calling all Republicans or others who voted for Trump
Are there any out there who read this blog? If I haven’t scared you off yet, I’d like to chat. (This is where, if I had a late night TV comedy show, I would turn and look directly into camera 2.)
Hi. I know I said I cried when Donald Trump was elected to be our next President. I have calmed down considerably since then and I’ve taken time to think. I’ve also done a lot of reading as well. And then some more thinking. This Trump presidency may not be as bad as I first thought. I’ve decided I am going to keep an open mind and see what happens.
That’s where you come in. I can read articles until the cows come home which speculate on why voters elected Trump/Pence. But I’d also like to hear straight from the horses mouth, so to speak. Why did you cast your vote for Trump/Pence? What was it in their message that spoke to you? What would you most like to see them accomplish in office? What issues are most important to you?
Know that if you do chose to answer in the comments below, I will listen. I won’t let any other commentors be disrespectful or unkind either. This is a safe place for conversation.
P.S. Feel free to just leave a link to your own blog in the comments if you have already written about this topic.
Thanks,
the Honking Goose
36 comments on “calling all Republicans or others who voted for Trump”
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The Honking Goose 
Thanks for reposting your article. I voted for Trump for several reasons:
1.) The current government does not listen to the people. They have a world view which is way too radical in 2016 to rush into. The world is not ready for global government nor will it be for many decades, if not for many centuries.
2.) Our country has become lawless. The rule of law that we pride ourselves on has been trampled and spit upon. Total disregard for the borders, and immigration, total disregard for voter registration, total disregard for police, total disregard for prosecuting anyone except you and me, i.e. the elites are immune to prosecution. We need to reign this lawlessness in before it becomes totally unglued. (At this time we are 75% of the way to total lawlessness.)
3.) Our National Debt has skyrocketed into devastating levels. Once the interest rate begins to rise the interest on the debt will eat our economy alive.
4) The idea that 94,000,000 people who had jobs but no longer have jobs didn’t seem to worry the elitist government, but it does worry me. I see the needs in the community, and it is not pretty. When you sit in a leather chair in Congress and you are paid eight times what many people make you cannot imagine what it is like to be in need.
5.) Prices of food are going through the roof. When the government prints money to pay its bills it puts extreme pressure on the economy. The only tool companies have to stay in business is to raise prices. This is not inflation, it is the money losing its value consequently, it takes more dollars to pay for things.
6.) The push to promote man-made global warming is a total lie that has to be untold. This is nothing more than a scheme to take more dollars from you and me to spread around the globe to feed hungry dictators.
7.) Health Care must be removed from government control and put back into our hands. We have managed to transfer care to several million people who never had it before by making it totally unaffordable for several million people who are still employed, but not earning enough to qualify for assistance. What sense does that make? All it does is employ many bureaucratic people with very large salaries.
8.)The government can only get money by taxing us. For every dollar we pay in tax, that dollar is removed from business to pay people, or to invest. For every dollar it gets from me it is a dollar I don’t have to pay my future nursing home bill.
9.) It is time to drain the swamp and clean up the scum so it can come alive again.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to present my side of the story.
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1) The government doesn’t reflect the people: Agree completely. That’s why I have never voted for a Republican or a Democrat for president; we already know what we will get with them and it’s not good enough.
2)Lawlessness: Undecided. This is something I’ve heard from other conservatives and I don’t understand what that means to you or what information you are looking at to come to that conclusion.
3)National Debt: Agree completely. Chronic debt is no way for a family to run their finances, nor is acceptable for a country to run that way either.
4)Unemployment: Agree completely. Unemployment is vastly greater than our govt. is willing to admit. Under-employment is facing millions of people as well. It is a travesty that corporate employers are allowed to employ most of their workers part-time rather than employing fewer people full time and giving them adequate salaries and benefits. This policy reduces so unemployment, but does nothing to help families work to sustain themselves.
5)Food costs: Agree completely. People think they have a right to expensive packaged food/takeout/fast food because they work so hard they don’t have time to cook from scratch. If we can return to a mindset where it is valued to have a family member who has time to stay home and cook from scratch fresh nutritious meals, we will be more economical and healthier too.
6)Climate change: Disagree, but the issue is not just about climate. We need to view the environment as something we carefully manage to keep us alive today and for generations to come. Depending on the climate, and food sources such as land and ocean, is not a hoax. We really do need all that to keep the human race alive.
7)Health Care: Undecided. I think we need to get rid of the Insurance industry completely. Insurance doesn’t supply a real good to people. It is just a fancy way to fund real goods and services that people actually need. I’m pretty radical on this issue, I don’t think we’re going to see the Insurance industry outlawed under Republicans or Democrats.
