A Final Response To Anonymous

 Hi Tom, thank you for the response. I have a few observations in reply:

1. Trump won with voters who had income of $30,000 to $100,000, and Harris did better with high income voters. Trump has many flaws, but many decided to vote for him anyway in the belief he will improve their lives economically. That’s not an irrational belief. The economy was better under Trump; inflation was low and real wages were rising. Biden-Harris, meanwhile, stoked inflation with unnecessary spending binges at a time when the economy was rebounding from the Covid lockdowns. Biden-Harris first told us this spending would not cause inflation, then told us it would be “transitory.” It was neither. Again, I cannot blame folks struggling to put food on the table and make ends meet for voting for Trump.

2. On the border, Biden-Harris presided over a massive increase in illegal crossings as compared to Trump. This posed difficulties for border communities, which bear the brunt of the resultant strain on public and social services. Many of these communities voted for Trump. They may have made a calculation that Trump, despite his obvious flaws, was the only candidate who would improve their lives by restoring order to the border. I can’t blame them. It’s easy to believe that Harris’s flaws are outweighed by Trump’s when it isn’t my community that is affected.

3. It’s interesting that you identify Trump discussing prosecuting political opponents as one reason to vote against him. While Trump has *talked* about this, Democrats have actually done it. While I realize it is satisfying to call Trump a “felon,” the only case resulting in a conviction was the Bragg prosecution in New York. And respectfully, any fair-minded person who takes a hard look at that case should be appalled by it. Not because Trump didn’t pay hush money to a porn star, and not because Trump isn’t a bad guy for cheating on his wife. He did, and he is. But that was at most a misdemeanor book-keeping falsification for which the statute of limitations had run. Bragg tried to turn it into a felony (with a longer SOL) by saying the alleged falsification was in furtherance of concealing another crime. The problem is, he never specified what that other “crime” was. He claimed that maybe the crime was that Trump conspired to steal the election in 2016 by not disclosing the hush money payment as a campaign expense. But the problem with that is at least two-fold: (i) The campaign disclosure was not due until after the election, so lying about it then would have no impact on the election; and (ii) Bragg, as a state prosecutor, had no jurisdiction to enforce federal campaign disclosure laws (and notably, the feds passed on prosecuting Trump for this). Furthermore, ask yourself: was hush money really a campaign expenditure? Can you imagine the outcry if Trump had used campaign funds to pay off his former lovers? Anyway, there are many, many reasons why the Bragg verdicts will be overturned on appeal. Suffice it to say here that Bragg, abetted by his Democratic cheerleaders, abused the most solemn power of the state to bring a meritless criminal prosecution against Trump. It was a case that would never have been brought against anyone else not named Trump. And indeed, this is why I personally voted for Trump: to register my disapproval with what I saw as a dangerous escalation by Democrats in response to Trump. Before the Bragg adventure (and other lawfare gambits by Democrats), I was headed towards a write-in vote for president.

In the end, the election was a binary choice between two flawed candidates, neither of which I would have selected to be a major party nominee. Most of us were given a choice between what we saw as two bad options and did our best to decide who was the “least worst”according to our circumstances and values.

My Response:

#1: Inflation was a problem worldwide and we came out of it better than any other major countries. I could blame it on Trumps record setting increase in national debt during his term. I think that Presidents are victims of the times; if Trump had won in 2020, there would have been inflation, probably just as bad.

#2: The democrats punted on the border; no excuse other than liberal humanitarian instincts. 

#3: Most of your complaints refer to the  Alvin Bragg’s indictment, admittedly the weakest of the cases. What about the other three cases. Did he break the law? Yes…were they worthy of a court case? Well, four grand juries were unanimous in indicting him. Certainly, January 6th was, probably voting tampering in Georgia, and his refusal to turn over documents from Mar Lago. All told, four criminal indictments.   I don’t think the courts were unfair and vindictive.

Here’s Trump speaking about those who disagree with him: ”It’s the enemy within.  All the scum that we have to deal with that hate our country. That’s a bigger enemy than China and Russia.” He adds, “We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they are the big… and it should be easily handled by, if necessary by National Guard, or if really necessary by the military because they can’t let that happen.” 

Here’s the scary part: House Republican: Troy Nehls on what Trump wants:  “Whatever that is, we need to embrace it. All of it. Every single word. If Donald Trump says jump three feet high and scratch your head, we all jump three feet high and scratch our heads. And that’s it.”

I will end with three names: Gaetz, Gabbard, Kennedy: Lord, help us.  On that happy note, wishing you and your family a peaceful and happy holiday season.