WHY I SAID “CALF ROPE!” AND VOTED AGAINST TRUMP –AND WILL AGAIN!

As a boy growing up in Louisiana, I was taught to scream “calf rope” when I was in a wrestling match and had had enough. (Some persons who read earlier drafts of this said they were taught to say “uncle.”)

I have voted for president over 15 times. I have voted for Republicans, Democrats, and an Independent. But even before the Covid-19 pandemic I never dreamed that what we experienced with Trump could ever happen. So, in 2020, I said “ enough” and voted against someone:

1. who lied more than anyone I have ever known. That’s right — anyone!

2. who rarely thought before he spoke — or tweeted!

3. who reminded me of a spoiled middle school child.

4. who constantly contradicted himself, sometimes within hours!

5. who seemed to think the citizens of this country didn’t really care o understand how our national government is supposed to work.

6. who thought he could run the best and largest and longest-running democracy in the world like he had run a family business.

7. who confused a 77,000 vote victory in three states and a vote by 27% of the eligible voters as a mandate to do as he wished.

8. whose short attention span prevented his reading even very short position papers or listening to well-prepared presentations by his own experts.

9. who would say or do virtually anything to get attention.

10. who never listened.

11. whose every action showed that he had no understanding of, or appreciation for, the everyday lives and concerns of low or middle-income people.

12. who clearly cared only about what was best for him — not what was best for the country.

13. who favored “winning’ over everything else.

14. who lacked the two major prerequisites needed to be a leader — the ability to “inspire” and the ability to develop trust.

15. who promised one thing then did another — without explaining why he changed.

16. who failed to attract people to serve in key leadership positions in his administration who could gain Senate approval.

17. who was mean-spirited.

18. who was a poor role model for our children.

19. who never admitted to making a mistake and therefore was incapable of learning from his mistakes.

20. who believed in and followed a boss-follower approach instead of a leader-team approach.

21. who expected those in his administration to place loyalty to him over loyalty to their oath of office, the country, or their constituents.

22. who demanded loyalty from those who worked for him- — defined by him to mean unquestioned agreement-regardless of what he said or asked them to do.

23. who showed no loyalty to those who worked for him.

24. who showed no awareness or appreciation for the norms that had guided presidential behavior for years.

25. who never hesitated to take credit for things his predecessors did –and criticized his predecessors for events and actions they had no role in causing.

26. whose actions and words embarrassed us around the world.

27. who relied on his position of power to get things done rather than the logic of his arguments.

28. who did not have a pet.

29. who did not wear well.

30. who divided families, couples, neighbors, churches, workgroups, and the country like no other president has ever done — and didn’t seem to care!

31. who exhibited all the behaviors associated with being a racist.

32. who was a classic authoritarian.

33. who met all the criteria for someone diagnosed as having a malignant Narcissistic personality disorder.

34. who blamed others when things went wrong — even if the fault was his.

35. who name- called those who disagreed with or challenged him.

36. who spent too much time watching TV or playing golf.

37. whose minions, to please him, changed policies or regulations or misrepresented facts without concern for the negative effects their acts would have on the very people who voted for him.

38. who caused competent, experienced public servants throughout government to retire or quit their jobs and then either did not fill their position or replaced them with persons who would not have been considered for their job under any previous administration.

39. whose spouse never created a recognizable role as First Lady.

40. who believed he could lead this country while ignoring the 56% of voters who voted for someone else and the 44% of eligible voters who did not vote.

41. whose past sexual behavior resembled that of an alley cat.

42. who did not respect women.

43. who made statements about major policy issues without really understanding the short or long-term implications of what he was saying because he would not consult persons with proven expertise.

44. who used his position of power in ways misused by only one former president (Nixon.)

45. who used his position to enrich himself, his business, and his wealthy friends.

46. who had no knowledge or respect for what it meant to be “presidential.”

47. who alienated countries who have been our long-term friends but cozied up to leaders of authoritarian dictatorships.

48. who was incapable of feeling empathy for others.

49. whose actions and words indicated that he believes everyone thinks as he does.

50. whose tweets contained embarrassing errors in spelling and capitalization.

51. who clearly had no knowledge of basic management principles or effective leadership practices.

52. whose spoken words on TV or written tweets provided unlimited fodder for critics and late-night comedians resulting in a loss of respect for the presidency.

53. whose performance as president during the corona pandemic showed us and the world that his election was a mistake.

54. who was unwilling to change.

The last item was the final straw. Given my dissatisfaction with the other 53 items, I was left with no choice but to vote for his opponent.

As I write this, I know there will be people who disagree with some of the items on my list, some who will disagree with all of them, and some who will want to add other items. That is to be expected. As for me — “CALF ROPE!”