For any Presidential fence-sitters out there...

If you know someone out there who is still on the fence about the Presidential election, please implore them to take the time to read/listen to each of the candidate's “closing argument” speeches.

Trump gave his at NYC's Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Harris gave hers at the Ellipse in Washington, DC, yesterday.

Logically, the "closing argument" speech is that which each candidate would think defines their pitch--their reasons--to be elected President.

I won't offer recommendation or condemnation here of anything that was said. I will simply let the words of the candidates speak for themselves.

But there were some things I specifically looked for, that I feel are important in a leader, and for our country.

I looked for specific policy details, truthfulness, coherence, civility, and the candidate speaking about the country rather than speaking about themselves.

I also looked for that which gave me a feeling of belief in/hope for this country working together.

Have the fence-sitters experience the speech, looking for that which is important to them, whatever that would be.

And please remember to remind them to vote next Tuesday.

Text of Trump's "closing argument": Full text: Trump's closing argument speech at NYC's MSG

Trump speech video: Former President Trump addresses rally at Madison Square Garden | Fox News Video

Text of Harris's "closing argument: Full text: Harris's closing argument speech at the Ellipse

Harris speech video: Watch Kamala Harris' full closing argument on 2024 election at D.C. Ellipse

Fact-checking Kamala Harris’s "closing argument" speech at the White House Ellipse: Politifact: Fact-checking Kamala Harris’ ‘closing argument’ speech at the White House Ellipse

Fact-checking Donald Trump’s "closing argument" speech at Madison Square Garden, NYC: Fact check: Debunking 16 false claims Trump made at Madison Square Garden | CNN Politics

Sigh, nothing I write will matter

If you're reading this, you're likely in the Harris camp for this presidential election.

The felon and the prosecutor

And there is likely nothing I could write (or she could do) that would change your November vote.

If, on the off chance, you're reading this as a Trump supporter,

um, there is likely nothing I could write (or he could do) that would change your November vote.

Sigh.

Trump, the candidate who once famously say he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and still not lose his supporters, continues to push the boundaries of convention and decency every single day.

And he's right. He doesn't lose support.

In the last couple weeks, Trump purposely spread lies about immigrants eating pets and taking over a Colorado town. And another woman (of about two dozen) has come forward describing being sexually assaulted by Trump--the man who says he likes to just grab women by the genitals.

No problem.

It's been revealed he's praised Hitler. And claimed he was a better President than Lincoln.

Again, no problem.

Members of his own GOP--staunch, party faithful, even the vast majority of HIS OWN ADMINISTRATION who Trump had vetted and touted as "the best people"--have refused to endorse him, calling him everything from "fascist" to "unfit" to serve as President.

Still, his supporters don't care.

I should have seen this sooner.

Trump shamelessly sold merchandise
 emblazoned with his mugshot

I mean, he's already been convicted by a jury of 34 felonies connected to hush money he paid a porn star with whom he had an affair. He's been found liable by a jury of sexual assault. He's been found to have committed business fraud (along with six bankruptcies and failed business ventures such as Trump steaks and the deceptive Trump University).

And the support didn't waver.

Trump was charged with trying to overturn an election--including by helping concoct a scheme of fake electors and pressuring Georgia elections officials to cheat ("I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have"), and he's been charged with hoarding top-secret documents, too. These actions he really no longer even denies, instead, he celebrates and cloaks himself in the literally unbelievable Supreme Court ruling of "presidential immunity"--under which his lawyers argued (successfully, it appears) that Trump could have Seal Team 6 assassinate his political rivals with no repercussions.

And the support needle didn't move.

And, of course, he's been impeached twice--once for improper withholding of Congressional military assistance for an ally, and once for inciting an insurrection--for which his own party members in Congress even called him directly responsible.

And the needle still didn't move.

Eventual House Speaker McCarthy once
 said Trump "bears responsibility" for Jan. 6

Even his party members that decried his insurrectionist rhetoric have changed their tune, perhaps because of their own desire for power and what Trump's MAGA army could do for them, or perhaps from the fear of political retribution via Trump's tweets or from the fear of physical retribution from the violent faction of Trump devotees.

And Trump voters still support Trump.

And I don't get why they still do.

But they do.

And after all that, Trump was right, especially in light of everything else he's done, him shooting someone on Fifth Avenue certainly wouldn't matter at all to them, either.

Sigh.

Trump, of course, will cheat again

If Trump loses in November, is there any reason to believe he won't whine, and lie, and cheat, and try to steal the election just as he did in 2020?

