Open Letter to the GOP

To: Chairperson of the RNC

Four years ago, I posted a blog requesting the GOP not to nominate Donald Trump. My cry in anguish fell on deaf ears. I really wish you had listened at that time and saved us the embarrassment of the last four years. Now, on the eve of the RNC, I am making a plea once again.

Here is a collage of reasons to be embarrassed of Donald Trump

A few weeks back, I started a collection of "Did he really say that?". This has grown week after week. The latest edition of this collection can be seen here.

Gerald Seib has eloquently written in the WSJ, how Trump has changed the Republicans. To quote Mr. Seib, "He turned Republicans away from four decades of Reagan-style, national greatness conservatism to a new gospel of populism and nationalism". As former President Barack Obama said in his speech at the DNC (from Philadelphia) on Aug 19th, Donald Trump has treated the White House like one more reality show.

I am not a "liberal lifer". If I voted in the Reagan-Mondale elections (in 1984), I would have voted for Reagan. Even in the Bush-Dukakis elections (in 1988), I would have voted for Bush. 

Allow me to spell out the specifics of why Trump should not be re-nominated:

• Russian collusion: Trump is caught up in the uncertainty of the Mueller investigation. The long-awaited report from the Senate Intelligence Committee contains dozens of new findings that appear to show more direct links between Trump associates and Russian intelligence
• Immigration:  Trump's stance on the border wall, child separation policies, and the Muslim ban –have drawn criticism and in some cases, been questioned by the courts
• Foreign Policy: Trump has cozied up to dictators in Russia and North Korea, he has pulled out of international agreements and dismissed our European allies
• Despicable record of arrests: In all, 14 Trump aides, donors and advisers have been indicted or imprisoned since the days when the first-time candidate promised that he would only hire "the best people." Senior members of Trump's campaign staff, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates; first national security adviser, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn; Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y and Former Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif; the list goes on and on ...

If you love our country, please do not nominate Donald Trump as the GOP candidate for the 2020 elections. Sen. Mitt Romney or Gov. John Kasich are far more worthy candidates. Trump is clearly the wrong choice for the American right.

Why you should vote for Obama

Note: Obama's winning in California is a foregone conclusion. California's 55 Electoral College votes belong to the incumbent. So my vote for the Presidential election is immaterial. The "swing" states (aka "Battleground States") of Ohio, Virginia, Florida, Colorado, Arizona and Wisconsin will determine the winner in this Election on Tuesday, November 6th. This post is intended for the voters in these States.

When Barack Obama and Mitt Romney squared up for the first Presidential debate on October 3rd, Obama had prepared based on the messages he had heard Romney mention in his campaign and in the Republican Primary. However, a completely different, free-swinging, conflicting, I'll-do-anything-to-get-your-vote Mitt Romney showed up and thrashed Barack Obama in the debate. Mitt Romney won on oratorical points and a stumbling, bumbling Barack Obama was left dumbfounded. Late night talk show hosts had a field day in describing Romney:

• Mitt Romney is not pro-life or pro-choice. He is multiple choice.
• Obama's speech was, "You can be whatever you want to be". Mitt Romney's was, "I can be whatever you want me to be."

For Barack Obama, this was serious business. He went back to the drawing board and coined up phrases like "Romnesia". In the second debate, on October 16th, Obama (perhaps sympathetically) was assisted by the moderator, Candy Crowley. It was deemed that Obama won that debate by a narrow margin. He had, however, asserted himself strongly as the commander-in-chief. Romney's position on women's rights, abortion, contraception, health services and equality came out in the open when he bumbled his way through a question from a female voter.

More jokes appeared on the Republican party's position on rape (click on the picture to the right to see it in full size). It became clear that under a Romney Presidency (when two new Supreme Court justices may get appointed), the rights of women to control their own medical care would be limited. No I am not spreading Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. I am helping the voters in the Battleground states read the tea leaves. Mitt Romney will run the Federal Government like a P&L center. Romney will not take into account human consequences. While that may be good for Corporate America, it not the tonic for the Federal Government. 

Obama may not not have accomplished everything we had hoped for. However, I believe that the nation is moving in the right direction. Besides, he is more likely to reach bi-partisan agreements in the second term since the Republicans have less of an incentive to "make sure that he failed". 

Here is my prediction for the 2012 elections (again, click on the picture to see it in full size): a narrow victory for Barack Obama: