I am happy to see that polling indicates we’ve built an ideologically diverse community that can disagree and have civil conversations grounded in reality. These types of spaces today are unfortunately increasingly rare.
I don“ t have much in common with Kamala Harris, but Trump is a proven horror, a criminal, something absolutely un-electable. His allegedly oh so great support for Israel is dishonest, unthoughtful and unsubstantial, it may lead to a catastrophe for Israel and the whole region. His mind is that of a totally un-educated toddler. It is unbelievsble that so many people are following a dangerous idiot over again. I would have voted Rep.s if they voted for Nikki Haley, but they“ re drunk and blind from Trump, and of destructive pure hate against everything presumably „progressive‘.
I appreciate your opinion. In terms of Israel, he has a record of clear policies including helping negotiate the Abraham accords, moving the us embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the gonna heights.
It’s hard for me to reconcile when people claim he’s anti Israel because I don’t feel like his record has been.
More recently, he’s been clear that he’s against the pro-Hamas protestors, and would deport the ones that are not US citizens. I agree with this, you should not be able to support groups the state department recognizes as terror orgs.
I do however find the widespread antisemitism on the Left disconcerting at best. Can you elaborate why you think he’d be bad for Israel and why Kamala would be good for Israel?
I did nowhere claim Trump is Anti-Israel or Harris would be good for Israel. She is not anti-jewish but has “to take hindsight” of the “progressive”/”anti-Western” Leftists. But USA just has to support Israel, that is sth. that also Harris can never betray or ignore, even if she ostensibly “admonishes” Israel. I only said Trumps “motives” are obviously shifty, it appears as schizophrenic when he claims to support the freedom fight of Israel including the vital and fundamental interest of “the West” against (Islam) Totalitarianism, but - different from Hailey - holds back supporting Ukraine or Taiwan according to “economic interests” or “sympathies” of his - to say the least - reactionary supporters for allegedly/so-called “traditional Christian values” of “Orthodox Christians” backing up Putin, who doesn´t hesitate to collaborate with the crudest and most brutal Islamic-orthodox criminals of Chechnya etc., of which Trump in the next sentence maintains they were his biggest enemies and their adlats have to be deported from USA- - these, expressed temperately, self-“contradictions” undoubtedly manage to keep up with all the hypocrisy and contradictions of left-wing “Hamas supporters”. - - It is blatantly obvious he is a dangerous, unreliable, reckless and ego-centered liar, who as you turn your back on him will despise everyone but himself and use everyone, including Israel. Netanyahu can certainly handle this, but most people are "overwhelmed" by it and it is an imposition on the world to allow someone like this thang to present himself as president.
He is no different from Putin or other dictators in his desire for total, unbridled power. It is completely incomprehensible how anyone could fail to see this. So the danger that Harris might bring with her, is nothing compared with the clearly utmost danger an egomaniac will include. - - I have the impression or feeling that the recipes that Harris might put forward, especially with regard to the economy - as is also evident from the rather clownish vice-presidential candidate - will be misguiding and will fail, and will then either bring the Republicans to power in four years, but with an acceptable candidate, or a Democrat who has more understanding of the economy and other essential realities, types which also exist among Democrats (Shapiro, Buttigieg, etc.).
As you stated, I am politically homeless. I do not recognize either party anymore. Since October 7th I have been reading the independent news journalists and especially those from Israel (Jody’s Hoffman the Future of Jewish) listen to many brilliant independent thinkers who are libertarian or Republican (the good fellows and Victor David Hanson among others) plus those on the left to make up our own minds. I care very much about Israel surviving this latest onslaught from Iran. I taught History when we could teach both sides. I marched for civil rights, women’s rights and against the Viet Nam war but I think right now, I will vote for Trump. This is completely against my friend’s group thinking. They have all been taken in by the false picture of Kamala. I cannot believe it! They are all bright, some are Ph D’s I do not get it?
Thank you for sharing your opinion. October 7th irrevocably changed many peoples opinions and took an already polarized electorate and put us on what feels like separate planets almost.
I am touched reading your reply. I admire you for taking the stands you took during the civil rights movement and the difficult times during the Vietnam war. You were driven by your assessment of the situation and stood for your belief in what was right and good. I have fought in wars and I know it from a military man’s perspective. I am thankful that our military is controlled by our constitution and a civilian authority who serves as the commander in chief. We fight to defend our constitution not a party or a president or our favorite personality. We fight against enemies of our constitution.
In my view, American citizens should vote the same way we fight. Vote to defend the constitution. Doing so will ensure our freedom as well as our prosperity.
I share your amazement at how many brilliant people can be led down a primrose path to destruction. It never ceases to amaze me that our brightest minds can deceive themselves . The ordinary man does not have access to sufficient number of facts to cloud his judgment. To him, a thing is right or wrong with no “nuance” or justifications for haltering or hesitating to act. I will always stay with the common man who knows that the simple explanation is usually the correct one.
I admire your objectivity and your live for Israel which I share. We must allow and support Israel to defeat Hamas and Hezbollah.
