“Folks we are better than this”  Elijah Cummings favorite saying.   A new book will be coming out soon.  It may have been in preparation prior to his untimely passing.  He always had a very positive spirit.

A long list of well known Republicans will not vote for Trump,  Some will do it quietly, with no explicit endorsement of Biden.  See Forbes article at the bottom of this blog.    Many names are very familiar, such as John Bolton, Colin Powell, Jeb Bush and  George W. Bush, Chief of Staff, John Kelly recently stated he wished there were other choices.  Former Defense Department Secretary under Trump, General Mattis, has voiced opposition to Trump.   Other ex-Trump officials have spoken out against him as well, including Homeland Security advisor Tom Bossert, communications staffer Omarosa Manigault, National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security advisor John Bolton,

Former Homeland Security Department Chief of Staff Miles Taylor accused Trump of withholding disaster aid from blue states and claiming “magical authorities” above the law. Miles Taylor served at the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, including as chief of staff. As so many have reported, Donald Trump looks first as policy as a marketing scheme to get himself re-elected.  It is more of what would be popular among his base.  This comes from many lifelong Republicans including the former Director of the National Security Agency, John Bolton.  Bolton is not endorsing Biden, just not voting for Trump.

Among those voting for Biden are Bush administration Secretary of State Colin Powell  and  Carly Fiorina, a former Hewlett Packard CEO and GOP presidential candidate.  She was briefly the running mate of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), so her political views are similar to Ted Cruz,  She cannot support Trump.  Carly Fiorina stated,  “Character matters, as does leadership and [Trump] has neither.”

Policy can’t be what makes the president looks good on Fox News.   His acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention contained 20 lies or misleading statements.  I will post the list soon.

Excerpts from  Miles Taylor:

The president has tried to turn DHS, the nation’s largest law enforcement agency, into a tool used for his political benefit. He insisted on a near-total focus on issues that he said were central to his reelection — in particular building a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. Though he was often talked out of bad ideas at the last moment, the president would make obviously partisan requests of DHS, including when he told us to close the California-Mexico border during a March 28, 2019, Oval Office meeting — it would be better for him politically, he said, than closing long stretches of the Texas or Arizona border — or to “dump” illegal immigrants in Democratic-leaning sanctuary cities and states to overload their authorities, as he insisted on several times.

John Kasich ran for President as a Republican.  He will Biden a unifier.  He talked about restoring and rejuvenating America.

The Honorable John Kasich
Former Governor of Ohio
Democratic National Convention
Monday, August 17, 2020

America is at a crossroads. Sometimes elections represent a real choice, a choice we make as individuals and as a nation about which path we want to take when we’ve come to challenging times. America is at that crossroads today. The stakes in this election are greater than any in modern times.

Many of us have been deeply concerned about the current path we’ve been following for the past four years. It’s a path that’s led to division, dysfunction, irresponsibility, and growing vitriol between our citizens. Continuing to follow that path will have terrible consequences for America’s soul because we’re being taken down the wrong road by a president who has pitted one against the other. He’s unlike all of our best leaders before him, who worked to unite us, to bridge our differences, and lead us to a united America.

I’m a lifelong Republican, but that attachment holds second place to my responsibility to my country. That’s why I’ve chosen to appear at this convention. In normal times, something like this would probably never happen, but these are not normal times. I’m proud of my Republican heritage. It’s the party of Lincoln, who reflected its founding principles of unity and a higher purpose. But what I have witnessed these past four years belies those principles.

Many of us can’t imagine four more years going down this path, and that’s why I’m asking you to join with me in choosing a better way forward. I believe the best of America lies ahead, but only when we rediscover our shared belief in the United States of America, for our children’s future, which can be bright, hopeful, and inspired if we choose to make it so.

I’ve known Joe Biden for 30 years. I know his story of profound grief that has so deeply affected his character. I know Joe is a good man, a man of faith, a unifier, someone who understands the hopes and dreams of the common man and the common woman, a man who can help us to see the humanity in each other. He knows that the path to a restored and rejuvenated America lies in respect and unity and a common purpose for everyone.

Yes, there are areas where Joe and I absolutely disagree. But that’s OK because that’s America. Because whatever our differences, we respect one another as human beings, each of us searching for justice and for purpose.

We can all see what’s going on in our country today and all the questions that are facing us, and no one person or party has all the answers. But what we do know is that we can do better than.

August 17-20, 2020

____

Former cabinet officials have witnessed Trump’s craziness.   I hope to add to this blog.  Please see the Forbes article.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Links:

All The Republicans Who Have Endorsed Joe Biden For President