From the time I turned 18 in 2001, I have been a registered Democrat voter. My decision to register was because I wanted to see change and be change. I did not vote in 2004, I wasn’t really paying attention… I was young and didn’t care. In 2008, I voted for, you guessed it, Barack Obama. I was swayed to vote even though I didn’t ever pay attention to politics. I thought it would be great to see diversity in the ranks. In 2012, I was unsure I wanted to vote again because I felt betrayed in my choice the first time. I saw the hate beginning to brew and started getting scared. My dad was an officer of the law and I heard those comment made by our “Commander in Chief.” I was a young mother worried about our future, scared because my then 5 year old told me, “I want to be a policeman just like my pappy.” His words filled me with both pride and fear. Proud he would want to be a noble civil servant but scared for his life. The tides were turning and quickly. 2016 was going to be a big year and I was paying attention this time! The 2 main candidates are… Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump… wait what? Hillary Clinton? Are you freaking kidding me? Of all the people in all of U.S., SHE’S the best choice? What in the world was my political party thinking? The first thing my mind went to in that moment was Seal Team 6 and those lives lost… but then, wait… she’s the one who also erased thousands upon thousands of emails from her server. Wait, that’s against the law when you’re in politics, isn’t it?. 🤔 What did those emails say? So I turned to my dad, my political advisor if you will. Now, he’s been a republican for as long as I can remember and we didn’t always see eye to eye, but he’s also my most trusted, no B.S., common sense thinking sounding board. So, I ask him, “Daddy, I’m having trouble deciding who to vote for. I can’t logically and in good conscience vote for the vile that is Hillary but Trump is not a politician.”
Without hesitation he says to me, “You’re right, he’s not but look at what the career politicians ARE doing. Can you see yourself voting for… (names a bunch of things)? Sweetheart, look at the policies. What policies of the candidates do you agree with? What do you not agree with?” After our conversation that took about 30-45 minutes, he said he would send me some non-partisan info to help me clarify my thoughts. I went through everything he gave me, and if something caught my eye I dug a little deeper on my own. I searched everything I could get my hands on from both sides of the aisle. I couldn’t in good conscience take one sides views without checking the other sides. The more I researched, the more I realized and became truly aware of the world surrounding me. While I still believe in some of the democratic policies, I don’t agree with many others. But what really got me was listening to my fellow democrats and their words hurt my heart. The hate, the lies, the anger, and the manipulation spewing out of their mouths made me sick. That year was a big year for me! It made me realize just how much length people would go to just to get their way. I was in complete shock! I voted for Trump in 2016 with pride knowing I was making the best decision for not just my self, but for my country. Ok yea, he talks a lot of crap and sometimes is too errogant for his own good. Yea, he cheated on his wives, but he’s tried making amends with them. One thing I love is that he calls people out on their B.S.! BUT what solidified my choice for this election was watching the amount of crap he took day in and day out for everything he was doing. News media and Democrats were causing so much turmoil and allowing destruction to happen in their cities, then turning around and blaming Trump. That was like a slap in the face to witness. While I’m still a registered democrat, I’m walking away from party line voting. Although, I think I’ll stay just to make sure I mess with their primaries. 🤫😉😁