THE POLLS ARE CLOSING IN A FEW HOURS... So I need to write this up now as this election is one of significance and I cannot help but feel it will have an impact on generations to come. I am sure everyone who feels passionate about any political process could say that.
This year brought us yet more mud slinging and hypocrisy and two-faced presentations to the public. The Democratic Party started out fighting and finger pointing, the Republicans did the same. They were all determined that in their own primary, each candidate was the ONLY man or Woman for the job. How did it shake out? Hillary Clinton rose to the top among accusations of bribes and threats. Her contestant Bernie Sanders spoke poorly of her the whole time but one the general election got swinging he magically came over to support her. AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY?!?!? I am still in pure shock that Donald Trump became the nominee. Not entirely though because many registered Republicans are middle aged to older men and woman who originally found his abrasive style to be funny and upsetting to the political process at large. Did anyone take him serious? No because he is a sexist, bigot, arrogant man who says audaciously foolish things... then it happened. He someone became the nominee and no one knew what to say or do. So they did what any self disrespecting political party would due, unite behind their party candidate even though he embodies none of their characteristics.
As the debates rolled on a third voice was heard: Libertarian Party Gary Johnson. Fiscally conservative, socially liberal, former republican Governor. He was excluded from the debates because in the preliminary polls he garnered just under 15% at the time.<10 and="" but="" debate="" democratic="" help="" i="" largely="" nbsp="" p="" parties="" polarize="" republican="" the="" think="" this="" to="" was="">
Near the end of the campaign season Evan McMullin rose from seemingly nowhere. A member of the LDS church, former CIA operative, who spoke strongly against the current state of affairs and offered a principled, conservative choice. He (or many other men in the Republican Primary) should have been the Republican candidate, but the great political machine was already moving forward.
A little about trump. As you can tell, I am not a fan. He said a lot of ugly things about people, endorsing violence, and mostly spoke a lot about how smart he was, how many 'good things [he] will do, how everything [he] does is great, and [he] is wonderful person, the best of people really....' That is not a direct quote but as close as you can get. He believes the answer to immigration is to make Mexico build a wall. Every time we fact-checked him we found he was wrong. Sorry if anyone out there really thinks he will "Make America Great Again." I don't believe it and I don't know of a single foreign leader who respects him. I don't find him fit to lead our nation in war or peace.
Hillary continued to march to the drum of larger government, more entitlements, and never really addressed the cost in the short of long run. She was investigated for fraud, leaking top secrete information from her email, and single handed has taken more money from lobbyist than any other politician. Her hands are far from clean. She, like most politicians would say one thing, then the opposite a short time later. I am a conservative at heart and worry about the financial future of my kids so I disagree with her spending habits and found her to be untrustworthy. If I had leaked emails, I would have lost my career and possibly been thrown in jail. I don't think she is fit to represent our country and will only continue to drive our national debt while pushing social agendas.
Many Americans do not like these 2 candidates. But due to party loyalty, they are tolerated. Jari and I were torn as to what to do.
Enter Gary Johnson. He was flamboyant, not always nice to listen too, and was found in the dark on a few issues such as where in the world Aleppo was. He later apologized and addressed the issues. He is more socially liberal than I would personally like, but had at his heart a desire to shrink the government and pull in spending.
In case no one knows were Aleppo is it is in Syria. It is one of the worlds oldest cities - one I would have liked to have visited but is in the midst of Civial war.
Our future president should know about what is going on of course but I would not expect any one person to be expert on everything happening around the world. I also don't think many Americans can point to a world map and say where Aleppo is at on the map. So Johnson got beat up about this one point but at least had the backbone to admit he was wrong and educate himself on it. That garnered my respect for him.
Evan McMullin was a clear favorite for many fellow LDS members. He was a conservative, upheld our religious principles, and wanted to stand for right. He was criticized for entering the race so late and did so with nearly no money - just social media! There were a great number of articles that I read being critical of those who follow him just for his faith but all were horrifically biased, poorly written (not that my writing is any better) and laced with false assumptions.
But he did come late and quietly. Those who loved him, loved him and were loud about it. While I agreed with his religious roots I felt his policies were ill defined on many areas and I had a hard time telling what he was wanting to do other than continue to stand for religious freedom and fight the war on terror. Both nobel things but I needed more. Jari was a fan on the grounds of his religious views and that he represented her conservative views. I agree with her on that.
Jari and I registered and voted by absentee ballot. We are overseas so were able to do so without much of a problem. She and I studied out candidate for president and other positions available and voted for our state issues (Jari = Idaho, Me = Nevada).
In Nevada, McMullin was not on the ballot, only the top three and a few others that polled in the 1-3% category. In Idaha he was. I voted Johnson, Jari can tell you who she voted for.
The clock is now ticking to a close, mud is still flying.
(FBI Director investigating Hillary who acquitted her of charges)
At least at this moment in time it is yet to be decided who will win....
A former military member, Christian (not LDS) just posted on Facebook:
And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdomunto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding. Daniel 2:21
He then stated - "God is in Control, no matter the results of today's elections. No need to be anxious." All too true. Does not mean I don't care about what is happening right now.
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