I'm voting for Trump because he has a proven track record as a genuine Patriot, loyal to country and fellowman, with the business and political acumen to do the job right and do it well. Conversely, deliberately dismantling one's Border and blowing the dog whistle for mass invasion is treasonous, the disastrous consequences speaking for themselves for almost four years now. Anything else from the Left is moot.
I think I would very much be in the progressive liberal camp especially with social justice issues if not for the rampant and unreasonable anti jew that democrats are indulging in. This forces me to consider the existential threat to life and limb that My family and I are exposed to for the first time since the holocaust. I actually went to the shooting range for the first time in my life and got a gun license. I cant think about beautiful liberal ideals when my very life is threatened. Therefore I must ask, what is best for the Jews, and then, once I feel safe along with my people I can indulge in all the other ideals. As of today, Trump is my choice. I did not vote for him before but have since lost my innocence and am a jew first and a liberal second.
It’s interesting that a lot of Jewish Democrats haven’t come around to some of these realization yet. I think once you articulate it then it becomes real and the reality is scary for many Jews who’d prefer to delude themselves in the hopes this season will pass. I don’t think Humpty Dumpty can be put back together again unfortunately.
I have come to the same conclusion and also trained and become a gun owner for the first time in my life.
I’m no fan of Trump ,but the current Democratic Party and Harris in particular, has me very concerned. Unfortunately the vast majority of liberal American Jews remain loyal to a Democratic Party that has abandoned them
I’m a big advocate for more Jewish Americans owning firearms. Check out my essay if you haven’t seen it yet on the topic entitled “Why most Jews should buy a gun” and also our interview with Stuart Wohl, a Jewish NYPD firearm and crowd control expert under our interviews.
enthusiastically support Trump during this election. I understand and greatly appreciate the views of those who do not like Trump’s personality. I also understand why those who oppose him on one or two specific issues that are very important to them. This naturally would, under normal circumstances be very good reasons to oppose any candidate.
Yet, allow me to suggest that we are not currently facing what can be justly considered “normal circumstances”.
For example. If everyone knew that we were choosing between having a communist dictatorship and renaming a free country would we vote for the dictatorship because the dictator shares our views on s few of our specific items that concern us? Or would we vote to for the candidate that will maintain our freedom even though we might have to wait a while to find a freedom loving candidate that agrees with our views?
I think if everyone looked closely they can see that we are actually choosing between a candidate that is opposed to American freedom and one who favors it.
Kamala Harris declaring that she wants to have price controls which has never worked is a indication of her Marxist ideology And her commitment to a “Mandatory Buy back” of weapons in an effort to deprive us of our 2Amendment rights is evidence of one who has no respect for our constitution. Her overt support for Hamas sympathizers among us is another red indication of her distain for our Allies and support for our enemies. Those sympathizers with Hamas are mostly Marxist ideologically. They have no real interest in the people of Palestine. Their interest is in destabilizing our country. She has also allowed the millions of illegal immigrants to pour into our country further destabilizing it and threatening the very lives of American citizens many who have been killed by criminals coming here illegally. She is also supportive of so called “gender affirming care” that is mutilating our young people and ruining their lives. None iof this has anything to do with her personality. It does have a lot to do with her concept of government control without the consent of the people!
One the other hand, Trump promotes freedom and has a proven record of support for our constitution and our first amendment rights of free speech. He worked hard to secure our borders. He also supported Israel and promoted peace in the region while simultaneously moving our embassy to Jerusalem which should have been do years ago but no one had the courage to do it. He also understands how to stabilize our currently unstable economy suffering from inflation. He definitely opposes price controls.
In my opinion, looking at both candidates objectively with no mention whatsoever of their personalities or the parties they represent one can see easily that Trump is for freedom from government dictatorship and Harris is for government control over our individual lives.
I do not expect everyone to be enthusiastic in support of one whose personality is objectionable to them. Yet, I would hope that they would be wise enough to at least grudgingly supporting one who will promote prosperity, Freedom, and save our youth from being mutilated by the handout butchery of that which is euphemistically called “gender affirming care” by media propagandist who lie To us because the hate this country because of their Marxist ideology.
This election is not about personalities or even your favorite issues that concern us but is a choice between prosperity and freedom or increase poverty, destabilization, rising inflation and eroding our freedoms. Donald Trump is the candidate that promotes prosperity, freedom and stability for America. Harris can only bring the opposite.
I am voting for Trump because, perhaps counterintuitively, Trump now represents the working man, the common man, the underdog, against the powerful bicoastal elites and against unchecked centralized governmental power.
I've leaned more right, but still never really a Republican. I've voted for Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and independents, though never Green. I've had the vexing problem of agreeing with a position, yet turned off by the rhetoric and means.
I can't understand why Democrat voters aren't more upset about the Party switching to Kamala after not allowing a real primary against Biden. I can't understand how some persons can be so partisan that they can't just say, "Thanks, Republicans, for supporting Israel and taking action against campus anti-semitism".
