A YUUUGE Reason Not to Vote for Trump

There are many reasons why Trump would make a terrible Republican nominee.  But here is another.  Trump has promised again and again that he will appoint the best and the brightest to solve all of the problems in the U.S. (another area where he proves his Democratic credentials)  Yet against this we have some very good inductive evidence that he will not: ge has failed miserably and embarrassingly in appointing people to ensure that he has loyal delegates voting for him after a first vote in the convention.  On this score Cruz has proved his political brilliance far surpasses Trump's arrogant bravado.  Yet another example of the aphorism that actions speak louder than words.

Arkansas is the latest.

Another Key Demographic for Cruz

Cigar smokers.

Why I Vote and Why I'm Voting for Cruz

I favor Cruz because I think the best political philosophy is conservatism and Cruz is the only principled conservative.  I won't defend that here, but the evidence is overwhelming for this latter claim.  Rubio is Busch-Lite and I never voted for Bush. Not even in the general election.  I wrote in another candidate or voted Libertarian.  (I would never vote for a Libertarian in a local election; but I would vote for a Libertarian for president because he would do what a president should: not much.)

Why did I not vote for Bush?  Or Romney?  Or McCain?  Why would I, unlike the Maverick, not vote for Trump?  Why not vote for the lesser of two evils?

For starters, my vote is worthless.  So is yours.  This is especially true the more voters there are in an election.  If I don't vote in this election, Arkansas will still give out the delegates as it would have were I to have voted.  It is true that if no one voted, no delegates would be given.  But it is also true that if everyone voted for Cruz, he would get all of the delegates.

So why do I vote?  Do I have a duty to vote?  Certainly not a strict duty.  If I have a duty to vote it is perhaps an imperfect duty--a duty to vote some of the time.  I violate no moral law by not voting in a given election (though perhaps if it is a local election I sometimes do).

I vote because I am a conservative and it is a good tradition to vote.  It is one of the things I do and my people do, and it is a conservative principle to genuflect to tradition unless reason shows otherwise.  It is one of the few activities where citizens get together and stand in line generally calmly and respectfully, knowing full well that there are others in line who disagree with you vehemently on important matters.  It is a collective activity of good citizenship where we symbolically express the common value we share in support of democracy; it is a supererogatory good (at least if one is well informed and acting out of good motives).

In addition, there is little by way of economic (financial, time, etc.) cost.  But it is certainly not a strict duty.  There are far more important ways that one can be a good citizen than by voting (e.g. by being law abiding, giving to charity, raising a family of children who will be good citizens, educating yourself and others, etc.)

But why vote for Cruz in the Republican primary even when head-to-head polls show that Rubio fairs better?  (Head-to-head Rubio beats Hillary in the popular vote and Cruz is in a statistical dead heat). And why not vote for the lesser of two evils in the general?  Why not vote for Trump if it comes to it?

Since my vote is worthless as far as the outcome is concerned, I vote based on ideology.  My vote has some symbolic value.  It expresses who I think is the candidate with the best principles.  I am also able to say honestly that I was not a (e.g.) Bush supporter ever when I criticize his policies or when Republicans are attacked due to mistakes made by its figurehead.  This is polemically advantageous, more advantageous, I think, than being able to criticize Bush as a current or former supporter.

Finally, there is pragmatic value if it were to turn out that my vote determined the outcome in a possible world far, far away.  "Dubya" gave us eight years of Obama.  His father gave us eight years of Bill Clinton.  Reagan at least only gave us four years of Bush Sr.  I fear what Trump would give us.

Ted Cruz's Interview On Law

Excellent interview of Ted Cruz by Princeton's Robert George.  Among other things they discuss the Obergefell decision.  I haven't seen this sort of high level, engaging interview with any other candidate.  It's an hour long but well worth it.

Lincoln was absolutely right. I agree with President Lincoln and courts do not make law. That is not what a court does. The court interprets the law, applies the law, but courts don’t make law. And, you know, this is an area of really striking divide in this presidential election. One candidate, Hillary Clinton, agrees with the court and embraces gay “marriage” and is happy that unelected judges had purported to tear down the marriage laws of all fifty states. On the Republican side, they’re quite a few Republicans who, when the gay “marriage” decision came down, they described it as the settled law of the land. It’s final; we must accept it, move on and surrender.

Those are almost word for word Barack Obama’s talking points and I think they are profoundly wrong. I think the decision was fundamentally illegitimate. It was lawless. It was not based on the Constitution. I agree very much with Justice Scalia, who wrote a powerful dissent saying, this decision is a fundamental threat to our democracy. It is five unelected judges declaring themselves the rulers of three hundred and twenty million Americans. And indeed, Justice Scalia, in the penultimate paragraph of his dissent, predicts, harkening back to President Lincoln defying Dred Scott, that state and local officials will refuse to obey this lawless decision. It is remarkable to see a Supreme Court justice saying that would be the consequence of this.

The Story of Ted Cruz and Family

A heartwarming story of Ted Cruz and his Cuban immigrant family. It's only 11 minutes. (It's not "leaked" in any scandalous sense, by the way, but it's definitely worth watching.)

Trump and Hillary are in trouble.

Ted Cruz Rebuffs Reporter on Gay "Marriage" Entrapment Questions

Buff Rebuffer

Ted Cruz tellin' it like it is.

I shared this on Facebook but it's too good not to throw up on the blog.