Nope. Of course he will.

Team Trump is great at blaming others
 for what their fearless leader actually does

Because HE'S a cheater.

As a matter of fact, Trump has already been carefully orchestrating such a possibility with continual projection such as, "We have to make sure that we stop them from cheating, because they cheat like dogs."

One of his voter-fraud scapegoats appears to be off the table. Trump and his campaign, after claiming copious cheating from mail-ins (and early-voting) in 2020 and even calling such balloting "corrupt" just days ago have now embraced the practice after realizing it may benefit Trump ("We got to get out and vote. And you can start right away. You know that, right?" he implored at one of his rallies).

And following his infamous popular vote loss to Clinton in 2016, his ludicrous claims (including my favorite: "Sometimes they go to their car, put on a different hat, put on a different shirt, come in and vote again") were quietly ignored as the Trump-created "Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity" disbanded after only a few months--without any findings of voter fraud.

So, who is the voter-fraud boogeyman this time around? MAGA's ever-popular, ever-feared, ever-reviled, undocumented migrants. It's a great strategy, instead of the scattershot (and disproven) fraud accusations of 2020--Dominion, dead voters, voting twice, ballot dumps, etc.--just blame the group you've already villainized--immigrants.

Trump and Vance have already spread (and their followers have eagerly embraced) lies about immigrants, especially those in Ohio and Colorado. They say migrants are terrorists, and criminals, and they push the Hitleristic threat that migrants are "poisoning the blood of the country."

It's a seamless transition to Trump and his minions to baselessly (of course) promote that undocumented migrants are being let into the country so they will cast their votes for Democrats.

State GOP legislatures (including a proposed Constitutional amendment in my state of Wisconsin) are seeking to add xenophobic language to existing statutes to explicitly--and unnecessarily--say "only" citizens can vote (which, um, is already the law), and which may eventually require specific "citizen-proving" documentation that may be difficult to obtain and thus further disenfranchise voters. (There's a great piece from NBCNews here).

And, it appears, Trump's obedient and gullible devotees are already sowing the election fraud soil--claiming, for example, voters registered to an address don't exist (but, say the nuns, it's their home), or working to cast a dozen fraudulent ballots in Colorado.

You can bet that Trump's voter fraud megaphone will amp up considerably between now and election day (even longer than that if he loses). 

Why?

Because he cheats.

Vote Harris.

3 undeniable reasons to not vote for Trump

Donald Trump should never again be in a trusted leadership position.

This isn’t about his harmful policies, or his felonies, or his impeachments or his disparagement of immigrants, the disabled, US Vets, POWs, fellow Americans (friend and foe alike).

Nope.

It’s because Americans simply can’t trust him.

Obviously, anyone with more than 30,000 lies over four years as President--even including "altering" a hurricane's path with a Sharpie, for heaven's sake--shouldn't be trusted, right?

ANY of these would be a good reason
NOT to vote for the untrustworthy Trump

And anyone who was first elected on since-broken promises of "building a wall and having Mexico pay for it," or replacing Obamacare with his better plan, or eliminating a federal debt and deficit which soared, " or vowing to improve infrastructure (the comically continual "Infrastructure Week") shouldn't be trusted, right?

Or a candidate who knowingly spreads lies about immigrants eating dogs or FEMA not helping hurricane victims shouldn't be trusted right?

Of course not, but I've zeroed in on three--just three--undeniable reasons Americans should never trust--and never vote for--Donald Trump.

1)      He purposely lied to Americans to downplay Covid (statistics show Trump’s dismissiveness may have engendered 40% more US deaths).

2)      He continued promoting election lies despite knowing (as did his lawyers, courts, GOP officials--even Ivanka!) such claims were false, in an apparent attempt to bypass the Constitution.

3)      On January 6, the supposed “law and order” president abandoned his presidential duties—doing nothing for 187 minutes while his supporters pummeled police, ransacked the Capitol, chanted to hang our Vice President. Even if one falsely believes January 6 was the fault of Pelosi/FBI/antifa/etc., Trump was the one who did nothing while allies pleaded he stop the rioters—which he finally did by saying he agreed with them and calling those that destroyed property, attacked police, and threatened to kill government officials “very special.”

If you can’t trust a politician to be honest about deadly pandemics, to uphold the Constitution, or to not abandon his presidential duties, how could you ever trust him to lead the country?

You can't.

Vote Harris.