Please Caucus with Care

I post the following with great trepidation. And it saddens me that I have to be so afraid. How did we get to the place where we can’t disagree without being mean to each other? I have NO intention to use this blog as a political platform, but I am aware of the scope of my audience here. I may speak now and never speak on the matter again . . . but I’m not sure I’ll be able to live with myself if I don’t speak up at all.

So . . . here we go.

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Having lived in Sioux City for a few years, I have many friends in Iowa – people whom I love and respect. People who are very likely Republicans. People whom I expect to be voting in next week’s caucus. So, I’m making a passionate plea to you, my hawkeye friends: if you intend to caucus for Trump, please reconsider.

Let me start here: You’re reading this post written by a friend whom you also love and respect (I hope). A friend who I would guess agrees with you on most policy issues and probably shares your faith perspective. And I want you to know that this friend of yours finds Donald Trump to be very disturbing and very dangerous. If you love and respect me as I hope you do, please do me the courtesy of not dismissing those concerns as stupid or naïve or uninformed. I am none of those things, and I am terribly concerned.

Now, can I urge you to do a few things? First, look very closely at where you are getting your information about the candidates and the issues. I am of the mindset that you can’t really trust anyone to be objective anymore. Given that, I’ve found myself listening to news broadcasts from all sides of the spectrum. If you’re only listening to one side, you can’t help but be misled. Watch some MSNBC. Yes, you’ll get annoyed at their extremist snark (if you’re not also annoyed by the extremist snark on Fox News, you really should ask yourself why). But you will hear some information you are not hearing from your preferred sources. Do what you will with their take on that information, but at least be aware of the information. Do your fact checking.

Second: please consider the words of people who worked closely with Trump the first time around who now fear a second administration with him. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can click here to start your research. I know Trump dismisses these detractors as stupid and disloyal – but you have to admit that he is spiteful and childish in his dismissal, and that is a reflection on his character, not theirs. Who would be in a better position to make a judgment about his fitness for office than the people who were once on his side, who worked with him directly to enact his policies, who still agree with those policies, and who know what he is capable of? If they don’t trust him, why do you?

Third: I am often hearing the "better-of-two-alternatives" argument here – some of you aren’t that crazy about Trump but think he is the only one who could defeat Biden. I disagree. It seems like the country doesn’t really want either of these men to be President; they just hate (or maybe fear) one more than the other. If a decent alternative is offered, I think both men could go down. But let me also ask you to look at each of these two alternatives more carefully and objectively. This is about more than policy. I contend that the nation will more easily be able to recover from the damage of a few years of Democratic policies you disagree with than from the damage of a potentially unstable executive. (Plus, if policies are your concern, that's the domain of the legislative branch. Look to the Congress for that, not the President.)

Finally, I have heard from some friends that their strong moral stances on certain issues trump everything else – they cannot make themselves vote for anyone who does not side with them on those issues. Fair enough. I contend that Donald Trump has given enough evidence of immoral and opportunistic character that he could not possibly be someone you could trust to stick with any moral stance he is currently proclaiming to get you to vote him into office again.

Please consider very prayerfully what it is about this man that leads you to ignore the words and actions that are serious red flags to so many of us and makes you willing to put him in the most powerful position on the planet. I mean, seriously pray about it. Get yourself to a place of neutrality, where you are truly willing to vote for whomever God leads you to . . . and then honestly ask yourself if Donald Trump looks like a man that God would choose.

In 2016, a well-known Texas pastor (sigh . . .) said he was supporting Trump because he wanted the “toughest, meanest son of a gun” he could find. That is simply not good enough, people. Bravado can be dangerous. Vicious retorts are puerile. Being a victim of judicial overreach – if you think he is that – is irrelevant altogether to the question at hand. I love you and respect you, friend, and I have to believe that somewhere deep down, you know that the superficial sensationalism he thrives on does not qualify anyone to be leader of the free world . . . in fact, in my book, it's part of what disqualifies him. This isn’t a reality TV show; this is reality.

Iowa friends, I walked through a presidential election with you; I know how you take pride in this opportunity to lead the way for our country. Voting is a sacred privilege and a sobering responsibility. Please, my dear friends – please treat it as such.

But know that I will still love you however you vote. I hope you return the favor.