Oh, hello there, fellow Utah voter. I was hoping we could have a little chat.
You see, a poll released earlier this week of about 1,000 of you by Public Policy Voting has me, to put it bluntly, baffled. When asked who of the current presidential candidates you would vote for if the election were today, here’s how the numbers turned out:
Donald Trump: 39%
Hillary Clinton: 24%
Undecided: 14%
Gary Johnson: 12%
Evan McMullin: 9%
Darrell Castle (who?): 2%
Jill Stein: 1%
Perhaps even more telling is the question of who you would vote for if your only options were Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump:
Donald Trump: 53%
Hillary Clinton: 33%
Not Sure: 14%
Or who you would pick between Donald Trump and Barack Obama:
Donald Trump: 49%
Barack Obama: 39%
Not Sure:12%
SIGH.
Look, I get it. Utah is a red state. Utah has been a red state for as long as anyone alive can remember. Trust me, the child of two Democratic-leaning parents was painfully aware he was in the minority while in elementary school during the Lewinsky scandal. I recall back in 2012 when Utah was declared red before any votes for Mitt Romney had even come in.
But these poll numbers are pure madness. I mean, I do live in Utah, right? The state that prides itself on its commitment to family values, moral behavior, and, in the simplest of terms, being a kind, decent, respectful human being . . . that is the state I still live in, right? That’s the state that apparently wants to give its electoral votes to Donald Trump?
Hmmm, Donald Trump . . . let’s reminisce for a moment on a few of the greatest hits of his campaign so far, shall we? Keep in mind this is nowhere near an exhaustive list . . . we’d be here all night if I attempted that.
- The Wall – to date, he has not backed down on his plans to build a border wall, a project that, according to John Oliver, would conservatively cost $25 billion to build and another $25 billion to maintain over seven years. And somehow Mexico is going to pay for it. Never mind the fact that people can, you know, climb over walls and that most drug cartels use tunnels to cross the border.
- The Nuclear Weapons Comment: According to Joe Scarborough (who, in case you didn’t know, is a conservative, Republican news anchor), Trump asked a high ranking foreign policy expert three times why the U.S. doesn’t use its nuclear weaponry. Now, granted, that information is third-hand, but if there is even the slightest possibility this conversation actually happened, that alone should disqualify anyone.
- The Proposed Muslim Ban: In December 2015, Trump called for a complete ban of Muslim immigration to the United States. In July 2016, he expanded on that idea, suggesting that no one from any country affected by terrorism be allowed in the country. Trump has vacillated on this issue, but you would think it would give pause to a state whose history involves being driven out of where they wished to live because of their religious beliefs.
- Racist Comments About Mexican Immigrants: This one comes from the very first day of the nightmare that has been his campaign, when he claimed that the individuals who come to America from Mexico are not good people, that those who come are criminals, drug dealers, and rapists. Not only has this statement been shown as lacking any basis in fact, it might not be the most Christian statement ever made.
- Remember That Time He Mocked A Reporter With A Disability?
- He’s the Biggest Liar of All This Cycle’s Candidates: Pulitzer Prize-winning PolitiFact gives him the biggest “Pants on Fire” rating among all the GOP candidates and between him and Hillary Clinton by a wide margin in both cases. Yes, this includes the email scandal.
Let us also not forget everything we know about Trump from before he announced his run for president: the Trump University scandal, his four bankrupted companies, infidelity allegations (coupled by three separate marriages), his history of racist behavior (seriously, just Google “Is Donald Trump racist?”), and all of his failed business ventures from vodka to steak to a magazine to an airline.
If after taking all of that into consideration you still think your best course of action is to vote for Donald Trump in November, I have one question for you:
What the f— is wrong with you?
“But Blake!” I can hear you say. “I have to vote for Trump or else Hillary will win! And she’s so much worse!”
Okay, there are two facts you need to come to grips with right now: First, Hillary Clinton is already winning. According to the professional statisticians at fivethirtyeight.com, she currently sits somewhere in the 80 – 90% range of winning in November.
Now, you might say that’s all the more reason why you should vote for Trump, but here’s fact number two: Utah’s influence on the actual outcome of the presidential election is almost non-existent. We have six electoral votes. That’s just over 1% of all the electoral votes and just over 2% of the 270 votes needed to cinch the election.
The likelihood that the presidential election comes down to what Utah decides is beyond remote. Especially when you consider that Clinton is winning even with the assumption that Trump will take Utah.
So what does your vote really count for, Utah voter? You’re not in a position where you need to think about voting strategically since you’re not likely to become a tipping point in the election. And you don’t carry enough political weight to be on either Trump or Clinton’s radar beyond editorials to the Deseret News.
