Donald Trump isn't just a threat to human decency. Let me just get this off my chest for the last time before results are counted. Trump is a threat to reason itself. He's a threat to rational analysis. He's a threat to education. He's a threat to the free press. His gobbledygook phrasing is a threat to the English language. And Trump is a threat to the American economy, not to mention the entire planet.
Ok. Getting to my point.
Here's a summary of why I believe every American should vote for Hillary Clinton to stop Trump.
Democrats
- Recognize that you cried wolf for too long, criticizing decent candidates until people were too numb to the criticism to recognize your urgency about the orange wolf. Learn your lesson. Also, have some humility and recognize that some of the party leadership's arrogance and inside baseball with Clinton could play a part in costing the election.
Conservatives
- I think it's in your best interest to vote for Clinton this time. I really do. Most of you already don't like Trump, which is a relief. But for those still willing to vote for him, think big picture:
- Trump isn't a conservative, obviously. He's a power-hungry opportunist who was a registered Democrat just a few years ago. He's a fraud who realized hijacking the Republican party could benefit him. What does it do to your reputation to support him?
- Think Trump cares about the Constitution? He doesn't show it. He rarely mentions it and was described in no uncertain terms by the ACLU as a "Constitutional Crisis." For very good reasons. Are you sure you're ok with that?
- Worried about the Supreme Court? There's no reason to think Trump would actually nominate anyone from the list he released. He's gone on record making promises he never intends to keep - releasing his taxes is only the very tip of that outlandish iceberg. Knowing his tendencies, it's more likely Trump will nominate any justice who he thinks would support him. That's how he chooses any political ally: unwavering devotion to Trump is the only important thing.
- Clinton is a very middle of the road politician. Many liberals think she's a Republican in disguise. So she'd be likely to nominate relatively middle of the road Supreme Court justices. And in some ways, isn't that better than whatever Trump may or may not do?
- Think Trump will "clean up" Washington? Why would he do that? He's spent his life abusing corrupt systems for personal gain, making promises he never intends to keep, and walking all over hardworking Americans, and now he's saying he'll do the opposite and we're taking this grotesquely deceitful man at his word? Standing on principle now and opposing him will boost your credibility so much in 2020.
- Besides, it's more important to win at the local level and help people push better candidates up the political food chain.
Liberals
- Hillary isn't very progressive. But how regressive are you willing to let things get by casting a protest vote in *this* election? Not worth it. Wait til 2020. Also, focus on local elections and move up from there. For now, we just need a stable and competent leader, and the best option this election is Clinton.
Republicans
- Think about the future of the party. You can see now that social conservatism isn't a make-or-break issue in this country now. Trump represents infidelity with all three wives, cluelessness about the Bible, waffling on abortion, having his most prominent gay supporter speak at the RNC... yet he still has tons of support from your base. Think about that.
- This is your chance to start shedding the party platform of some of those social issues that make your platform unappealing to so many Democrats. Try to focus more on fiscal conservatism and small government, while relaxing on a few social issues. You might worry about losing the votes of the crazies who support Trump... but you'll siphon away tons of Democrats who have previously been repulsed by the GOP's positions on certain social issues. Wouldn't this make the GOP more viable in the future?
- Think of it this way - Which is the more important issue: reducing big government, or hypocritically pushing for government to decide who gets to marry whom? Hopefully it's the first one. If you continue down a social issues path and fail to reject Trump, the GOP will probably fall apart before long. Trump will do everything he can to purge the party leadership of anyone who opposes him. But if you reject him now, you can take back control of the party identity in time to win 2020.
- Remember, even if Trump wins, he'll make a mockery of your party. He has no love for the GOP, same as his acolytes. His incompetence is going to be really hard to account for in 2020. If Hillary wins and does corrupt or incompetent things, you'll have a field day in the midterms and in 2020.
Evangelicals / "Values voters"
- Clinton doesn't wear her faith on her sleeve or anything, true. But if you support Trump, you're showing that doesn't matter much to you. So why not just support her?
- Backing Trump is making you look like hypocrites. In trying to win a political battle, you're making yourselves look like awful, poisonous hypocrites. Is it really worth it? To attack Obama's faith and then support a guy who can't name his favorite verse, says he doesn't sin enough to ask for forgiveness, and talks about "Two Corinthians" is hard to fathom. And believe me, people are watching the hypocrisy. It won't help you save souls and Trump's empty promises won't improve your lives in this country. It makes more sense to say "Happy Holidays" and Trump is telling you he'll change that. But he won't, and he can't. And he shouldn't. He's not your savior.
