I am a millennial Republican. I believe in free-market capitalism and limited but effective government. I believe the fundamental rights of free-speech and press are what give the American people the power to hold tyrannical government at bay, and I believe our second-amendment rights serve the purpose of defending our fundamental rights, our families, and our freedom at necessary cost. However, I also believe in partisanship. I believe that political compromise is necessary for all citizens to be fairly represented in the laws and practices of our government. I believe that thoughtfulness, hard work, cultural consideration and knowledgeable intentionality need to go into every Executive statement made, every memorandum issued and every policy goal implemented. I am a millennial Republican, but I cannot approve the methods and actions of President Donald Trump.
To this day, I praise myself for having enough discipline to stay active and vigilant during every cringe-worthy moment of the 2016 election season. From day one Donald Trump was never my favorite. His celebrity attitude and his harsh, abrasive and demeaning language proved to me that he was not a leader that would bring our country together in cooperation. With his trucker-style campaign hats and his speeches that spoke to the concerns of “the average working American” Trump managed to sweep victory away from the other more qualified Republican candidates.
Among my circle of politically engaged, millennial Republicans, Donald Trump always seemed like more of a circus side-ring that would eventually disappear once the presidential primaries were over. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Since the becoming the Republican nominee and then the president of the United States, Donald Trump has proved again and again that he is not a person Republicans should be proud of.
From the beginning, I’ve been surprised with how much Republican are willing to ignore in order to support Trump. No woman who calls herself a feminist and Republican should be in favor Trump. I ceased to be shocked at the derogatory remarks he made against women. I never doubted that he was a man who believed that a woman’s value was tied to how attractive they were. My skins still crawls at the recording between Trump and Billy Bush which essentially proves that he can justify sexual harassment and then turn around and label it “locker room talk”. Thanks President Trump, you’ve just validated every perverted and disgusting “locker room” conversation that feeds into the objectification of women and the growth of rape culture.
Somehow Republicans are still able to ignore this deplorable behavior, and when I mention I mention how anti-feminist he is I hear the excuse, “He’s never actually said that he’s not a feminist.” Well, I’ve never explicitly said that I wasn’t a desk lamp, but that doesn’t mean that I happen to be a desk lamp.
One of the first strikes he made in office came shortly after his inauguration ceremony. In the last two months, the President has signed 19 executive orders. I understand that every transition of power requires a few executive orders, however, this trend goes directly against what Republicans complained about with President Obama. Trump ran a campaign on “Making America Great Again” what he didn’t tell voters was that we was going to do it without acknowledging the roll of Congress or Representative Democracy. Strangely enough, Republicans haven’t put up as much of a fight as they honestly should be. “Well, every president signs executive orders”, or “Obama signed executive orders” have been some of the most classic excuses I hear from Republican on this issue. Honestly, for a group of people who were so completely done with Obama policies, I would think that you would expect more from your choice of candidate.
Hell or high water, he was definitely determined to get those orders passed. He pretty much needs to issue them executively due to the fact that they would never make it through the legislative process that includes heavy research, consideration and the votes of those that represent the people. Many immigration experts can easy point out the flaws in some of the most heavily despised orders, and clearly courts across the country are unafraid to lay their reputations on the line in order to oppose some of his less-than-constitutional orders.
The executive order: Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States (otherwise known as the “Muslim Ban”) was basically a disaster from day one. Simply put, this order embodies everything that was wrong with President Bush’s Patriot Act. Following a disaster with the magnitude of 9/11, I honestly believe that President bush did the best that he could; however, in retrospect Democrats and Republicans alike can see that the Patriot Act has obvious policy failures. For this reason, it surprises me that we haven’t learned from those failures and that we might so easily let those failures be replicated again.
I understand pack mentality. I understand rooting for the home team even when they suck. I even understand voting for President Trump in election 2016, but what I don’t understand is admitting that you expected more from the person who is leading our country. I don’t understand not being able to admit that President Trump is unqualified and that he is making mistakes. I don’t understand being not wanting to use the privilege that we have living in a free country to express our disappointment with our government. If no other Republicans will be honest and courageous and admit the failings of our party leader then I promise to do so. I am a Republican who cannot justify the actions of a belligerent president and stay silent. I will not make excuses on behalf of unrepentant, unqualified and unpartisan president.
