How exactly do you propose that the culture of the country is going to change first if you are unwilling to do anything to change it?

The way I see it, when I cast a ballot, I am voting FOR something. I don't cast my vote to be AGAINST the other thing. That kind of thinking has gotten us weak kneed, spineless pansy candidates who stand for nothing like George H W Bush, Robert Dole, George W Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney. Not one of those guys, whether they won or lost, ever had any notion at all about limited government or fiscal responsibility. They were all big government progressives who did or would have spent like drunken sailors. The very best you can say about any of them is that they were Democrat-Lite. Further, any vote for any of those guys was more likely a vote against whatever statist idiot the Dems were offering up at the time.

As for me, I know what I believe in, and I will only vote for people that believe in the same things. I'll leave the "If you don't vote for the lesser of two evils, you're really just voting for the greater of two evils" school of convoluted thinking to others who are waiting for somebody else to change the country's culture first.

For the record, I have voted for Ted Cruz 4 times now. I live in Fort Worth, TX, so I was able to vote in his Senate primary vs. David Dewhurst, the runoff vs. Dewhurst, the general Senate election and this year's presidential primary. I was proud to do it, and I will continue to do so as long as he is on the ballot from now until forever unless he does something to burn my trust.

To the best of my recollection, I can think of only one thing Cruz has ever done to seriously piss me off. That was when he came out a week or so ago and formally endorsed Donald Trump. I would have preferred that he just stay silent and stand with his original "vote your conscience" argument that he made on the convention floor. I understand why he did it, but I couldn't disagree more. Ultimately, Trump is the the rat poison alternative to the bullet in the brain that I mentioned earlier. However much regard I have for Senator Cruz, I still my own thinking when it comes to politics. His endorsement does nothing to strengthen Trump's case, but it does make himself look weak especially when people will be holding that over his head 4 years from now for round 2. Whether you're talking politically or about principles, that endorsement was a spectacularly stupid thing to do, IMO.

Loooooong row to hoe...............

The Convention of States and the FairTax (including the repeal of the slavery Amendment (the 16th -- that enslaved all Americans to the government) will have a positive impact on turning the ship of State.

I seem to remember that at about this time in that election Ronald W. Reagan was behind in the polls (behind James Earl Carter, the avowed worse President in history (until today)).

Amen!

Interesting comment. I understand where you are coming from. Trump is not perfect, and has used the system's faults to his advantage. But he says if we dont like those system faults, change them. He does tell us like he sees it (which is refreshing and sorely needed). He will do well in foreign relations and will at least stand up for America. Hillary is the opposite- she is a two sided chameleon that just says whatever we want to hear, but does the opposite. She will kill small business with the $15/hr wage and higher taxes. She will kill off people starting businesses with the idea of selling them later (she will take most of the profit from that). She will get no respect internationally, and invite other countries to treat us with disrespect. I just cant do anything which will result in her winning. Its way too early for a Johnson to get my support. The culture of the country has to change first, and the crooked elections need to be cleaned up. first

Interesting excuse for voting for Johnson but acceptable. I for one would prefer some of the things that Johnson stands for but we have rejected one like him in Ted Cruz. Since Ted is no longer an option I have to go with Trump but whoever wins we can only pray that the Lord will intervene and Godly principles will prevail.

It should've been over months ago, but Trump is a complete buffoon and gave it away with his ego and elementary school behavior.

There may be some truth to what you're saying, but I still have a major problem with Trump. To date, I still don't have a clue what he actually stands for. I have no idea what policy goals he intends to persue.

With Trump, all I have to go on is his bombastic nature and some idiotic aspirational slogan embroidered on a bunch of hats. How exactly is "Make America Great Again" significantly different from "Hope and Change"? They are both just aspirational gobbledygook that mean whatever you want them to mean. If you will recall, when Obama ran, he never really came out and said that he was going to do A, B and C. He always talked around it, and people that were inclined to support him let his vague rhetoric mean whatever they felt most optimistic about. Additionally, Obama ran principally on the fact that he was not W.

As I see it, Donald Trump is doing the exact same thing. He has not ever come right out and said that he would do A, B and C. He uses a silly meaningless slogan to get the people unused to critical thinking on his side. He makes vague promises about winning and everything being huge. Lastly, his single solitary selling point that his supporters can actually glom on to is that he is not Hillary Clinton. You have no clue at all what he is, but at least you know that he is not her.

