’s more of a uniter and has at least some intellectual curiosity.

There’s nobody running who fits that profile

You guys are right. I forgot a whataboutBiden? comment with that.

I’m voting for the candidate that at least has/had some trace of uniting people and intellectual curiosity.