I've been a conservative my whole life. Not a Republican: In 2016, feeling like I had no good options, I voted libertarian (yes, I do still feel ashamed). But I've always been a Republican. I appreciated Donald Trump's rock 'em, sock 'em strategies for running roughshod over DC elites. I still do love how he set peoples' hair on fire in 2016 and all the way up until 2020. I remain grateful for his installation of Amy Coney Barrett, who was instrumental in overturning Roe v Wade, which was one of my biggest political headaches, heartaches, and outrages for my entire life. His foreign policy struck me as fearless and effective.
But even when he was in office, I was disturbed by his lack of care for the national debt skyrocketing. I've always cared about the national debt, even when it seems like no one else is. Sure, we have fiat currency - we make it up as we go along, theoretically we can do as we please, in the short term, anyway. But I've never liked being in debt, and as someone who cares about the future (see: My concern over Roe), it bothered me. Then came his frank assessment of due process when it came to the bumpstock ban - "Take the guns first, go through due process seond," he said, in an incredibly cavalier manner. And then came the pandemic. Right now, Donald Trump is actively smearing the iconic state of Florida for (checks notes) not being free enough. Trump knows the facts. He knows that Ron DeSantis almost immediately opened up the beaches in Florida in 2020. Remember that laughable attorney who headed down to the beach in a Grim Reaper costume? That was because DeSantis had been so adamant about reopening, stat. Today Trump shared a Truth social media post that linked directly to Joy Reid's "Reidout" blog. And recently he openly congratulated the fierce freedom-lover Gavin Newsom for...being nice to him.
It feels like Trump is too consumed by his own petty spirit and ego to focus on the real problem - people exactly like Gavin Newsom and Joy Reid and even his actual political opposition, Joe Biden, who is currently, actively driving this country into the ground economically, spiritually, and culturally. Biden's failures have been endless, yet somehow Trump has found a way NOT to attack him. I do not understand this. I appreciate hugely everything that Florida has accomplished. Hell, the state is so free and so business-friendly that Andy's company is opening a new branch down there, which is why we're planning to move there in about a month, ourselves. Trump's attacks on the state that he, himself, chose to relocate to from NY are jarring, because I want to win in 2024. I want good things for my kids. I don't want them to worry about their skincolor. I don't want them to pay exorbitant taxes or be forced into insane gender conversations. I desperately want to win in 2024. It's crucial to me, personally. To my kids. To my husband, who is guilty of being a white male. To my brothers, father, cousins, and in-laws, all of whom are (oh dear!) white. I want a system not slanted against them at every turn. And I'm afraid if Trump does not focus on the actual enemy, we will lose, just like he ended up losing to an actual corpse in 2020. No, I won't debate the veracity of the election here: Plenty of room remains to improve the security of our elections, but the 2020 election was an indictment of Trump's personality, if not his ruling ability. Based on his attacks on DeSantis, his personality has become no more tempered over time - and it won't. It feels hopeless.
I don't think Trump will lead us to victory in 2024 and it's making me feel increasingly desperate that he'll likely win the nomination.
Why don't we nominate someone who will win? What do we owe this mob boss? Because that's what he feels like to me.
