Speaker Ryan, You Almost Had Me!

My heart sank last week when I heard that you had succumbed to the mob mentality and ended up supporting Donald Trump for President.  What disappointed me most Speaker Ryan, was I had listened to everything you had been telling the American people over the last few months, I heard your words:

“America can do better…” ; “Politics should not divide people, but unify us…”; “politicians should say, “here are my principles, here’s my solution...in a way that is inclusive….”

These words had meaning, they had substance, they had passion….and yet, they were empty. Empty as the pit in my stomach, when I heard you endorsed Donald Trump.

You see Speaker Ryan? You Almost Had Me.

I had grown up a Republican.  I worked as a volunteer on President Reagan’s campaign before I could even vote. I met him, I shook his hand, I spoke with him, and I was proud to be a Young Republican. I firmly believed the founding principle of the Republican platform; “Government should do for the people, only what the people cannot do for themselves”….I still do believe that. I believed we could debate what that was, and hold our own.  But somewhere along the way, the GOP lost me.  They lost me when they started invading our privacy.  They lost me when they no longer cared about the individual, but bowed to the interest of the corporate giants that the people could not combat on their own. They lost me when they became the party of disunity.

But you Speaker Ryan, you almost brought me back.  I believed you when you said those words. I felt like you could portray the inclusiveness and the interests of everybody.  I admired you for standing up against the horde, and sticking to your principles.  The principles that didn’t accept bigotry, racism, anger, misogyny, sexism, totalitarianism, and separatism. I thought that despite what mistake was made with the selection of the Republican nominee, the principles could prevail down ballot.  Now I know it was all just hot air.  

You simply cannot have those principles you mentioned, if you consider Donald Trump as a viable candidate for the President of this country. You cannot claim to be a man of principle if you cast your ballot for him.  You cannot be a person of integrity the moment you say you support Donald Trump, even if you, at the same time, say you don’t support some of the things he stands for.

What happened to those principles? Are they simply being put aside for the time being? Or did they not exist at all?  Are you the same fraud politician that the American people have come to tire of? Do you put party above country? Above the American People?  If so, how can you wake up each day and look in the mirror?

Before last week, when you refused to endorse Donald Trump, You said you weren’t there, that things had to change. That is what I admired so much about you speaker Ryan...the fact that you were holding onto your integrity...Like George H.W. Bush, Like George W. Bush, Like Jeb Bush, like Mitt Romney.

I don’t agree with many of your policies, but I believed you when you said that we want the same thing, let’s simply debate on how to get there.  Do you really believe that Donald Trump wants those same things?  Of course he doesn’t.  All he cares about is his brand, and holding that office...that brass ring of being the President of The United States.

It doesn’t matter that anything he proposes now, can be hand-cuffed by the House and/or Senate. Thank god we have checks and balances.  But Donald Trump has ALREADY done so much damage to our country; to our security; to our welfare, that I would be so bold as to say that he has, in fact, endangered our country and our safety with his words. To the point that he has aided our enemy. And now you, Speaker of The House, holder of the Republican Flag, now you are complicit in this endangerment. For what? For the 9th Justice pick?  You give up all that is dear to you, you give up the safety our our country, you give up your integrity, for that? Shame on you!

What do you tell your children Speaker Ryan?  Do you tell them that while Donald Trump says bad things, that he promotes hatred, bigotry, separatism, prejudice, that he really isn’t all that bad and daddy is going to vote for him?  Do you lie to them too?

Your intelligence must tell you that populism, tyranny, mob mentality is not what our founding fathers meant for this country.  You must know the history of our country, and how our founding fathers had put in place, a system in which we could operate in a Representative Democracy without fear of such a man as Donald Trump grabbing the highest office of the nation. And you plowed right through that. You allowed 200 plus years of mostly success to be vanquished.

Alexander Hamilton, of whom I am sure you have read, said, “If we must have an enemy at the head of Government, let it be one whom we can oppose, and for whom we are not responsible, who will not involve our party in the disgrace of his foolish and bad measures.” Clearly you don’t hold those words to be true. Your party, and now you, are "involved in the disgrace of his foolish and bad measures.”

This simple act of yours, this one thing you did last week, endorsing Donald Trump, solidified my solidarity against the Republican party.  That is too bad Speaker Ryan.......for You Almost Had Me.