8)Taxation: Undecided. Some things I would like to paid for by a general fund that everyone contributes to. Roads are a good example. We’ve seen some experimentation with private toll roads and those experiments appear to be failing miserably.
9)Drain the swamp: Agree completely. Though Trump is going to need a lot of people experienced in policy by his side to lead this country forward, so I don’t think he will “drain the swamp” as we’d like to see him do.
GRUMPA, I appreciate your comments and perspective so very much, thank you. And I see that there is more that we agree on than otherwise. Hopefully we can help others to bridge the gaps and work together towards common goals in the years to come. Cheers, my friend!
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It seems like most people that are against Trump pay way too much attention to the liberally biased news/media instead of listening to him directly. Yes, he can come off as bombastic to fire up the base but remember…he’s a master marketer and it served him quite well. That said, what made me a Trump supporter from pretty much day 1 is that he is brilliant when he speaks about the economy. I listened when he spoke after the debates when questioned about taxes, job growth, getting rid of the invisible lines that inhibited free market competition for insurance, and how to get our nation more self sufficient. I hope that those that didn’t vote for him will give him a chance. I wasn’t happy that Obama was elected but he was still the President and was due respect as such. Trump deserves no less.
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A master marketer, indeed. I agree.
You say he is brilliant when speaking about the economy? I eagerly await evidence that he has a team of people that can create economic policies which will revive our economy. Ideas are free. Acting on them carries a cost.
I certainly will give him a chance.
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Sincerely appreciate it. I have a bit of a background in both economics and human resources. He has some ideas that I was thinking needed to be implemented about 15 years ago. Time will tell. He is far more a centrist than the likes of HuffPo and CNN would have you believe. Let’s keep an open mind. He’s the only Republican to ever hold up a gay flag. Only Republican to welcome Caitlyn Jenner into Trump Tower to use restroom of her choice. Only candidate making sure people with pre-existing conditions keep their insurance. Time will tell.
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What happened to this post? I would like to read what you said. >
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Okay, it’s back
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No person or government is perfect. Trump has said some really rotten things, he’s not perfect. However, I haven’t seen anything about him covering up things or deleting emails to cover his tracks. I could rant all day I suppose about why Clinton should be in prison. Trump is the lesser of two evils, to use a cliche’… I usually never discuss politics with anyone, far too divisive.
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How about the fact that he refused to release his tax returns as every other President has done for decades – you don’t think he’s trying to hide something there?
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Yet Clinton deleting so many emails and a federal government is kissing her ass? I won’t argue politics. Clinton is a criminal, protected by a criminal government.
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I’m not arguing about Clinton. I didn’t vote for her either. You said there were no charges of Trump hiding information or lying and I pointed out one example. I’m not having feelings about it.
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Either way, if you invite politics to your site, you should expect some very heated opinions and hate.
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I enjoy heated opinions and have not experienced any hate so far, blessed be. Thanks for sharing your view.
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I have been watching http://www.cbsnews.com/live/
Last night they interviewed several families of east coast farmers. One of them commented that his family had voted Democrat for generations, as had he. This was the first time he had voted Republican.
Perhaps a more telling question would be … “If you are a Democrat and voted for Trump, why did you do so”. He could not have one if he had not had a substantial Democratic vote. Rural hard working historically Democratic voters who voted against the status quo.
A vote for Trump was much less a vote FOR Trump than it was a vote for change. Hillary was seen as more of the same, and many people did not want more of the same. A vote for Trump was also a vote against globalization who many see as merely moving American jobs to other countries or bringing lower paid (legal) foreign workers to replace them.
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I didn’t want more of the same, either. So I am finding a lot of common ground with Trump supporters on that basis. Unfortunately, the “more of the same” that they don’t want is different than the “more of the same” that I don’t want. If that makes any sense at all.
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What I highly respect about your post is not only your willingness to listen to others with differing opinions, but mainly the fact that you did your own research. Unfortunately, the majority of the population based (are continue to do so) their opinions solely off of what they see the media present. The media has been overwhelmingly biased during this entire election period. There was never a shortage of Trump faults mentioned, but where were the faults of Hillary? Sure, it was thrown into the wind here and there, but was quickly aired out with more Trump bashing. It’s very disheartening to me that people were not provided neutral and accurate information. It’s unfair to Trump and to the American people who have now developed hatred and bitterness toward him, some of which are unfounded. The media should be aiming for unity and peace in the nation, but instead they are promoting division and adding fuel to an already dangerous fire.
Anyhow, I voted for him. As Cindy mentioned above, I am in support of the Republican party, not necessarily Trump himself. In my opinion, I have seen very little good come from the Democratic party over the past several years. 1) Lawlessness is running rampant and not only is it NOT being stopped, but it’s being promoted. We need someone who will actually be a president and get control of this country before the citizens destroy it. 2) People who are known to be affiliated with terrorist organizations have been allowed into this country and then committed awful acts of violence. Then, instead of learning their lesson, the government allows more people in without doing appropriate background checks and wants to increase those numbers even more. 3) Medical costs have sky-rocketed. Not only are the premiums outrageous, but so are the deductibles. We pay a fortune and still cannot afford to go the doctor. With Hillary, the plan was looking at being increased another 22%. 4) We need someone in office who will make America look powerful and strong again. Someone who will boldly stand up to opposition. Someone who will not reveal all of our strategies to the enemy, but who will keep our plans a secret and will as a result be more effective. 5) The Democratic party had their chance, a long one, to make this country good and for the most part they failed to do so. We need a change, someone with different ideas. Someone with the desire and motivation to truly make this country good again and strong in every way, from finances, medical care to safety. It’s time to give the Republican party a chance.
That’s my opinion and many of the people who voted the same way share those same reasons. Some have more and some have less. Thank you for allowing our voices to be heard and for creating a space for this very important discussion to take place. It’s important that we all have an open mind and are willing and mature enough to discuss opposing views with one another. There is always a new perspective to be learned, whether we change our mind in the end or not. Once again, thank you. (And sorry for my mini-book.)
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Thank you for your articulate response. I can clearly discern that you and I have a very different world view, specifically when it comes to the five points you made as to why you voted for Donald Trump. That’s fine, I don’t think all people should ever share the same exact world view.
So I’d like to address, for the purpose of discussion and my own education, just one of the points you made, #2: terrorists in our country causing the death of innocent civilians. The United States has shipped many of our own military citizens abroad to war in nations such as Afghanistan and Iraq. Our own military has caused the deaths of countless innocent civilians in these nations abroad, including women and children. There is even a term for it “collateral damage”. So, are those of us who endorse those military actions abroad culpable in the deaths of innocents? Is there any sense among Republicans, or Democrats for that matter, that innocent civilian deaths are as heinous abroad as they are on our own territory?
And for the record, there are some positive changes I believe Donald Trump can and might make as POTUS (we’ll see) but none of them are included in the 5 reasons you gave for why you voted for him.
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It’s interesting to me that you don’t agree on any of those points and therefore it is certainly obvious that our view of the world is much different. I appreciate though that you can see at least a few positive changes that he may make as president. Everyone has the ability to make good changes, even if that’s only one good change.
In regard to the innocent deaths of those overseas caused by our military personnel – it’s horrible when any innocent person loses their life. Life is life regardless of where the person lives, whether that’s here in the US or in Syria.
However, I am not the one in the hot seat, responsible for making those tough choices. I don’t have the insight that they do and therefore I am unable to see the whole picture. They however, can see every detail and are aware of the consequences of whichever choice they make and must decide their plan of action based on those consequences. I don’t believe that anyone (minus the evil-minded) likes to take an innocent life, but if that one life saves the lives of hundreds of others, who am I to say that it’s the wrong choice? Is it terrible? Yes, absolutely. Is it necessary? Only the people who are physically there and can see the whole picture know the answer to that.
Aside from that, the United States government has every right to, and should, do all that they can to protect this country and its citizens. We all call this home. I wouldn’t willingly let a known threat into my home and it would be nice to be able to say the same about the US government.
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Okay, but if you can rationalize collateral damage given that the person in charge is making the best decision based on secure information that we are not party to, then doesn’t the same rule apply to their decisions to let certain people into our country?
And just to clarify, it’s not that I disagree with your 5 points, it’s that I don’t think those are the things Trump/Pence will change for the better.
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I’ll give you that. Maybe these known threats are allowed into the country in order for the government to gain more information about a bigger plan that is possibly in the works. Perhaps there is a logical reason for it, but I would like to think that they could gain the insight they’re looking for prior to the death of our civilians and stop the tragedies before they occur. But none of us know why they allow what they allow and who’s to say how our opinions may change if we were privy to all of the information. I do know this – I’m glad it’s their job and not mine. Having that huge responsibility day in and day out is not a job I would want.
