I pretty much agree with all of that. And I would probably go further -- that most of us are so entrenched in our positions on the wisdom of voting for Trump that it is unlikely in the extreme that any votes are going to be swayed simply by you stating the reasons for your position. So I don't believe that you refusing to vote for Trump is "supporting" the Democrat. Heck, I suspect that outside of this board, you likely suggest that other people not vote for the Democrat either!
However, there are some GOP politicians and pundits outside this board who essentially are encouraging other Republicans not to vote for Trump. You can usually tell who they are because they spend the vast majority of their efforts attacking Trump rather than the Dems, despite the fact that they are very public leaders within the party. I remember we had that one article by some alleged conservative pinned who actually urged Republicans to elect Democrats to Congress. So I believe all those people can be fairly accused of "supporting" Democrats. As distinct from private citizens such as yourself who are simply explaining your consciences. I do think you're wrong not to support Trump (as I'm sure you think my position is as well), but that's very different from being immoral or supporting immorality. It's really just doing the political calculus and coming up with different answers.
I understand the distinction you're making between politicians and regular old people, and see your point on that, but I slightly disagree.
I don't believe that, if a person believes strongly about issues and character and disagrees with this, or any President, that they should be silenced. I don't believe that loyalty to the Party trumps adherence to values, and when this, or any President falls short of those values, I see no reason that any person, politician or not, should not be able to express that.
Obviously in politicians there are (always) ulterior motives, but I still don't believe that voicing strong disagreement with Trump means supporting Democrats.
(As to your suspicion about what I say outside this board, just yesterday on a Facebook discussion, I said those very words. Don't vote for a Democrat to punish the hapless, corrupt Republican party with its offensive "leader," Trump. It's voting for worst over worse. BAD idea).
@Maj. Bill Martin
