Thread by @HeathMayo

This conservative can say with complete certainty that I cannot and will not vote for Donald Trump in 2020. Here’s why:

First, over the course of his term, Trump has shown himself utterly unfit for the office, mostly because he is a pathological liar. The truth does not bind him & he routinely ignores facts.

This is a plainly dangerous quality for a President to have.

Second, Trump obstructed justice. The Mueller Report lays out the damning facts in detail & Trump hasn’t once shown regret for his actions.

Among other things, he suggested McGahn should lie to investigators. That’s not something conservatives should accept.

Third, Trump routinely ignores the Constitution and the rule of law. Unable to get Congress to pass his agenda, he increasingly resorts to emergency executive orders without any Congressional input.

This erodes the separation of powers that conservatives supposedly champion.

Fourth, Trump is a big spender and a poor steward of the public fisc. He has run some of the largest annual deficits in our history and has inflated the national debt to an all-time high.

Turning a blind eye to this makes a mockery of fiscal conservatism.

Fifth, Trump disparages and denigrates classes of Americans. He once suggested an Article III judge lacked integrity because of his race. He also mocked the disability of a reporter on national television.

Conservatives believe in treating everyone with respect. Trump hasn’t.

Sixth, Trump’s trade war goes against every conservative tenet of free trade & free markets. It has disrupted our economy, increased prices on American consumers, and is costing us billions per month in deadweight loss for nothing in return.

Not conservative.

Seventh, Trump is a horrific role model for America. He once bragged about assaulting women and routinely belittles his political opponents with racial slurs and name-calling. It’s exhausting and he’s bringing us down with him.

We used to believe in moral leadership.

Eighth, Trump cozied up to & even praised some of the world’s most evil dictators. He also gave up significant leverage against these enemies in an effort to show negotiating prowess. In reality, he has brokered no deals & both Russia & N. Korea are better off.

It’s sickening.

Ninth, Trump has frayed our once strong alliances—making it more difficult for us to combat foreign enemies with ready global coalitions and to control their behavior in global markets.

Conservatives have never believed in retreating from global events.

Finally, for all his bluster, the immigration problem has actually gotten worse under Trump’s watch. Many in Congress are right to sound the alarm over the border crisis — but the fact is, it’s a crisis of Trump’s making. Rs controlled the White House & Congress, yet did nothing.

All of this might *still* lead some to conclude that Trump is the lesser of two evils. That the Democrats’ move to the far left on economic issues & abortion policy must be stopped at all costs.

But this zero-sum view of one’s sacred vote isn’t the only plausible view..

Our votes are deeply personal—they represent one of the only few checks we have on those in power. It’s one of the few ways we formally register our voice in government.

Candidates should have to earn our vote, not receive it by default.

John Quincy Adams once said, “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”

I agree.

As a conservative, if I choose to vote my principles, it’s unlikely I’ll be able to pull the lever in good conscience for either 2020 candidate—the second time in as many elections.

The leaders of both parties are likely to cross lines that I fundamentally consider uncrossable.

Instead of compromising the integrity of my vote, I’d rather it reflect my true preference—not a calculation forced on me by bad candidates.

So, personally, I plan to write in a name instead—someone I can be proud to vote *for*. Someone who earns it.