No, I Will Not Go Gently

To those who say Donald Trump is our president I say this:

— over 2.7 million and counting with buyers regrets growing the ranks

— Russian intervention

— FBI intervention

— racism

— sexism

— self-confessed sexual predation

— attacks on religion

— fear mongering

— lies, lies and more lies.

There is of course, much more but this list is enough to ensure that I will never accept this man as my president. As the father of four daughters I owe it to them, if for no other reason, to resist and continue to do so as long as I am able.

Now here is a revelation: I am a Republican! I was born in 1950 but my first awareness of a president of the United States was of Eisenhower. Throughout my early years my mother, a tepid Republican and my father, a more amorphous influence but one who leaned towards Republicans, instilled in me at least in a nascent form, the ideals of the original Republicans: Lincoln, Roosevelt and of course, Eisenhower.

In the 1968 election, before I could vote, I worked for Nelson Rockefeller. When I first registered to vote I listed myself as a Republican.

For a time, seeing representatives of the Republican party such as Nixon and Reagan forced me to identify myself officially, as an Independent. Privately I said I was a “Bull Moose” hearkening back to the spin-off Progressive party that Teddy Roosevelt started in the 1912 election. However, living as I do in Arid-zona (sic) their insistence that one must have a major party affiliation to be able to vote in primary elections forced me to change back to being a registered Republican.

But I remain a Progressive, Bull Moose Republican; certainly a rare beast indeed! I like to say that you are more likely to see a real living fairy than you are a liberal Republican.

So it is with considerable disgust and embarrassment that I watch the fawning surrender of my party to a mockery of leadership and indeed humanity as a whole.

And to those who say, “Aw comon, give the guy a chance!” my response is, “I’d love to, if only he would give me one!” If only he’d stop acting like such a jerk! If only he’d stop attacking people for his own personal gain! If only he would stop turning every opportunity for him to speak into a commercial for Donald J. Trump!

If only he would demonstrate some modicum of interest in actually being the president of these UNITED States.

But he hasn’t, and he won’t, and most damning of all, I don’t believe he can.

And, as such, I cannot, nor will I ever, accept this person as my president.

As a country, we have been Un-Precedented.