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I didn’t vote for him, but know many who did. Before the election I’d say to them, “how can you even be thinking of voting for this vile man?” Their responses inevitably came down to their wanting change; change at any cost. They felt that something needed to be done to “wake up” Washington and the media to the fact that the status quo wasn’t working for middle class Americans. They all said if the Democrats won, things would continue as they’d been going. (I’m still not sure if their reasons for not wanting that weren’t based on repressed racism, misogyny, and selfishness). They didn’t care WHAT happened when Trump opened his mouth – they simply wanted to be sure things would be different. I even know some young millennials who voted this way – since the Dems wouldn’t nominate Bernie Sanders, they chose to vote for Trump. Now that Trump is pulling together his cabinet (from standard “establishment” sources), I’m wondering if they feel betrayed? It’s going to be an interesting 4 yrs.
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It is that, isn’t it? They want to be heard. They want to have their concerns addressed. I think that is more than fair. In fact, I think realizing that is the best thing that has come out of this Trump/Pence victory. The vast majority of Americans feel underserved and underrepresented by the government that we supposedly select. Sure, we disagree about HOW we can be better served and better represented. But at least we have the commonality of almost ALL of us dissatisfied.
Oh wait. That’s super depressing actually. I’m wondering what it would actually take to overhaul our government and get it to serve the common people.
I think our system of a pendulum that swings back and forth in between Democrat and Republican majority control is making it so we don’t even have time to determine which policies are effective. We just keep doing and undoing the same things ad infinitum. Meanwhile, the underlying effect is that the government continues to serve billionaires and corporations at the cost of the citizens.
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Trump was vilified by the media. I defy you to mention a single one of our past presidents who was “squeaky clean”. Trumps greatest flaw in my opinion is poor impulse control – speaking before thinking. Or maybe it just appears that way based on his pre-election candor. Post-election he seems to be more in control (or better handled).
His greatest asset in my opinion is that he is NOT a politician to the point of stating that he will only take $1 per year in salary.
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What the media saw as “poor impulse control” was actually his willingness to say exactly what the citizens were cheering for, whether the status quo approved or not (mostly not). And that turned out to be his greatest asset when all was said and done.
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I didn’t vote for Trump. I voted for the Republican party and against Hillary. I have faith in our governmental setup of ‘checks and balances’. Trump is obnoxious for sure; what he needs is Michael Caine (Miss Congeniality) to sweep in and polish all those rough edges.
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When you say Michael Caine are you referring to the British actor? I’ve never heard of him before, is he an ally of Trump/Pence?
I wish there was a checkmark on the ballot to vote against a candidate. I would have voted against Clinton and Trump.
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Oh, I am sorry to be confusing. I was trying to be witty. Did you see the film ‘Miss Congeniality’ starring Sandra Bullock? She is a crude, tomboy, a NY cop assigned to go undercover at a beauty pagent. The actor, Michael Caine, is hired to soften and make her presentable….my analogy for Trump. 😉
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Okay, yeah no, I haven’t seen it. 🙂 I doubt Trump needs that though, he is a talented actor in his own right. He is a reality TV star. He’s been acting all along, especially during the campaign.
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Good point.
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Not answering your question, but …
I have been watching the latest interviews with Trump (60 minutes), photo op with Prez Obama, etc. and have observed the following:
Post-election Trump is MUCH more reserved (even – gasp – presidential) than pre-election Trump. Trump is not a politician (one of the reasons his supporters voted for him), but rather a business man. I suspect that the pre-election Trump was in “negotiations mode” also known as “campaign mode”. I suspect that much of what he said was campaign rhetoric.
Trump has already softened his position on Hillary, Obamacare (aka Affordable Care Act), immigration, etc. He has been very conciliatory toward Hillary and Obama and he seems sincere.
I will give him the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.
You need to look at rural America to understand Trump’s supporters. Working farmers. Folks whose jobs were outsourced or offshored. Former factory towns whose factory was moved to a third world country. Folks who felt that no one cared about them. The not-elite. Democrats wanting change.
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It’s pretty obvious Trump would have made any promise at all to get elected and that he won’t feel a shiver of remorse for going back on his word. But that is not a trait that is unique to him. All our Presidents in recent history have done the same.
And once again, the people will be relatively satisfied as long as their tv’s and computers stay on. They won’t make the sacrifices necessary for real change because that kind of change is, you know, uncomfortable to say the least.
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… to say the least …
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I’m Canadian but I selfishly wanted Trump to win for the entertainment factor. Can Trump make a bigger fool of himself than W. Bush did? I die laughing watching Bush bloopers…”fool me once…umm..ahhh…”
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All the people will die laughing. A dark day, my friend. But Clinton wouldn’t have been better enough. And the people would have died scowling instead.
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Don’t mind me creeping on the comments. I cried too and I’m legitimately interested in why people voted for Trump. 🙂
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