Monday Morning Musings

First off, something to make you smile.

Did you have a good weekend? I had a wonderful time on Saturday evening at a concert with Adler & Hearne at the Winnsboro Center For the Arts. It was the release party for their new CD, Simpatico, which is awesome.

Then on Sunday I was with family in Dallas celebrating my oldest son’s birthday. As I have said before, nothing else is as good as gathering with family.

THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU VOTE

It is so easy to get caught up in group-think and the emotional momentum from rallies that we don’t stop and consider facts. We absolutely must look at some facts.

An effective president is one who can work with the powers in Washington  to work for programs and legislation that will benefit the people.

Trump blusters and does the fist pump and tells people that he is “with them” but what does that mean?

In business, that has meant that he is with those who agree with him and never challenge him.

If Trump is elected, how on earth is he ever going to be able to work with Congress, when many Republicans don’t even support him? We all know he would not have a chance in hell of getting support from Democrats. So what is he going to do?

In reality, the two branches of Congress have much more power than the president. If you paid attention to how they stymied President Obama over the past 8 years, you are fully aware of that fact. And this was from a Congress that had some members who liked and agreed with Obama.

Now respected pundits are pointing out the inherent problems with the Trump campaign and potential presidency.

This  is from Dorothy Rabinowitz at the Wall Street Journal:

The end of the election is now in sight. Some among the anti-Hillary brigades have decided, in deference to their exquisite sensibilities, to stay at home on Election Day, rather than vote for Mrs. Clinton. But most Americans will soon make their choice. It will be either Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton—experienced, forward-looking, indomitably determined and eminently sane. Her election alone is what stands between the American nation and the reign of the most unstable, proudly uninformed, psychologically unfit president ever to enter the White House.

And in an unprecedented statement released last week USA TODAY’s Editorial Board says Trump is ‘unfit for the presidency‘. The respected newspaper has never attempted to sway a person’s vote in this way.

SemDem at Daily Kos posted the seven things he knows about Trump supporters. I didn’t agree with everything he said, but the article does point out some things that are worth thinking about, including:

Yes, all politicians lie, but Trump is obscene with his falsehoods. He says whatever he feels like to whatever crowd he is speaking to, and then will deny ever saying it. I am not okay with someone who lies to me constantly. If you are, I have to wonder: would you fudge the numbers? If you caught someone on your team doing something unethical, would you be okay with that?

And this:

Trump has brought a level of vulgarity that we have never before seen in national politics. From his attack on Megyn Kelly, to insulting Rosie O’Donnell twice in national debates, to bragging about his genitalia on television in front of millions, to his suggestion that Hillary and Carly Fiorina are too ugly to be president. Anyone who supports a man who doesn’t think twice about calling women “pigs” or “dogs” is not someone I want to deal with.

No politician can be as altruistic and noble as Jefferson Smith, the character Jimmy Stewart played so brilliantly in “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.“ So, unfortunately, there are lies and deceit on all sides. But at least the other major candidate, Hillary Clinton, as well as Gary Johnson who is running on the Libertarian ticket, have experience in government and have people in power positions in Washington who like and respect them. It is beginning to look like Trump is losing that respect.

In August, Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine senator wrote in a Washington Post column that she has decided she cannot vote for Trump.

I have become increasingly dismayed by his constant stream of cruel comments and his inability to admit error or apologize,” she writes. “But it was his attacks directed at people who could not respond on an equal footing—either because they do not share his power or stature or because professional responsibility precluded them from engaging at such a level—that revealed Mr. Trump as unworthy of being our president.”

The Atlantic has a comprehensive list of Republican’s in government and how they plan to vote. It is well worth reading the reasons for and against Trump.

Trump is also declining in national polls that show Clinton with more support, with the exception of states in the Deep South and Midwest. RealClearPolitics

I am not endorsing either of the other two candidates at this point, but I just want to increase awareness of the problems that could arise should Trump be the winner in November.

What about you? Is your mind made up? Are there qualities about Trump that make you think he would be a good president? Please to share in the comments. All I ask is that comments be civil and not just an angry response.