Clinton vs Trump – The Election IS Rigged

Dear Editor: 

Making an informed vote on Election Day in America is both a privilege and a responsibility that I am proud to say I take seriously. Unfortunately, I will not enjoy participating in next week’s election because we have been given the worst candidates ever for President of the United States. 

Hillary Clinton represents the worst of American politics. Since arriving on the national scene in 1993, she has proven herself to be power-hungry, unprincipled and corrupt. Her first action was to destroy the lives of non-partisan civil servants in the White House travel office so that her friends could benefit financially. Over the years, Mrs. Clinton and her allies mastered the art of backroom politics so well that they managed to win her the nomination without competition from a single significant Democratic challenger. (Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat.) 

Donald Trump, meanwhile, represents the worst of America. He is self-centered, unprincipled, greedy and ignorant. A non-Republican, he rose to the top of the Republican field because his money got him a seat at the table and many Republicans yearned for an outsider to buck the Washington oligarchy. 

How is it possible that in the country with more than 300 million citizens, Clinton and Trump are our only electable options? The system is rigged. Not in the “she is stealing it from me” sense that Trump is whining about. It’s more like they are stealing the republic from all of us. Who are “they?” They are the people, organizations and even foreign countries who have more free speech than us because they can use large amounts of money to influence the Democratic and Republican parties. They are also the political professionals who get rich by making presidential campaigns a battle of marketing plan rather than a battle of ideas. Collectively, they make it impossible for many of the best people in government and in civilian life to pursue a leadership role in public service. That’s how we end up with de Blasio vs. Weiner locally and Clinton vs. Trump nationally. 

So what are we to do on Election Day? I know a lot of people are going to hold their noses and vote for the lesser of two evils. (Indeed, 54 percent of Trump’s supporters are voting against Hillary rather than for Donald.) I won’t vote for either of them. I realize that protest votes have little impact but I’d rather avoid nausea and do my part to stop either Clinton or Trump having a mandate. Unless you are a Clinton die-hard, I would implore everyone DON’T vote for Hillary. She is going to win New York State anyway. A vote for her only increases her national total, giving Hillary a greater mandate to implement solutions that have been bought and paid for by special interests, including foreign governments. 

What are our other options? Gary Johnson seemed reasonable until he had to answer questions on foreign policy. In New York State, there are 32 Americans certified as write-in candidates. Many of them are not serious. I found one who has an intelligent platform (Lynn Kahn) so she is going to be my protest vote. Not voting is almost always a bad option so this is my path. 

I hope everyone will vote because that is the power We the People have. It is the best way citizens can make a statement. This year’s choices are horrible. I pray that whoever wins does right by our country and that we can find a way to fix the system. They aren’t going to do it. 

PAUL KING