Why I will not vote for Donald Trump

I received today another reminder why I should vote for Donald Trump for President of the US.

I said NO!

See below, "The Supreme Court".

My Response:

Yes, I know.

I also know it isn't November. I know the R / D delegates haven't voted yet.

There is a chance that we could get a nominee for POTUS that won't be a bully and a dictator. There is a chance the other side won't pick a corrupt liberal. 

While the 12th Amendment nearly got rid of the Electoral College, it didn't entirely. One state (or more) going with a 3rd candidate could cause ‎neither R or D to get 270 electoral votes.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_College_(United_States)

We could, this year, get an L or C or an unaffiliated ‎POTUS if the R / D pick Trump/Clinton and neither party gets 270 Electoral Votes. 

You want me to vote for Trump because at one moment he might suggest a good SCOTUS nominee?

What will he suggest the next moment? What fundamental right will he decide is in his way? He can't even keep a promise to debate Bernie.

Trump has changed his mind on any issue because he has only one principle.

Power, Greed, Self.

Trump would bomb your house with no trial if he doesn't like your nephew. He doesn't believe in the 2nd Amendment unless it helps him that minute.

Good luck with that.

Fred

From the email sent to me:

The Supreme Court

             A lot of people have brought up the fact that they won't vote for Trump, IF he's the eventual nominee.
            
            I just want to put something in perspective.
            
            Justice Scalia's seat is vacant.  Ginsberg is 82 years old, Kennedy is 79,  Breyer is 77, and Thomas is 67.
            
            Nowadays, the data shows that the average age of a Supreme Court retirement or death occurs after 75.
            
            These are 5 vacancies that will likely come up over the next 4-8 years. The next President will have the power to potentially create a 7-2 Supreme Court skewed in their ideology.
            
            Think about that... 7-2.
            
            If the next President appoints 5 young justices, it will guarantee control of the Supreme Court for an entire generation, and 7-2 decisions will hold up much more over time than 5-4 decisions, which sure seemed to be lacking in mandate.
            
            Hillary has made it clear she will use the Supreme Court to go after the 2nd Amendment. She has literally said that the Supreme Court was wrong in its Heller decision, stating that the Court should overturn and remove the individual right to keep and bear arms. Period.
            
            Everyone saying that they won't vote for one candidate or the other if they are the GOP nominee, please realize this!
            
            If Hillary Clinton wins, and gets to make these appointments, you likely will never see another Conservative victory at the Supreme Court level, for the rest of your life!


More on the Electoral College:
If we don't get 270 votes, it goes to the US House of Representatives, one vote per state from the top 3. Who is the 3rd candidate going to be If they can't get a majority?  We may get the VP Candidate voted on from the US Senate.

While this was for a different purpose, it has some good info:
http://fredcox4utah.blogspot.com/2011/11/national-popular-vote-compact.html

What we have now with the 12th Amendment:

     The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate.

    The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted.

    The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.

    The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

From the 20th Amendment for the section crossed out above:
20th Amendment "Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified."

IF the House fails to pick as President and the Senate fails to pick a Vice President, then under:

3 USC 19: Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act
(a)(1) If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a President nor Vice President to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall, upon his resignation as Speaker and as Representative in Congress, act as President.

 Utah Candidates:

By the way, in Utah, someone can run as a write-in candidate for POTUS, but they must file by September 9th. It doesn't cost. You could, if you qualify.

To show up on the ballot as an unaffilated candidate for POTUS, The filing must be received by August 15th with $500 and 1000 signatures. You can't just write in anyone on your ballot and have it count.

From the Lt. Gov. 

Candidates who do not wish to affiliate with a ballot-approved political party may appear on the ballot by submitting a petition. Candidates for the office of President or US Senator must submit a petition with the signatures of at least 1,000 registered Utah voters. The names on the petition must be verified by the county clerk(s) as registered voters.

Presidential candidates (or a designated agent) must file the petition and a certificate of nomination between March 11, 2016 and 5pm on August 15, 2016. Unaffiliated candidates are required to pay the same filing fees as all other federal office candidates.

Write-in Candidates

To become a valid write-in candidate for a federal office, an individual must file a Declaration of Write-In Candidacy no later than 5pm on September 9, 2016. Individuals filing for President may have a designated agent file for them.

Federal office candidates must file the declaration in person with the Lt. Governor's Office. Write-in candidates must meet the qualifications required for the federal office they are seeking. Filing the Declaration of Write-In Candidacy means that write-in votes for the candidate will be counted. The candidate's name will not appear on the ballot.


Other Candidate Options:
If Austin Petersen wins at convention this weekend:
http://austinpetersen2016.com/

Also, don't forget we have a Utahn running for VP.
http://castle2016.com/

And don't forget those that have filed as write-in candidates:
https://elections.utah.gov/election-resources/2016-candidate-filings#Federal

Why vote for Jonathan Johnson for Utah Governor

I recently wrote that Governor Gary Herbert nice guy that has been in office too long. When is too long?

It varies. I was just fine with Ron Bigelow who was my Utah House Rep. for 16 years and supported him when he ran for 2 more. I didn't always agree with him, but he would listen, and I knew he worked hard and cared what I thought.

When I first met then Rep. Chris Cannon, I immediately thought he had been in Washington D.C. too long. He was only in office 6 years at the time. It took another 6 years before we replaced him with Jason Chaffetz.

Being in office too long is an attitude followed by actions. Sometimes it is too much pride. Sometimes it is winning at all costs. Sometimes it is the idea that the official thinks they know it all. The last one is hard to tell without talking to the person themselves. You can't learn that from others. I have spent many hours reading bills and one of the reasons I have had one of the best attendance records in the legislature is I know that I don't know it all. I want to hear why others agree or disagree with my initial take on a proposed bill or issue. After hearing arguments on both sides, I may decide I was wrong.

Have I voted for an incumbent that I have felt is in office too long? Yes, I have. I have to believe the person I am voting to replace them will be able to do the job and is a good choice, otherwise, why vote out someone that is doing the job?

So why is Jonathan Johnson a person that can do the job and is a good choice?

I have spent many years working with our Governor and only a couple of years being around Jonathan Johnson. I have been to Jonathan Johnson's home, many of his campaign events, and even to events where both Jonathan and our current Governor have spoken on the issues.

Jonathan Johnson is willing to learn. He is willing to hear both sides of an issues and try to find a win-win solution. He is willing to change his mind if the arguments are good enough, but has the backbone to stay firm when he still feels strongly on principle about an issue or action.

Do I agree with Jonathan Johnson 100%? No. Do I agree with Gary Herbert 100%? No.

I do agree with Jonathan Johnson most of the time. I strongly agree with him on several key issues. One is Utah getting away from the Federal feeding trough with the strings that come with the Federal money. We should decrease and not increase the Feds or the State controlling our lives.


Here are a few other items to consider.

http://hirejj.com/issues/

http://hirejj.com/about/

Remember to vote for Jonathan Johnson for Governor. The Primary Election ends June 28th.