16 Sep I Am Undecided
You do you. If your mind is made up to vote for Donald Trump, or, if you are sure that your vote is for Kamala Harris, either decision certainly is your prerogative. Nobody can stop you, which is one of the features of a truly great America. It is nobody’s business but yours.
While you are doing you, also feel free to vote early if you are convinced that your mind will not change over the intervening weeks, regardless of any “October surprise” that comes to light. If you know everything you need to know, advance voting is good insurance against illness, weather, or some other obstacle preventing you from getting to your local polling place on November 5.
Personally, I need to wait until I am sure how to cast my vote. In this post, I will explain why I remain undecided, and I will close today by asking for your advice.
What I Still Need to Know
I have explained repeatedly in this blog that I believe politicians should live out certain leadership principles. The seven leadership principles I espouse are honesty, respect, integrity, peace, service, dignity, and understanding. All of this also is spelled out on the Principle Based Politics website.
While looking for leaders who manifest those principles, I also want those who will operate our federal government based on principles of freedom and free enterprise, equality, religious freedom and separation, protecting the vulnerable, limited government, law and justice, and transparency.
More than two years ago, in 45 = 47? (April 26, 2022), I analyzed whether Donald Trump demonstrates the above principles. My conclusion then was that service might be one of his leadership principles, with his sometimes-demonstrated governmental principles being freedom and free enterprise, transparency, freedom of religion and separation of church and state, and limited government. I have not noticed any change in Mr. Trump since I wrote that. Moreover, even his helpful governing principles seem to be subordinate to his desire for self-promotion.
Therefore, I am not darkening Donald Trump’s oval barring some miraculous conversion – by him or me. I cannot spend nearly four years promoting a set of leadership principles and then disregard them in the privacy of my voting booth.
That leaves Kamala Harris, who I know somewhat less about. From what I have seen so far, she better exemplifies the leadership principles upon which I insist. Despite her opponents’ efforts to date, I have not ascertained in her a lack of honesty, dignity, understanding, or other character flaws. Ms. Harris adopting and changing policy positions for electoral advantage presents an integrity concern, no doubt, but I see both candidates sharing that defect.
It is on governing policy, however, that I have significant wariness about Vice President Harris. Limited federal government? No, this principle – one of great importance to me (and to the founders of our country) – seems to be the antithesis of modern Democratic governance and the Harris platform. Immense government, expanding government, and expensive government spending apparently take priority for her. Transparency? I don’t see much of that either. Freedom and free enterprise I do see prioritized for women who feel the need for an abortion and medical professionals who want to provide them, but not as much for everyone else. These are major concerns for me.
As to the principles of law and justice, equality, religious freedom and separation, and protecting the vulnerable, my perception so far is that Kamala Harris mostly shares my beliefs. The notable exception would relate to abortion. Ms. Harris clearly believes the pregnant woman is the only vulnerable person involved; whereas, I believe protecting the unborn is another proper factor for at least state governments to consider. I also think that the majority of Americans desire to balance the protection needs of both the woman and the fetus.
In summary, I want to understand better how Ms. Harris would strive to govern our country if she is elected. Specifically, I want to know how she envisions the role of the federal government that she wants to lead. I am not optimistic that she will satisfy my preferences for limited government, free enterprise, transparency, or federal protection of (and only of) the truly vulnerable.
Having said that, I want to vote for somebody. Somebody who will honor these principles. Somebody who at least will attempt to ease our national debt, fix Social Security and Medicare, enable our economy to thrive, and provide strong national and worldwide security.
Vote to Send a Message?
One option I am exploring is to vote for neither Harris nor Trump. My strategy would be to send a message to both parties that, if they want support from independent-minded, principled people like me, they need to nominate candidates accordingly. (I will, however, fill in the ovals of candidates for the other offices on my ballot, as I deem appropriate.)
Other than that, I am open to ideas from my readers. Please tell me in the comment section below who you think I should vote for, and why. I am going to make my own decision, but I would appreciate your advice just as you have been receptive of my thoughts since early 2021.