I doubt I'll ever have a candidate I can get completely behind, so it's a matter of judging what issues are most important at this time, as well as taking into account the balance of power and what the future holds.
I voted Libertarian the last 3 Presidential elections, but I'll be voting for Trump this time around and hoping very much he wins.
Thank you Gemma, I agree on the primary it was a missed opportunity to probably unite the country around a real moderate. If the election were today, my heads in a similar spot.
The most important issue is neutralizing Iran. It affects all of the world and we need to stop Iran now or there will be a World War III and we will have more terrorism in our own land.
I agree. Iran is mere weeks away from being able to obtain nuclear weapons. It should never have been allowed to have gotten so close. It’s an utter failure of US foreign policy.
It does seem like there’s a lot at stake this election cycle. Pundits always say every election is the most important ever, but it’s the first time in my life it’s really felt that way.
I am a life long registered democrat now in my mid 60"s, but like you have supported democrat, republican, and independent candidates over the course of my voting life. Although I was raised in a nearly 100% democrat party bubble, I did have a lone republican grandmother that very vocally helped expose me to viewpoints that were different from the rest of my extended family. As someone I deeply loved and admired and with her lone voice and courage of convictions, I mostly credit her for leading me to primarily being a policy driven voter versus a party member voter. In present times, especially based upon the behavior of many of the institutions I at one time trusted implicitly, I also find myself feeling more politically unmoored. When Trump entered the political arena back in 2015 and especially after he actually won the election it became much harder to step back from all the over the top emotions and vitriol. It seems that behavior and dealing with an openly and unapologetically corrupted legacy media has made any ration thought or discussion a lost cause these past many years. I will be voting for Trump this year because the democrat party is one I no longer recognize and in almost everyway no longer aligns with any of my personal beliefs and the things I hold most dear. For example, as a woman that came of age in the 70's, I support common sense abortion, yet can not hold with abortion on demand (end of term) unless the life of the mother is at risk. And in fact I totally supported the abortion issue being passed on to the states as that is where I always believed it should have been in the first place. So for me abortion is not the end all be all that the democrat party wants to run on in lieu of much more important women's issues such as protection of Title IX and the attempts to erase biological women as a protected class. So in short, I support more of Trump's policies then Biden's and since Harris doesn't really seem to want to talk about anything but abortion or the fact she isn't Trump, I can only conclude that as she has made no effort to improve or change the direction we've been heading these past 3 years that she is good with the status quo and in fact may make it much worse. I just have a lot of concerns as to if this country as we now know it, can survive another 4 years of Biden policies and based upon a lot of these policies I am very concerned about what might happen with the integrity and makeup of the Supreme Court. As I agree with you that voting and carrying out our civic responsibilities is a privilege, I wish you all the best in wrestling with your own voting decision.
I am voting for Trump. I am not a fan of his; I don't particularly like him. He is frequently called a congenital liar, but Harris and the Democrats are worse liars and are hypocritical about their policies and propaganda. (Can you say "psychological projection"?) As you pointed out, personality is not a good basis for selecting a candidate to vote for. So I looked at policies, track records, and less tangible things.
Harris is not pro-Israel; Trump is. This is a big issue for me.
Harris is extremely soft on Iran (and Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis); Trump has demonstrated he will take a hard line with Iran. Iran supports Harris and wants to kill Trump - doesn't that tell you something? The Biden-Harris administration effectively funded October 7 and the conflicts that followed when they released funds to Iran.
Trump is responsible for the Abraham Accords - five nations normalized relations with Israel when he was President. He had set the stage for the Saudis and others to join. The Biden-Harris administration alienated the Saudis and have not signed on a single nation to the Abraham Accords in the last three and a half years.
Harris is soft on China; Trump is willing to use economic force to keep them in line. And Trump's reputation as an unpredictable and unconventional President works in his favor when dealing with China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran. If Harris is elected, say goodbye to Taiwan and their semiconductor industry - used in our computers, phones, cars, smart home devices, and military weaponry.
Harris effectively supports virtually open borders; Trump takes a hard line against illegal immigration, but might be open to simplifying and loosening rules regarding legal immigration if that would serve US interests.
Both candidates want to spend, spend, spend.
The Biden-Harris administration have tried to tell the country that they are not responsible for the 40 year high peek in inflation. They have tried to tell us that this inflationary cycle is over despite inflation still being over the Fed target of 2%. The economy under Trump, until the COVID 19 crisis, was booming and inflation was not an issue.
Harris has proposed national rent caps and price controls, which are constitutionally questionable and economically disastrous. Trump takes a more hands off approach to the economy (his tarrif proposal notwithstanding). Harris has no real world experience in economics, finance, high-stakes negotiation, or running any large organization, while Trump's resume is all about those things.
Harris has proposed the government seizing patents. She has previously suggested the government should nationalize healthcare, essentially driving health insurance providers out of business (or reducing them to Medicare supplements and advantage plans). Trump opposes this socialist agenda.