- You're losing enormous credibility for a generation, just to elect someone who pretends to have your best interests in mind, yet represents nearly all the personal values you've opposed? It doesn't make any sense.
Muslims
- Trump advocated banning members of your religion from entering the country. Clinton didn't. Seems straightforward.
- Trump also would be comfortable with a government-sponsored monitoring program targeting citizens like you. Liking him wouldn't be easy.
People afraid of Muslims
- There's almost no chance that any Muslims will harm you or anyone you know. So, don't make this an issue to vote on.
People who dislike progressive culture
- Develop a a better cultural framework. Win in the marketplace of ideas.
People worried about violence
- It's near an all-time low. Police are still pretty close to the safest they've been in decades. A recent uptick in violence does not mean the country is going downhill. It's way better than things were 30 years ago. Let's move forward, not back. Trump says he's the "law and order" candidate. But that's not the same as actually having plans to fix problems.
Conspiracy nuts
- You revile the mainstream media and can be easily convinced of almost any insane idea... from birtherism on down the gutter. But what happens when more and more details are treated that way? If rumors spread about you and your preferred candidates relentlessly. Do you want these to be topics everyone just yells at each other about with no factual analysis? Please don't say "yes."
- You may not like fact checkers for alleged bias. But a little bit of bias is still preferable to the nonstop conspiratorial nonsense flowing from Trump. Here's why: while it supports your views now, consider what would happen if it's turned against you - and your preferred candidate - in the next election. Not so good to step in that direction, eh?
Deplorable bigots and racists
- In the world of bullies, there's no benefit from having more bullies. You benefit from there being fewer bullies and more pansies. Right? So, is it really in your best interest to encourage more Americans to behave as crassly, arrogantly, abusively as you? Do you think it's a good idea for Trump to mainstream what you do? I don't think so. I imagine you'd have more fun trolling SJWs from the comfort of your basement under a Clinton presidency. Admit it, that has to be appealing.
Authoritarians
- Authoritarianism is only fun when your preferred person is in charge. Do you really want to surrender the freedoms Trump wants to take from all of us, just to get your way? Targeting groups for government surveillance, having an opponent imprisoned, muzzling the free press, Because if we go down this road, the next candidate might not be in favor of the things you want. And you won't be able to do much about it.
- How about we all stick with representative democracy for now. It's the American way, after all. And while self-governance can be slow and frustrating, it's worth believing that the people should maintain as much of our power as we can.
Women
- There's nothing redeemable to Trump's treatment of women, is there? His repeated infidelities, alleged assaults (and in case you think it's a matter of timing, think about whether these sorts of allegations emerged against previous presidential candidates on either side), shallow and callous remarks about looks... it's not about him being crude. It's a matter of knowing his character. It's ugly. And no, he hasn't changed over the years. Why not see what happens if we elect a woman? Maybe we'll see better female candidates going forward.
Men
- Really? Would you ever let someone like Trump near your female relatives, much less have him portrayed as a role model for your male relatives, kids, or even yourself? Be a man. Vote for Clinton.
- Not saying there aren't valid criticisms, but for the most part she's just been a typical politician. Vote her out in 2020. It's not worth empowering an orange maniac to stop her. Trump is a whiny, greedy, erratic, incoherent guy who makes empty threats and rarely stands by his word. He boasts about infidelity. He seems to live to carry out petty revenge on people. "Manly" is probably the last word that could be used to describe Trump.
Disenfranchised working-class white men
- Hang in there. There aren't as many opportunities out there, which means change is necessary. But that doesn't mean *any change* is good. Wait til 2020, and in the meantime look into job training programs. There are lots of available jobs, but not enough trained candidates to fill them.
- Trump is clueless on the economy. He understands the real estate business, not national economics. Just ask conservative experts. It's a mistake to think being a businessman prepares someone for global finance.
Hillary haters
- She's a very flawed candidate. But not *nearly* flawed enough to justify empowering an authoritarian, incoherent, deceitful, politically clueless, dangerously unstable candidate like Trump. If she's as bad as you think, we can kick her out in 2020. But in any way you can criticize her, Trump is worse. Dishonesty, crookedness, whatever it is. So, don't try to fix one problem by causing an even worse problem.
To anyone who can't be convinced
I'll be voting against you, and regardless of the outcome, never forgetting this vote. As a moderate, I don't have hard feelings toward supporters of either major party, and have always preferred whichever candidate is objectively best. Let's put America first by rejecting Trump. We can pick better options in 2020. Vote wisely.