Written by Quentin R. Wittrock, founder of Principle Based Politics.
Look for his posts each week, as this blog will explore and promote the idea of principle in politics, both as to individual elected leaders and our federal government as an institution.
Principle Based Politics does not endorse or support any particular political candidate or party.
Robin Hanson
Posted at 11:39h, 17 SeptemberYou have hit the nail on the head. Same dilemma! Wish I had more for you to consider.
Brian Mundt
Posted at 12:06h, 17 SeptemberDo you want to be right or do you want to be effective?
Quentin
Posted at 12:12h, 17 SeptemberI’d be interested in knowing which would be which.
Gary Hammer
Posted at 12:56h, 17 SeptemberQuentin, I’m leaning towards the same thing—not voting for either to send a message. I was going to vote for Kennedy, but since he has dropped out, I can’t vote for him either (even though he will be on the Minnesota ballot. I’m looking for a president who wants to lead all of America and to do it humbly.
Kim Cosens
Posted at 12:58h, 17 SeptemberYour thoughts are spot on. I don’t respect either candidate. I will be a responsible citizen and vote however. I have wrestled with this for some time now and for me it comes down to the country as a whole and which direction it might go under each candidates direction.
When I review what the primary planks are in each party’s platform it becomes much easier for me. I can’t support many of the positions that the democrats espouse. While I really dislike Trump the Republican Party platforms more closely align with my values.
I’m choosing to look past the candidate and voting for the party that most closely matches my values. I’m not voting Trump, I’m voting republican this election.
paul Silseth
Posted at 15:00h, 17 SeptemberI appreciate your dilemma
I think much of Trump is exaggerated rhetoric. Not really what I want in a leader but our choice is slim to non-existent. I hope JD Vance brings some calm and direction to the ticket and administration.
On the other hand, we have the Harris WALZ ticket. Be it a lefty, a democrat, a radical left democrat or just a liberal. They have one thing in common. They are either a victim themselves, or can drum up victims, by the millions for every injustice America has ever foisted upon them. Look at the Student Loan Forgiveness plans they have, amongst too many other possibilities to mention here. A Harris WALZ administration will make sure that everyone of those are successful new laws and or policies. Do you understand the VP nominee? WALZ alone is a no vote even though he is just along for the ride, and what a ride that will be. Yes, I listen to FOX, but one need only to go to the MN state capital and get a list of WALZ accomplishments to consider him as to radical to be a leader. the democratic party that has taken science to say “it” is a clump of cells, and there are 79 or some such number of genders or sexes. A party that nominates the highest legal minds in the country for judgeships but they cannot articulate what a woman is. This is not the leadership a civilized society can exist in. And, all that happened while Joe was sleeping. What do we do When Harris and WALZ are awake and steering the ship. Trump will not get as much done as he says he will. He will get stopped by his own.
Harris WALZ will accomplish much because they have an out-of-control victim loaded following.
I will hold my nose wishing I had better choices. I will fill in the oval for Trump. Hoping. Hoping. Hoping for the best.
I cannot vote for a 3rd party to teach my party a lesson.
Do I wish we had a strong 3rd party? You bet I do. Just, not this time.
I am in a dilemma too.
Trudy Johnson
Posted at 15:59h, 17 SeptemberAt this point, I still plan to write in Nicki …. my heart won’t let me do anything else cz both options are SO wrong this time around. I know writing her in is technically “not voting”, however, I see it as the only thing to do with two such unpalatable choices. I will focus on the local vote and leave it at that.
Dawn Spinler
Posted at 16:21h, 17 SeptemberHold on to that ballot, Quentin. While I agree that Kamala Harris has not given clear indicators of how she falls on some very important issues, we have to remember that she joined this race just weeks ago, which is unprecedented. Many candidates have months, even years, to prepare information on their own positions, in her case, outside of her work as VP. I am interested to see whether and how she clarifies her own positions and plans with a little more time. She is still separating herself from the Biden/Harris era. I too, want to hear more from her.