Trump has been found guilty of 34 felonies in a state court. The charges are based on paperwork discrepancies. The statute of limitations had run out on a misdemeanor charge, so it has to be made a felony. To be a felony, it must be shown to have been committed to cover up another felony. Trump was not charged with another felony, no other felony was specifically outlined in the charges, and the jury was instructed that they only had to believe another felony had been committed and that this act was used to cover up the unspecified other felony. Can you say "kangaroo court"?
I watched much of both conventions. The Republican convention featured many ordinary people who discussed their concerns before the whole nation. I lost track of how many said they had been Democrats or had voted for Biden, but were voting Republican this election. They even had union leaders speak, who were given complete freedom to speak their messages (one was a bit rough). The Republicans widened their tent. The Republican platform this year is the most moderate ever. The Democrat convention featured leaders, celebrities, and very wealthy individuals talking about shared sacrifice. They focused almost exclusively on personalities and nebulous promises without specific policies to back up anything. The funny thing is that both conventions were really about Trump.
Shall we talk about the Democrats' pushing wind and solar because climate change is "an existential crisis", while taking all other forms of energy, including nuclear, hydroelectric, and hydrogen (fuel cell and internal combustion) off the table?
Can we look at how the Biden-Harris administration has attempted to circumvent the First Amendment using third party organizations and regulatory power to silence their opponents or anyone questioning their policies?
Would it be helpful to list all of the groups and individuals under federal scrutiny for acts such as vocally opposing their local school board and individual school policies, speaking out against abortion, being a whistleblower regarding children receiving transgender treatments? Can we talk about the Democrats in California passing a law to prevent teachers from reporting a gender transition at school to the parents of the student? What about laws allowing children to receive transgender treatments without the consent or even the knowledge of their parents?
From the economy to border security, from support of our allies to forcefully opposing our enemies on the international stage, from protecting our constitutional rights to protecting our children, the Biden-Harris administration have failed us. Is there any reason to believe that Harris will be better than Biden? She was ranked as the most radical Senator while in the Senate.
She claims to have been the last one in the room when the disastrous and humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan was planned. Our allies were hung out to dry, left holding the bag, and our enemies assumed possession of the weapons we do conveniently left for them. And Harris claims Trump has damaged relations with our allies and our reputation internationally? How is she not responsible for that debacle? How can she effectively be our Commander In Chief when she believes our strength is in the diversity of our armed forces, not in our military might?
But if we elect Trump, he might say some stupid and hurtful things.
Hey steve, thank you for this detailed response. If the election were today, this is mostly how I feel as well. I feel Trump is much more moderate, and if he could get out of his own way, he’d probably be very popular in terms of his policies.
It’s easy to appear moderate if you abandon all your positions that you had only a few years ago, but that seems very disingenuous. I’m willing to hold out deciding until I see at least 1 debate though.
Your poll is missing “Undecided”. I live in Phoenix and I’m undecided. I could go into a long explanation as to why, but I don’t have the desire to go into the details. I will watch the debate and see what develops over the next 10 weeks. I will pick one of Trump or Harris. I will vote. I always have, since 1976.
Thank you Jason, I enjoyed the sense of community your Love Letter allowed me.
If I was an American I'd probably vote Trump - but not tell........
Here in New Zealand, I'm from a lifelong left family, and have always been liberal: voting either Labour or Greens; but October 7th and the worlds response to it, changed EVERything...
I'd been using they/them pronouns for a few years (which grew out of a lifetime of choosing to not presuppose behaviour onto anyone based on gender - a natural outgrowth for me as a Kindergarten Teacher, not wanting to coax children out of their own organic play.....) only gently coaxed by social contagion, into what felt natural to me.
But after 10/07/2023 former comrades of the wider left community - LGBTQIA+, feminist, Unionist and a lifetime of friends, literally cast me out for being Jewish and Zionist, and maintaining the belief that legacy media is not telling the news truthfully.....
And I find myself politically homeless.
(And proud of being born a woman, albeit, atypically)
You remind me of what's important: ..."Being politically homeless helps me think critically about issues instead of having knee jerk reactions to defend politicians in my tribe...."
Thank you for reading Maccabee Nation. Until next time!
I am happy to see that polling indicates we’ve built an ideologically diverse community that can disagree and have civil conversations grounded in reality. These types of spaces today are unfortunately increasingly rare.
I chose Trump because the Democrats are no longer an option for me.
The party of JFK has morphed into something closer to socialism. Democrats contain a large contingent of anti semites.
Democrats intentionally opened the border, and now insist on granting illegals voting rights.
Democrats tanked a good economy.
Democrats are anti Bill of Rights.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think those topics pretty closely mirror what it seems most Americans care about this election cycle.
I don“ t have much in common with Kamala Harris, but Trump is a proven horror, a criminal, something absolutely un-electable. His allegedly oh so great support for Israel is dishonest, unthoughtful and unsubstantial, it may lead to a catastrophe for Israel and the whole region. His mind is that of a totally un-educated toddler. It is unbelievsble that so many people are following a dangerous idiot over again. I would have voted Rep.s if they voted for Nikki Haley, but they“ re drunk and blind from Trump, and of destructive pure hate against everything presumably „progressive‘.
