The Principle Argument

What follows is the result of disagreement between me and a couple of guys with whom I am normally in agreement on most issues.  I will touch on issues I feel are important for consideration by all, but are directly related to the division between us.  The division regards whether or not to vote for Trump in the next election.

To begin, I state once again that I was a fairly staunch Ted Cruz supporter.  Still am for the most part, and think he'll make a fine president some day.  He's extremely solid in his understanding of the US Constitution, and that's what I felt was most needed as we considered the choices back in 2016.  Like most people, I was amused by the campaign of Donald Trump and never thought there was any chance he'd win the nomination, much less the election itself.  Frankly, I still still can't believe it when I think of those days.  But as he gained momentum, and as the idiot John Kasich let his ego override reason that I believe resulted in Cruz being denied the votes he would have gotten had Kasich drop out, Trump did win the nomination.  Now my path was clear..crystal clear...despite my own personal desire that I not have to choose between two such people.  

That is to say, I did NOT want to vote for Donald Trump.  I opposed him for all the reasons so many others did.  His character flaws were well known.  His philandering and womanizing seemed to him to be a badge of honor.  I didn't want to vote for a boastful horndog who seemed no more than a self-promoting clown. 

Worse, however, the thought of a President Hillary Clinton was too much to bear.  There's no way I could pretend she was "the better man", morally, politically, or as a human being.  Trump was just a wise ass.  Clinton was reprehensible.

So I looked at the promises.  I knew full well what Clinton brought to the political table.  I had always felt the only difference between her and Obama (in the previous elections) was that she had an actual pair of testicles.  Everything else about the two of them were pretty much the same, politically speaking.  Four more years of what the last eight brought us was a horror I didn't wish to endure.  Nor did I think the nation could or should.

So I voted for Trump.  He was an unknown quantity, but his promises aligned with what I hoped to see.  I took a chance knowing he might turn on us.

And whaddya know?  He's been doing a really great job!  For the first year or so I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, but he continued to impress.  I'm not talking perfection...that's what the left demands from all center-right figures while they allow all manner of transgression from their own...but strong conservative policies and achievements! 

So at this point, I stop to point out the difference between myself and those two I mentioned at the outset.  It has to do with principle.  The two did not vote for Trump because of his character flaws.  They saw doing so as a compromise of their Christian principles.  I, on the other hand, saw allowing Clinton to win as a major and more serious compromise of my Christian principles.  We all prefer our president to be a person of high moral character, while recognizing that none exist who are perfect.  Where we differ is in the reality of the situation.  They thought it the moral option to vote third party/write in, trust in God and hope the nation survives.  I saw the moral option was to deny the evil inherent in Hillary's platform which was one of the only two likely outcomes, thereby bringing greater harm to our nation than simply having a boor like Trump as our president. 

Wayne Grudem did a few articles that appeared at Townhall.com, in which he addressed the morality of voting for Trump back in 2016.  After his first, he backtracked when he came across more details about Trump's history that he frankly should have known before writing the first.  Then he did a third that was a more reasoned, objective consideration.  In it, linked here, he responds to pretty much every objection to Trump, and I present it here because this third piece is very relative to the current situation, as we are again faced with the choice of Trump or someone else.  I encourage everyone to read it, especially the two "NeverTrumpers" referenced at the beginning. 

Among Grudem's many valid points is the idea that the choice is not one of the candidate's character...though he doesn't suggest it in the least that it isn't important...but of the policies of the candidate, because that's what it's really all about.  The principle of how those policies will affect the nation against the principle of voting for a low character guy.  But that's not all.  That was truly the choice back in 2016.  Now, the character issue is of FAR, FAR less importance, given that it has not been much of an issue throughout his presidency thus far.  That is to say, the worst aspects of Trump's flawed character have played absolutely no role.  He's still boorish, doesn't concern himself with precision and accuracy when speaking.  That's really about it.  Nothing about his infidelity has been an issue.  There's nothing akin to a sex scandal or anything like that.  No "perversion" as some fake Christians like to go on about. 

Thus, what we have here is a track record of benefits to the nation...serious benefits that we'd never have seen had he not won.  These go beyond his economic policies that have led to the best employment numbers, expansion, and all that...beyond great judicial appointments...beyond so many things, to include pushing back against the horrid attitude of the leftists who mock everything Christian, American, family, etc and those who defend them. 

And as to his character flaws, which of them does he promote as a moral good, either in policy or in any other way?   He may defend his bad behavior, but has he done a damned thing to promote it?  No.  In fact, he seems to promote really good and moral things, even if he does so clumsily. 

I still don't love the guy.  I just don't know him well enough for that, anymore than his most vitriolic detractors don't know him well enough to hate him as they do.  I simply don't see that there is any "principle" that justifies refusing to vote him to a second term.  On the contrary, I believe principle...yes, Christian...principle demands support for his re-election, especially given how much worse his opposition has become.  

There is no Christian principle that justifies risking a Democrat or socialist victory in 2020.  None whatsoever, and pretending one that says Trump's character is bad enough to take that risk is shameful.