Anonymous
Posted at 16:22h, 17 SeptemberOh, and love your picture!
DKnight
Posted at 16:55h, 17 SeptemberSo–Orange Man too bad to vote for. Well…Jefferson was bankrupt, planted false stories in newspapers about John Adams and took advantage of his slaves. Andrew Jackson treated the native Americans horribly and ignored rulings from the US Supreme Court. Wilson was a blatant racist who was basically dead and let his wife run the country for the last two years of his term. FDR put Japanese Americans in prison, sent Jewish refugees back to Germany and tried to pack the US Supreme Court–we passed a 2 term limit after FDR…Kennedy had the bay of pigs and hookers and cocaine in the White House…Johnson got us into the Viet Nam War by false pretenses….Nixon…yep–and Reagan had Iran Contra–and Obama had an incoming administration investigated for wrongful political reasons. Many other presidents had character deficiencies as well. Trump’s actions while in office were actually positive. We are not electing a saint. Trump is the only choice. If all of the hand-wringing about Trump stopped–he might win MN. It is policies folks. Good grief–put your emotions aside. Lastly, this narrative that Biden/Harris/Walz are better people than Trump is totally false–media driven nonsense. Biden has been lying about everything for 50 years–the dems terminated his first run for prez in the 1980s for lying and plagiarizing. Harris and Walz are fakes–which is the worse kind of political lying. Harris hid Biden’s dementia….and her policies are terrible. This is not a difficult decision. Good luck.
Darwin Wittrock
Posted at 18:05h, 17 SeptemberCome on Quentin. You can’t be voting for the felon over the prosecutor.
Quentin
Posted at 18:12h, 17 SeptemberNo intention of that, Darwin!
Steph Getty
Posted at 19:05h, 17 SeptemberMy belief is that voting for neither is dangerous. It gives up your sacred vote in this important election. I’ve seen one of these candidates in the oval office for 4 years and that was enough. There’s nothing I can hear or see in this campaign that will change my mind. I remember J6. Living in Georgia I’ve heard the “just give me 11,789 votes Brad” recording too many times. And having seen who the architects are of Project 2025, I have an idea what the next 4 years will be like.
Sandra Madsen
Posted at 19:58h, 17 SeptemberI share your dilemma, and would like to vote none of the above for President. But I see another principle at work. I believe that the GOP needs to be saved and resurrected, standing for the principles that were associated with this party. The only way to save the GOP, to me, is to dump Trump for good.
Keith Wittrock
Posted at 21:29h, 17 SeptemberI too believe it’s important to be informed and vote according to your conscience during elections. Perhaps this election cycle will introduce more alternatives in the future. There are two polar opposite representing the extreme of both parties. Maybe enough people will find the third-party candidate in the “middle.” Not saying it is likely, but it could strengthen our nation. There are a vast number contemplating your very thoughts. If the enough votes go to that candidate, outside the two main political parties, it could help that third party reach the 5% threshold needed to receive funding. When only two parties dominate, it becomes too easy for them to control those they serve. By expanding funding to additional parties, we can dilute the power of the two main parties. This could potentially set off a chain reaction leading to more parties, making it easier to vote according to your conscience by providing more choices on the ballot in the future. Given history of the two main candidates, one can give a hope and a prayer it happens.
Anonymous
Posted at 22:07h, 17 SeptemberLiving only a few miles from the border in in southern New Mexico, will frame my decision on how I will vote in November. In the past several months I’ve had to write some horrific stories about migrants. In Catron County alone, one day they arrested 69 migrants who were racing through the back roads of New Mexico during daylight hours at speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour while smuggling in several hundred pounds fentanyl. New Mexico illegal immigration numbers totaled about 44,500 between October 2023 and February 2024. Numbers nearly hit 11,600 in February 2024, an increase of more than 3,000 from January and the highest month since October 2023. In March this past year was the most alarming story published was the Gadsden, NM, Superintendent reporting the incidents occurred at Santa Teresa Middle School within a week of one another. The first incident happened on March 20 when more than two dozen migrants broke into an elementary school destorying, and one a week later, prompting the campus to enter “secure mode” for a 20-minute period and resulting in the arrest of six migrants by federal Border Patrol agents. Living near the border is dangerous.