I appreciate your opinion. In terms of Israel, he has a record of clear policies including helping negotiate the Abraham accords, moving the us embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the gonna heights.
It’s hard for me to reconcile when people claim he’s anti Israel because I don’t feel like his record has been.
More recently, he’s been clear that he’s against the pro-Hamas protestors, and would deport the ones that are not US citizens. I agree with this, you should not be able to support groups the state department recognizes as terror orgs.
I do however find the widespread antisemitism on the Left disconcerting at best. Can you elaborate why you think he’d be bad for Israel and why Kamala would be good for Israel?
I did nowhere claim Trump is Anti-Israel or Harris would be good for Israel. She is not anti-jewish but has “to take hindsight” of the “progressive”/”anti-Western” Leftists. But USA just has to support Israel, that is sth. that also Harris can never betray or ignore, even if she ostensibly “admonishes” Israel. I only said Trumps “motives” are obviously shifty, it appears as schizophrenic when he claims to support the freedom fight of Israel including the vital and fundamental interest of “the West” against (Islam) Totalitarianism, but - different from Hailey - holds back supporting Ukraine or Taiwan according to “economic interests” or “sympathies” of his - to say the least - reactionary supporters for allegedly/so-called “traditional Christian values” of “Orthodox Christians” backing up Putin, who doesn´t hesitate to collaborate with the crudest and most brutal Islamic-orthodox criminals of Chechnya etc., of which Trump in the next sentence maintains they were his biggest enemies and their adlats have to be deported from USA- - these, expressed temperately, self-“contradictions” undoubtedly manage to keep up with all the hypocrisy and contradictions of left-wing “Hamas supporters”. - - It is blatantly obvious he is a dangerous, unreliable, reckless and ego-centered liar, who as you turn your back on him will despise everyone but himself and use everyone, including Israel. Netanyahu can certainly handle this, but most people are "overwhelmed" by it and it is an imposition on the world to allow someone like this thang to present himself as president.
He is no different from Putin or other dictators in his desire for total, unbridled power. It is completely incomprehensible how anyone could fail to see this. So the danger that Harris might bring with her, is nothing compared with the clearly utmost danger an egomaniac will include. - - I have the impression or feeling that the recipes that Harris might put forward, especially with regard to the economy - as is also evident from the rather clownish vice-presidential candidate - will be misguiding and will fail, and will then either bring the Republicans to power in four years, but with an acceptable candidate, or a Democrat who has more understanding of the economy and other essential realities, types which also exist among Democrats (Shapiro, Buttigieg, etc.).
As you stated, I am politically homeless. I do not recognize either party anymore. Since October 7th I have been reading the independent news journalists and especially those from Israel (Jody’s Hoffman the Future of Jewish) listen to many brilliant independent thinkers who are libertarian or Republican (the good fellows and Victor David Hanson among others) plus those on the left to make up our own minds. I care very much about Israel surviving this latest onslaught from Iran. I taught History when we could teach both sides. I marched for civil rights, women’s rights and against the Viet Nam war but I think right now, I will vote for Trump. This is completely against my friend’s group thinking. They have all been taken in by the false picture of Kamala. I cannot believe it! They are all bright, some are Ph D’s I do not get it?
Thank you for your post.
Thank you for sharing your opinion. October 7th irrevocably changed many peoples opinions and took an already polarized electorate and put us on what feels like separate planets almost.
I am touched reading your reply. I admire you for taking the stands you took during the civil rights movement and the difficult times during the Vietnam war. You were driven by your assessment of the situation and stood for your belief in what was right and good. I have fought in wars and I know it from a military man’s perspective. I am thankful that our military is controlled by our constitution and a civilian authority who serves as the commander in chief. We fight to defend our constitution not a party or a president or our favorite personality. We fight against enemies of our constitution.
In my view, American citizens should vote the same way we fight. Vote to defend the constitution. Doing so will ensure our freedom as well as our prosperity.
I share your amazement at how many brilliant people can be led down a primrose path to destruction. It never ceases to amaze me that our brightest minds can deceive themselves . The ordinary man does not have access to sufficient number of facts to cloud his judgment. To him, a thing is right or wrong with no “nuance” or justifications for haltering or hesitating to act. I will always stay with the common man who knows that the simple explanation is usually the correct one.
I admire your objectivity and your live for Israel which I share. We must allow and support Israel to defeat Hamas and Hezbollah.
Also 2 names in what I wrote were changed:
It is Joshua Hoffman in Israel who writes Future of Jewish, highly recommended.
Victor Davis Hanson, the Conservative brilliant thinker, also recommended, sometimes a bit grumpy.
