A WORD ABOUT DONALD TRUMP

Hi everybody.

I just wanted to take a moment to clarify my position on Donald Trump, as well as Steve Green’s and Scott Ott’s.

We have all three been critical of Mr. Trump; sometimes deeply critical of him. Over the years the three of us have more or less settled into what we feel is the classic, small-government, pro-individual and pro-freedom philosophy that we call modern conservatism. Donald Trump shares some of these values and rejects others. None of us believe him to be a racist, a xenophobe, a misogynist or any of the other slanders leveled at him by the mainstream media. That said, we have seen on a number of occasions examples where Mr. Trump seemed more concerned about defending some small point of personal attack than hammering Hillary Clinton where she is vulnerable, and she is vulnerableeverywhere. Our criticisms of him and his campaign reflect a desire to learn from an examination of missed opportunities, and no team, or army, or cause, can be successful if they are not willing to examine themselves tirelessly and sometimes ruthlessly.

I say all of that simply to say this. I will be voting for Donald Trump. I am also encouraging others to vote for him, and my next Firewall will attempt to be the definitive argument for Trump and against Clinton. Steve Green will be voting for him as well.

Scott Ott has looked at the same evidence and arguments I have, and like many people I admire, he has decided not to support Mr. Trump. I disagree with his decision (and those of the other conservatives I deeply respect who have reached the same conclusion), but it is a principled one and a position which he and many others feel provide the best change for really restoring this country to the greatness we inherited. I do not know anyone more familiar with our founding principles – in fact, I do not know a better man – than Scott Ott, and I feel that our discussions have rationally and fairly examined the issues that divide the Republican party today.

Scott and Steve and I will all be friends, and all be conservatives, on the day after the election, and we hope that this friendship can and will demonstrate how people of good will can disagree over very important issues without severing those mystic chords of memory that have bound all of us together these past twelve years.

Reporting on polls, trends and all the rest is news, and we have and will covered those stories. But there are no polls, or anything for that matter, that will prevent me from voting for Donald Trump on November 8th, nor is there any way that I will not use my full powers to show others why I made that decision in the hope of getting them to agree with me.

It is the sad reality that the GOP is deeply – in fact, bitterly – divided right now, and we are doing our best to show that no matter what happens on November 8th, on November 9th there will be a mountain of work to do and we will have to pitch into that work not as adversaries, but as friends and allies.

As I mentioned, I will be making these arguments (and much more) in the nextFirewall segment. However, as members or as people who have signed up for the newsletter, I wanted to make clear my position personally and directly, and to thank you for your continued support.

Find five people to vote Republican and take them with you in three weeks!

Sincerely,

Bill Whittle