Sam Thornton
Posted at 23:21h, 17 SeptemberI don’t think internet comments are conducive to a meaningful debate, but I’ll throw in my two cents. I suspect that I disagree with you on nearly every substantive policy issue. I believe in progressive policies and that the apparatus of the government can be used to improve peoples’ lives. I also believe that Donald Trump tried to overthrow the government once and will not commit to the peaceful transfer of power, but so much has already been said about that already that everyone who finds those points relevant to their vote has already made their decision. I greatly dislike Kamala Harris. Like you, I don’t believe she has been consistent in her policy beliefs, but unlike you I think nearly all of her rhetoric during the 2024 campaign has been aimed at pleasing conservatives who might be swayed against voting for Trump. In other words, I think she’s a typical politician. She won’t change anything substantive and will maintain the status quo. In my eyes, that’s preferable to the chaos Donald Trump will bring with a second term, even if I’m still very likely to be unhappy with a Harris presidency. Also if policy is your qualm with Harris, it should be taken into consideration that she is very likely to have a Republican Senate, which would make it difficult to meaningfully accomplish her agenda.
Paul Silseth
Posted at 00:33h, 18 SeptemberWell we have all been duped. I have read the comments over and over. A guy who writes a very good blog seems to have it pretty together in principle based politics this late in the game he hasn’t decided?
Really? He’s for sure not voting the felon.
The prosecutor is so much better, why, she is a lawyer and you don’t get any better than that. Well he’s a lawyer and it looks like they stick together. What percentage of Congress are lawyers. I think I understand now how we got in the mess we are in.
The felon had very little to do with it if you look at the big picture.
Quentin
Posted at 03:50h, 18 SeptemberHi again Paul — The option I currently favor is not to vote for either Trump or Harris. Her being a lawyer and him being a businessman have little to do with it, as I like both.
Gary Russell
Posted at 14:08h, 18 SeptemberAs I read the post and all the comments, I couldn’t help feeling impressed with the intelligence and conviction that you all express with your thoughts. A small group, of course, but representative of much of America. We don’t like our current choices but then, I heard this also back in 1972 which was my first election. The “lesser of two evils” is what we hear a lot of every 4 years which is really an unfortunate statement pertaining to our elected leaders.
I have listened carefully to both the Trump and Harris discussions. I view it as a “message vs. messenger” dilemma for many people. For those who say this is “emotional”, possibly it is but with the visibility and importance of the US president, it matters. The world watches and so do our kids. It’s more than emotion; it’s part of the job responsibilities. CEOs who cannot hold a leadership team together are usually fired by the Boards. In this case, the US voters are the Board.
Regarding a third option, one wonders if we can ever find a way out of the two-party dominant system. For sure we make this really difficult – both from within the parties and also the media. That said, we have that option and that voice. Easy for me to say, I live in Calif which is always Blue. So it’s easier for me to take that stand but if enough of us do it, we might just be able to inch our way out of the two-party situation. I wish everyone well with “the dilemma”.
Connie Schlundt
Posted at 00:34h, 19 SeptemberI appreciate your analytical approach to this, Quentin. But as Kim says above, when I look at platforms, it becomes easy for me. I have to vote the platform that aligns with my values. I prize smaller government, freer enterprise, and more individual freedom. And while I believe in a strong safety net, I believe these are the guard rails that will result in greater prosperity for more people.
This shouldn’t a popularity or acting or beauty contest. But unfortunately I think for many voters it is.
I don’t think anyone is going to get a “message” if you don’t vote or vote for a throwaway candidate–seems like shirking.