I really enjoy Future of Jewish as well and think they put out great essays. Highly recommend, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I'm voting for Trump because he has a proven track record as a genuine Patriot, loyal to country and fellowman, with the business and political acumen to do the job right and do it well. Conversely, deliberately dismantling one's Border and blowing the dog whistle for mass invasion is treasonous, the disastrous consequences speaking for themselves for almost four years now. Anything else from the Left is moot.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Kinetic.
I think I would very much be in the progressive liberal camp especially with social justice issues if not for the rampant and unreasonable anti jew that democrats are indulging in. This forces me to consider the existential threat to life and limb that My family and I are exposed to for the first time since the holocaust. I actually went to the shooting range for the first time in my life and got a gun license. I cant think about beautiful liberal ideals when my very life is threatened. Therefore I must ask, what is best for the Jews, and then, once I feel safe along with my people I can indulge in all the other ideals. As of today, Trump is my choice. I did not vote for him before but have since lost my innocence and am a jew first and a liberal second.
It’s interesting that a lot of Jewish Democrats haven’t come around to some of these realization yet. I think once you articulate it then it becomes real and the reality is scary for many Jews who’d prefer to delude themselves in the hopes this season will pass. I don’t think Humpty Dumpty can be put back together again unfortunately.
I have come to the same conclusion and also trained and become a gun owner for the first time in my life.
I’m no fan of Trump ,but the current Democratic Party and Harris in particular, has me very concerned. Unfortunately the vast majority of liberal American Jews remain loyal to a Democratic Party that has abandoned them
I’m a big advocate for more Jewish Americans owning firearms. Check out my essay if you haven’t seen it yet on the topic entitled “Why most Jews should buy a gun” and also our interview with Stuart Wohl, a Jewish NYPD firearm and crowd control expert under our interviews.
enthusiastically support Trump during this election. I understand and greatly appreciate the views of those who do not like Trump’s personality. I also understand why those who oppose him on one or two specific issues that are very important to them. This naturally would, under normal circumstances be very good reasons to oppose any candidate.
Yet, allow me to suggest that we are not currently facing what can be justly considered “normal circumstances”.
For example. If everyone knew that we were choosing between having a communist dictatorship and renaming a free country would we vote for the dictatorship because the dictator shares our views on s few of our specific items that concern us? Or would we vote to for the candidate that will maintain our freedom even though we might have to wait a while to find a freedom loving candidate that agrees with our views?
I think if everyone looked closely they can see that we are actually choosing between a candidate that is opposed to American freedom and one who favors it.
Kamala Harris declaring that she wants to have price controls which has never worked is a indication of her Marxist ideology And her commitment to a “Mandatory Buy back” of weapons in an effort to deprive us of our 2Amendment rights is evidence of one who has no respect for our constitution. Her overt support for Hamas sympathizers among us is another red indication of her distain for our Allies and support for our enemies. Those sympathizers with Hamas are mostly Marxist ideologically. They have no real interest in the people of Palestine. Their interest is in destabilizing our country. She has also allowed the millions of illegal immigrants to pour into our country further destabilizing it and threatening the very lives of American citizens many who have been killed by criminals coming here illegally. She is also supportive of so called “gender affirming care” that is mutilating our young people and ruining their lives. None iof this has anything to do with her personality. It does have a lot to do with her concept of government control without the consent of the people!
One the other hand, Trump promotes freedom and has a proven record of support for our constitution and our first amendment rights of free speech. He worked hard to secure our borders. He also supported Israel and promoted peace in the region while simultaneously moving our embassy to Jerusalem which should have been do years ago but no one had the courage to do it. He also understands how to stabilize our currently unstable economy suffering from inflation. He definitely opposes price controls.
In my opinion, looking at both candidates objectively with no mention whatsoever of their personalities or the parties they represent one can see easily that Trump is for freedom from government dictatorship and Harris is for government control over our individual lives.
I do not expect everyone to be enthusiastic in support of one whose personality is objectionable to them. Yet, I would hope that they would be wise enough to at least grudgingly supporting one who will promote prosperity, Freedom, and save our youth from being mutilated by the handout butchery of that which is euphemistically called “gender affirming care” by media propagandist who lie To us because the hate this country because of their Marxist ideology.
This election is not about personalities or even your favorite issues that concern us but is a choice between prosperity and freedom or increase poverty, destabilization, rising inflation and eroding our freedoms. Donald Trump is the candidate that promotes prosperity, freedom and stability for America. Harris can only bring the opposite.
I am voting for Trump because, perhaps counterintuitively, Trump now represents the working man, the common man, the underdog, against the powerful bicoastal elites and against unchecked centralized governmental power.
I've leaned more right, but still never really a Republican. I've voted for Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and independents, though never Green. I've had the vexing problem of agreeing with a position, yet turned off by the rhetoric and means.
I can't understand why Democrat voters aren't more upset about the Party switching to Kamala after not allowing a real primary against Biden. I can't understand how some persons can be so partisan that they can't just say, "Thanks, Republicans, for supporting Israel and taking action against campus anti-semitism".
