Like many of you I grew up during an era when people put country above party. The ‘60s were a time when we were asked to think about how we could contribute to making America stronger, better, fairer and more productive. President John F. Kennedy asked us to think about how we could help our country instead of how our country could help us individually. I know that sounds naïve now, but that is exactly what a thriving, functioning democracy requires.
My two decades in public office had its share of challenges, but it was a time when Republicans and Democrats actually tried to listen to each other, respect each other and solve problems together. That too, seems very old-fashioned given the times we live in. But I have faith in the American people to recognize that we are stronger when we find ways to work together, than to constantly bicker and blame each other.
That is one of the reasons that I feel so strongly that it would be a huge mistake for the United States to reelect Donald Trump. He has spent most of his life focused on himself, not on others. And he spent most of his time in public office and on the campaign trail finding ways to divide, as opposed to unite this country. That certainly plays in to the hands of other countries that want America to be weaker, not stronger, more divided, not more united.
I started making a list of all the reasons not to vote for Donald Trump — and there are more than I have space to list in this article — but I want to give you 10 of the many reasons that I urge you to go to the polls and put country above party labels.
1. He plans to use the U.S. military as his personal police squad, threatening violence against people who disagree with him.
2. He assaults women and either brags about it or claims it didn’t happen because “they were not his type.”
3. He has been convicted of 34 felonies.
4. He admires and supports dictators like Vladimir Putin.
5. He lies and fabricates in ways that put emergency responders at risk, like his attacks on those who are helping victims in North Carolina.
6. He uses vulgar language, totally inappropriate for the office he seeks.
7. He demonizes immigrants (even though two of his three wives were immigrants).
8. He demonstrates regularly that he is mentally and emotionally unstable, particularly under pressure.
9. He does not respect the rule of law or the U.S Constitution. His only law is what serves his personal self-interest.
10. He has successfully done what our enemies have been trying to do since the Cold War: deeply divided our nation in ways that have weakened us and dramatically reduced international respect for our democracy.
None of the reasons have anything to do with whether you are a Republican or a Democrat. They have everything to do with being a decent, respectful American, and maintaining a functional democratic system of government in the United States. I hope that is more important to you and to most Americans than the letter R or D behind a candidate’s name.
• Fran Ulmer is a former Juneau mayor and Alaska lieutenant governor.
