Street Smart

I have a difficult confession to make. In 2016, I was very reluctant to vote for Donald Trump. However, when it came to ‘crunch time’ I ended up voting for him more because of the two things he wasn’t, rather than what he was; he wasn’t a career politician and he wasn’t Hillary Clinton. In my 45 years as a voter, I’ve developed a pretty jaded opinion regarding career politicians. Simply stated, I don’t trust them. As for Hillary Clinton? Well, she’s Hillary Clinton…no need to elaborate on that! However, the upcoming election is different and the choice for me is now crystal clear. I’ll be voting for President Trump because of what he is and what he has accomplished, while ignoring his faults. I’ll take this opportunity just before the election to explain my thoughts.

Let’s start with some of his faults. I’ve had many liberal leaning family and friends incredulously state, “You like Donald Trump?” when I expressed my support for the President. I’ve said before, and I don’t want to belabor the point, but I don’t think I’d like Donald Trump the person. He strikes me as an arrogant individual and I don’t like arrogant people. I don’t always like all the ‘Tweeting’ he does or the way he phrases some of the things he says. I wish someone would take his phone away. While I’ve laughed at many of the nicknames he’s given his opponents, I see that sort of thing as a bit of a distraction overall. However, my opinion of Donald Trump has absolutely nothing to do with my assessment of Donald Trump, the President of the United States! I’m able to separate the two. When I voted for Donald Trump, I didn’t look at it like I was hiring someone I’d want babysitting my grandkids or a person I thought I’d like to have as my next door neighbor. I wanted someone who I believed was the best candidate to be a leader and run the most powerful nation in the world. He’s certainly not perfect, but, as the Bible says; “Let he among you who is without sin cast the first stone” (John 8:7).

I look at President Trump’s time in office in two phases; all of the things he accomplished pre COVID-19 and what has happened since. Prior to COVID-19, President Trump was accomplishing some truly remarkable things despite the incredible obstacles he faced. Consider just these few accomplishments; the strength/growth of the economy, confronting rather than coddling North Korea and Iran, finally holding the United Nations accountable, taking on trade with China, the USMCA, rebuilding our military, and historic employment for Blacks and Hispanics. All of that while dealing with everything Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer could throw at him. He accomplished all of that while dealing with the Russia collusion investigation and impeachment. He brokered a Middle East peace treaty that no one would have ever thought possible and that was while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Trump has been hit pretty hard by the liberals regarding the way he has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. I marvel at the hypocrisy of Democratic politicians who called him xenophobic when he halted travel from China at the outbreak of the pandemic, but later claimed that he was too slow to act. Help me out here Senator Schumer…which is it? Could the President have done a better job? Given the luxury of 20/20 hindsight, absolutely! But let’s not forget, he was dealing with an unprecedented worldwide crisis and an illness that even the “experts” didn’t fully understand. Everyone was learning as the illness progressed. How could he NOT make mistakes?

Now I look at things moving forward into 2021 and the choice between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden couldn’t be clearer in my opinion. Maybe I take a simplistic outlook (and I’m unashamedly biased on this), but I view public safety as one of the most critical issues in the upcoming election. After all, what good are all the freedoms we enjoy (and take for granted!) as Americans, if we are not safe? This year is unprecedented in terms of the lawlessness we’ve seen in major cities across the country and crime continues to go up. Look at the increase in shootings/homicides in New York, Seattle, Chicago, and Portland (to name ONLY four). Who reading this column would feel comfortable visiting any of those four cities? Now consider the fact that President Trump is overwhelmingly supported by law enforcement organizations nationwide, while Biden is rejected.

I don’t always agree with President Trump, but at least I feel that I know his positions. I can’t say that about Biden. What has Biden told us in terms of his policy? He won’t answer questions regarding packing the Supreme Court. He’s back and forth regarding fracking, tax increases, the Green New Deal, and shutting down the country again because of COVID-19. What does that tell you about Biden? He’s been in politics for 47 years! Why does he think he suddenly has the formula to fix everything but won’t tell us how? Additionally, there are still many unanswered questions about his integrity and more revelations hitting the news everyday. In my view, there’s just too much we don’t know yet.

I wish I had more space, but I’ll close with this thought. What’s written above is just my opinion. I believe 85-90% of the voters have already made up their minds. For those of you who have not, try this exercise; As much as possible (and I know how tough it is), put your personal bias on the shelf and learn all you can about the issues facing our country. Don’t look to Facebook or any other social media to form your opinions. Educate yourselves! Next, critically evaluate the candidates and their stated stance on those issues. I try as much as I can to think critically about all of these things before deciding. For me, it was a critical assessment of all the things mentioned that formed the opinion expressed above.

Blaine Blackstone is a retired Los Angeles Police Sergeant who enjoys the simpler life in Thompson Falls. He can be reached by email at [email protected].