I doubt I'll ever have a candidate I can get completely behind, so it's a matter of judging what issues are most important at this time, as well as taking into account the balance of power and what the future holds.
I voted Libertarian the last 3 Presidential elections, but I'll be voting for Trump this time around and hoping very much he wins.
Thank you Gemma, I agree on the primary it was a missed opportunity to probably unite the country around a real moderate. If the election were today, my heads in a similar spot.
The most important issue is neutralizing Iran. It affects all of the world and we need to stop Iran now or there will be a World War III and we will have more terrorism in our own land.
I agree. Iran is mere weeks away from being able to obtain nuclear weapons. It should never have been allowed to have gotten so close. It’s an utter failure of US foreign policy.
Agreed. That is why, for me, the only choice is Trump. Not because I like him or all his policies. It is because he will take down Iran.
Not crazy about Trump but he is the best on offer and I pray he wins.
It does seem like there’s a lot at stake this election cycle. Pundits always say every election is the most important ever, but it’s the first time in my life it’s really felt that way.
I am a life long registered democrat now in my mid 60"s, but like you have supported democrat, republican, and independent candidates over the course of my voting life. Although I was raised in a nearly 100% democrat party bubble, I did have a lone republican grandmother that very vocally helped expose me to viewpoints that were different from the rest of my extended family. As someone I deeply loved and admired and with her lone voice and courage of convictions, I mostly credit her for leading me to primarily being a policy driven voter versus a party member voter. In present times, especially based upon the behavior of many of the institutions I at one time trusted implicitly, I also find myself feeling more politically unmoored. When Trump entered the political arena back in 2015 and especially after he actually won the election it became much harder to step back from all the over the top emotions and vitriol. It seems that behavior and dealing with an openly and unapologetically corrupted legacy media has made any ration thought or discussion a lost cause these past many years. I will be voting for Trump this year because the democrat party is one I no longer recognize and in almost everyway no longer aligns with any of my personal beliefs and the things I hold most dear. For example, as a woman that came of age in the 70's, I support common sense abortion, yet can not hold with abortion on demand (end of term) unless the life of the mother is at risk. And in fact I totally supported the abortion issue being passed on to the states as that is where I always believed it should have been in the first place. So for me abortion is not the end all be all that the democrat party wants to run on in lieu of much more important women's issues such as protection of Title IX and the attempts to erase biological women as a protected class. So in short, I support more of Trump's policies then Biden's and since Harris doesn't really seem to want to talk about anything but abortion or the fact she isn't Trump, I can only conclude that as she has made no effort to improve or change the direction we've been heading these past 3 years that she is good with the status quo and in fact may make it much worse. I just have a lot of concerns as to if this country as we now know it, can survive another 4 years of Biden policies and based upon a lot of these policies I am very concerned about what might happen with the integrity and makeup of the Supreme Court. As I agree with you that voting and carrying out our civic responsibilities is a privilege, I wish you all the best in wrestling with your own voting decision.
Thank you Vicki, I also think packing the Supreme Court would be a mistake. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I am voting for Trump. I am not a fan of his; I don't particularly like him. He is frequently called a congenital liar, but Harris and the Democrats are worse liars and are hypocritical about their policies and propaganda. (Can you say "psychological projection"?) As you pointed out, personality is not a good basis for selecting a candidate to vote for. So I looked at policies, track records, and less tangible things.
Harris is not pro-Israel; Trump is. This is a big issue for me.
Harris is extremely soft on Iran (and Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis); Trump has demonstrated he will take a hard line with Iran. Iran supports Harris and wants to kill Trump - doesn't that tell you something? The Biden-Harris administration effectively funded October 7 and the conflicts that followed when they released funds to Iran.
Trump is responsible for the Abraham Accords - five nations normalized relations with Israel when he was President. He had set the stage for the Saudis and others to join. The Biden-Harris administration alienated the Saudis and have not signed on a single nation to the Abraham Accords in the last three and a half years.
Harris is soft on China; Trump is willing to use economic force to keep them in line. And Trump's reputation as an unpredictable and unconventional President works in his favor when dealing with China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran. If Harris is elected, say goodbye to Taiwan and their semiconductor industry - used in our computers, phones, cars, smart home devices, and military weaponry.
Harris effectively supports virtually open borders; Trump takes a hard line against illegal immigration, but might be open to simplifying and loosening rules regarding legal immigration if that would serve US interests.
Both candidates want to spend, spend, spend.
The Biden-Harris administration have tried to tell the country that they are not responsible for the 40 year high peek in inflation. They have tried to tell us that this inflationary cycle is over despite inflation still being over the Fed target of 2%. The economy under Trump, until the COVID 19 crisis, was booming and inflation was not an issue.
Harris has proposed national rent caps and price controls, which are constitutionally questionable and economically disastrous. Trump takes a more hands off approach to the economy (his tarrif proposal notwithstanding). Harris has no real world experience in economics, finance, high-stakes negotiation, or running any large organization, while Trump's resume is all about those things.
