My children, I want you to feel free and comfortable to vote for whomever you’d like. I’m your dad (or mom) and will love you to the end of time, independent of how we differ on issues of the day. You will always have issues that you prioritize as important, while others will seem meaningless. As you grow, you’ll see some become more important than before, and vice versa. I saw that as I’ve grown and evolved in my perspective of life and the human condition (religion, sociology, patterns over history and time, etc.).

That said, here’s what’s dictating my decision on who to vote for the president in 2024, and you may want to consider them before you cast your vote.

First, I recognize and acknowledge the following:

Whoever is voted in as president will nominate or appoint federal judges, a Speaker of the House, Supreme Court justices, an Attorney General, U.S. Marshalls, a Chief of Staff, Secretaries Of State, Defense, Education, Treasury, Homeland Security, Transportation, Environment Protection Agency, Labor, Energy, Commerce, and Transportation, and the heads of dozens of commissions. Almost all of these people will reflect a set of values that, more often than not, mirror those of the president who appoints them.

Image by AI.

In addition, today, the president is just one piece of a large party machinery, as is every one of the nominees or appointees listed above. That means that, like it or not, I’m voting for a party. With that in mind, I would like to see in the White House:

A party that appreciates the Constitution and values what it has given the USA.

A party that supports continuing to use the Electoral College for presidential elections.

A party that is suspicious of the traditional mainstream media.

A party that understands the importance of the filibuster and has no plans to eliminate it.

A party committed to checks and balances in the government (not packing the courts when it can’t get support in Congress).

A Party that recognizes the DEI programs do far more harm than good.

A party that abhors political correctness and wokeness.

A party that supports vouchers for public education and school choice.

A party that is not only okay with gun ownership but that understands the Second Amendment’s importance.

A party that recognizes that oil is still the most efficient, cost-effective, and practical energy source.

A party that recognizes that there are two sexes, men and women, period.

A party that understands that “equality” means equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome.

A party that emphasizes that there is only one race (human) and that the human race is divided in only two ways: the decent and the indecent.

A party that does its best to strive for a color-blind society.

A party that supports the police unequivocally.

A party that supports the military unequivocally.

A party that speaks in positive terms about America and its history.

A party that recognizes that the climate may be changing but that this is a natural process requiring human adaption because control is impossible.

A party that recognizes that the Green New Deal would be catastrophic to our economy and do little to alter a change in the climate.

A party that is sympathetic to and supportive of the values of a Judeo-Christian society.

A party that recognizes that a free market, capitalist-run economy will be the fairest and most practical way to lift the lower class out of poverty.

A party that recognizes that the majority celebrate Christmas and encourages saying “Merry Christmas,” not “Happy Holidays.”

A party that says, “Stand for the National anthem; it’s the right thing to do.”

A party that understands evil, which we see in radical Islam, communism, totalitarian impulses, etc., and believes evil should be fought, not appeased.

A party that understands that a border is important and encourages legal migration while discouraging illegal migration.

A party that encourages assimilation to become an American, for it’s a far more productive society to have a common ground than celebrate differences.

A party that rewards and encourages a meritocracy.

A party that sees identity politics as harmful to both the benefits of assimilation and a merit-based system.

A Party that lives by the motto, “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

A party that recognizes that a government-run healthcare industry will inevitably increase bureaucracy, inefficiency, and costs while decreasing quality healthcare.

A party that is less likely to close schools because it fears COVID or the next new hysteria or health scare de jour.

A party that is less likely to force people to cover their faces in public.

A party that is more likely to understand the moral issues with abortion and accept some restrictions.

A party that is far less likely to use its government agencies under its control to spy on opponents and clamp down on free speech.

A party that understands that Hate Speech is Free Speech.

A party that will not mandate electric cars by an arbitrary date, even as it encourages private development of renewable energies.

A party that understands Israel is the good guy in the Middle East.

A party that favors the death penalty, not because it’s a deterrent, but because it’s justice.

A party that opposes trans athletes participating in women’s sports.

A party that finds it repulsive and evil to allow minors to undergo medical “gender-affirming” procedures.

A party that is suspicious of “anti-racist” programs and seminars.

A party that is far less likely us pronouns (he/him, she/her) in written correspondence.

A party that is friend, not foe, to the business community.

A party that recognizes the metaphor, “There is no such thing as a free lunch”.

A party that obligates students who take out government loans to pay them back (sorry, kids!).

Young people may ask: “But what about Trump? We’ve been told he’s thin-skinned, immature, impulsive, vindictive, a liar, a cheat, a dictator, and a threat to democracy! He is evil!”

To that, the response is that he’s not evil, although those other descriptions may apply from time to time. Most importantly, they don’t concern me enough to override all the other points mentioned above. And he’s most certainly not a threat to democracy. The brilliance and greatness of the United States of America is that the checks and balances our Founders placed in the Constitution will protect our country. One way or another, the USA will march on.

Love you! Dad and/or Mom