So what is your vote good for? Well, here’s the best part:
You get to vote entirely on pure and unadulterated principle. Without the burden of political consequences, you have the opportunity, with your vote, to simply declare who you believe should lead the country. You don’t have to worry about how your vote will affect the election as a whole, because let’s be honest, it’s highly unlikely that it will.
But, and here’s the part where I really need you to listen, even if your vote does next to nothing to affect who ends up in the White House, Utah’s vote can have an effect on the country’s political paradigm . . . but only if our electoral votes don’t go to Donald Trump.
How? The 2016 race is unparalleled in the unpopularity of the major candidates. The general consensus among most citizens, especially people I talk to in Utah, seems to be that our choice is to determine who of all our bad options is the least awful.
Do you want the establishment to know you’re not happy with that choice, Utah?
Do you want them to recognize how insane the entire circus has become?
You Republicans, do you want your party to shape up and fix the mess they’ve created?
Do you want to witness to the country that in Utah, principles come before politics?
That what is right is more important than what is popular?
Then your course of action should be clear: rock the establishment, shatter the status quo, and do not allow Utah to go red in November.
A state that has gone red for all but three elections (barring the FDR years) choosing a candidate other than the GOP nominee would send a clear message to both the Republican party and the Washington elite: enough is enough. Otherwise, you’re simply doing what everyone already expects you to do, and only further validating the insanity that is Donald Trump as the GOP candidate.
“But . . . but . . . Clinton!”
Relax. All I am asking is that instead of voting for Trump simply because you hate Clinton, you vote for who you actually think should be President of the United States. Several ways you can do this that have nothing to do with voting for Clinton include:
- voting for Gary Johnson
- voting for Evan McMullin
- writing in Mitt Romney
- writing in Bush, Cruz, Rubio, or another GOP candidate you preferred over Trump
- abstaining from the presidential vote (just don’t stay home on election day; we have some important down-ballot matters like the governor’s race and a Senate seat)
“But . . . but . . . a third-party vote is a wasted vote!”
Is it really? Let’s take the 39% from that poll that are voting for Trump and divide them into three equal groups: first, 13% being those who truly believe that Trump is the best man for the job . . . also known as the people who cause me to weep at night; then another 13% being those who don’t like Trump, but dislike all of the other candidates more; and one more 13% being those who really don’t like Trump but feel they have to vote for him in the misguided thought that doing so will somehow stop Clinton.
If we remove that last group of 13% from Trump, his number drops to 26%. Now add that 13% to Gary Johnson, throw in a few of the undecideds to his camp and congratulations, Utah . . . your electoral votes are going to the Libertarian party. A similar scenario could work for Evan McMullin (albeit with more of the undecideds), and even a write-in candidate could grab the votes if a movement for such a candidate gained any traction.
My point is, fellow voter, that if there is any state where the “third-party vote is a waste” argument does not hold water, it’s ours. And again, if Utah does go to a third party, it’s not going to be the nail in the coffin for Trump, and it’s not going to help sink Hillary.
And even if it doesn’t work and all third-party voting does is split enough of you so that Clinton takes Utah, again, that’s of very little consequence in the overall election scheme, and the intended message of being fed up with the status quo is still sent.
This election is a defining moment for you, Utah. You have a chance to show the country what really matters to you. Is it a political party? One that has elected an immoral, racist, fear-mongering demagogue to its helm? One that some of you have irrationally clung to for all these years solely, for the most part, because of its stance on abortion, LGBTQ rights, and drug legalization?
(You know what I find interesting about my Republican family and friends who actually understand why they’re Republicans and ascribe to more than its stance regarding those three issues? Not one of them plans to vote for Donald Trump, and some are considering leaving the party.)
Is the Republican Party so important to you, Utah, that you’ll cast your vote for a man who any decent, rational person has to conclude is not only inexperienced and unfit for the office, but also prejudiced, egocentric, contentious, impetuous, and erratic? Are you going to stick by a party that you feel best represents your morals, when that party has chosen a man to lead it who may be the very antithesis of those morals?
Or are you going to show the country that Utah is still a place where integrity and humanity matter? Where we don’t tolerate bullies, where we take the moral high ground, where a potential leader’s character is just as important to us as any political affiliation and experience? That we’re better than the madness of this election?
Will you show that we espouse the ideals of love and compassion for all people, and that we are a people of hope and faith, not a people of fear, anger, and hatred?
What’s it going to be, Utah voters?
– Blake L.
[Awkward Pause] 