Harris has proposed the government seizing patents. She has previously suggested the government should nationalize healthcare, essentially driving health insurance providers out of business (or reducing them to Medicare supplements and advantage plans). Trump opposes this socialist agenda.
Trump has been found guilty of 34 felonies in a state court. The charges are based on paperwork discrepancies. The statute of limitations had run out on a misdemeanor charge, so it has to be made a felony. To be a felony, it must be shown to have been committed to cover up another felony. Trump was not charged with another felony, no other felony was specifically outlined in the charges, and the jury was instructed that they only had to believe another felony had been committed and that this act was used to cover up the unspecified other felony. Can you say "kangaroo court"?
I watched much of both conventions. The Republican convention featured many ordinary people who discussed their concerns before the whole nation. I lost track of how many said they had been Democrats or had voted for Biden, but were voting Republican this election. They even had union leaders speak, who were given complete freedom to speak their messages (one was a bit rough). The Republicans widened their tent. The Republican platform this year is the most moderate ever. The Democrat convention featured leaders, celebrities, and very wealthy individuals talking about shared sacrifice. They focused almost exclusively on personalities and nebulous promises without specific policies to back up anything. The funny thing is that both conventions were really about Trump.
Shall we talk about the Democrats' pushing wind and solar because climate change is "an existential crisis", while taking all other forms of energy, including nuclear, hydroelectric, and hydrogen (fuel cell and internal combustion) off the table?
Can we look at how the Biden-Harris administration has attempted to circumvent the First Amendment using third party organizations and regulatory power to silence their opponents or anyone questioning their policies?
Would it be helpful to list all of the groups and individuals under federal scrutiny for acts such as vocally opposing their local school board and individual school policies, speaking out against abortion, being a whistleblower regarding children receiving transgender treatments? Can we talk about the Democrats in California passing a law to prevent teachers from reporting a gender transition at school to the parents of the student? What about laws allowing children to receive transgender treatments without the consent or even the knowledge of their parents?
From the economy to border security, from support of our allies to forcefully opposing our enemies on the international stage, from protecting our constitutional rights to protecting our children, the Biden-Harris administration have failed us. Is there any reason to believe that Harris will be better than Biden? She was ranked as the most radical Senator while in the Senate.
She claims to have been the last one in the room when the disastrous and humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan was planned. Our allies were hung out to dry, left holding the bag, and our enemies assumed possession of the weapons we do conveniently left for them. And Harris claims Trump has damaged relations with our allies and our reputation internationally? How is she not responsible for that debacle? How can she effectively be our Commander In Chief when she believes our strength is in the diversity of our armed forces, not in our military might?
But if we elect Trump, he might say some stupid and hurtful things.
I'm voting for Trump and I feel good about it.
Hey steve, thank you for this detailed response. If the election were today, this is mostly how I feel as well. I feel Trump is much more moderate, and if he could get out of his own way, he’d probably be very popular in terms of his policies.
It’s easy to appear moderate if you abandon all your positions that you had only a few years ago, but that seems very disingenuous. I’m willing to hold out deciding until I see at least 1 debate though.
Very well said!! I agree completely. I too am voting for Trump!
I choose Trump because the Harris/Waltz ticket is the most radically progressive ticket in American history…..and I believe they will march us right into authoritarianism. I wrote a paper regarding their campaign of joy: https://open.substack.com/pub/angelapvasquez/p/the-illusion-of-joy-and-the-dangers?r=3njf1u&utm_medium=ios
Thanks Angela for sharing your opinion.
Your poll is missing “Undecided”. I live in Phoenix and I’m undecided. I could go into a long explanation as to why, but I don’t have the desire to go into the details. I will watch the debate and see what develops over the next 10 weeks. I will pick one of Trump or Harris. I will vote. I always have, since 1976.
You’re right, I ran out of boxes :)
Thank you Jason, I enjoyed the sense of community your Love Letter allowed me.
If I was an American I'd probably vote Trump - but not tell........
Here in New Zealand, I'm from a lifelong left family, and have always been liberal: voting either Labour or Greens; but October 7th and the worlds response to it, changed EVERything...
I'd been using they/them pronouns for a few years (which grew out of a lifetime of choosing to not presuppose behaviour onto anyone based on gender - a natural outgrowth for me as a Kindergarten Teacher, not wanting to coax children out of their own organic play.....) only gently coaxed by social contagion, into what felt natural to me.
But after 10/07/2023 former comrades of the wider left community - LGBTQIA+, feminist, Unionist and a lifetime of friends, literally cast me out for being Jewish and Zionist, and maintaining the belief that legacy media is not telling the news truthfully.....
And I find myself politically homeless.
(And proud of being born a woman, albeit, atypically)
You remind me of what's important: ..."Being politically homeless helps me think critically about issues instead of having knee jerk reactions to defend politicians in my tribe...."
I am certainly on a steep learning curve.
Thank you Hans for sharing and for being a part of Maccabee Nation! One day I’d like to visit the shire from LOTR if it still exists in NZ.