Please don't mistake my criticism of Trump as support for Hillary. Personally, I'd like to see her before a firing squad as a traitor. That is not hyperbole. I mean it. The one and only crime addressed in the Constitution is Treason, and her handling and brokering of highly classified government secrets for personal gain makes her a traitor. The punishment called for with that particular crime is death.

Back to Trump. You mention his disregard for all things PC. You mention his family, business and lifestyle. Couldn't you just as easily be talking about Howard Stern. Unlike Trump, Howard Stern didn't get a $100 Million inheritence from his daddy 40 some years ago. Howard Stern didn't go to the Wharton Business School to legacy his way into the good old boys club. No matter how foul he may be (and he is disgusting), Howard Stern is a self made man running a media empire business (media star like Trump). He is worth a fortune ($600 Million net worth with an annual salary of $90 Million). He, like Trump, is the textbook definition of not PC. Unlike Trump though, Howard Stern is not a known pathological liar. In fact, he may be too honest. Howard Stern never had to bribe government officials to build his fortune. Donald trump brags about it and excuses it as just the normal Tuesday for a "businessman". Isn't it ironic that on a website called GaltsGulchOnline.com that is based on the works of Ayn Rand, that we have so many people who support a "businessman" who brags routinely about bribing government officials to get what he wants. Did Howard Roark, Hank Rearden, Francisco d'Anconia, or Dagny Taggart want or need government help? They are all Randian heroes, yet somehow you want to make the guy who acts more like James Taggart instead of Dagny Taggart president. Moving on. As far as I know, all the women who have come onto Howard Stern's show do so of their own free will. They act like tramps and whores by their own choice. I don't know that I have ever heard of Howard Stern sexually assaulting any of them, yet Donald trump gleefully brags about he can just molest anyone he wants because "they let you do that when you're famous." How would you feel if he just came up and groped your wife or daughter? Would that OK because he's famous?

Again, do not mistake my words. I do not support Howard Stern for president any more than I would Hillary. I am simply pointing out that every supposed good thing you said about trump could be applied fairly to Howard Stern and in some cases, more so.

This election is between two equally unattractive candidates. *Being as nice as I can there. When asking someone to vote for either of those two clowns, it's like asking if they want to eat 6 pounds of rat poison and die painfully/slowly or just cut the the chase and put a bullet through their own head.

Speaking personally, I'll roll with Option 3. I love my country (or at least what it ought to be), and I believe that limited government, fiscal responsibility and freedom from foreign entanglements are better policies than what we have now. I don't want the government to fix things. I want the government to get the hell out of the way, and let the marketplace handle what needs fixing. As such, my principles lie more closely with the Libertarian Party. I will be voting for Gary Johnson come election day. He may be a dottering old clueless fool who couldn't govern his way out of a paper bag if you lit the closed end on fire, but at least he wants to stay the hell out of my life, my business, my bedroom and my medicine cabinet. I can't say that for Trump or Hillary.

Voting Johnson/Weld going into it, I know three things. 1. My candidate will lose this election. I'm not an idiot, I know he has no chance. It's just that I have no need to be on the "winning" side like alot of people do. 2. Trump or Hillary will win, and America will at least four more years of what it deserves. If we haven't learned about these two parties and the power mad clowns they run as candidates in the last 24 years, then we're screwed anyway. Let it all collapse. We've pissed away the birthright that our forefathers fought and died for, and we deserve what we're getting/gonna get. 3. At the end of the day, I will be able to look myself in the mirror knowing that I voted for Liberty. I did my part. I won't have to apologize later for helping put either of these two clowns (Hillary or Trump) in office. If you can live with that on your conscience, go for it, but don't ask me to help destroy the country with you.

Most of the media, and most of the politicians in Washington are corrupt. Relying on either to tell it as it is, is a waste of time. Yes, there are a few honest journalists and politicians but they are the exception that proves the rule. Thus, we must rely almost entirely on ourselves, on our ability to research, and use our rationality to dig out the truth. Discussions with others who are sane and confident in their ability to reason such as many in the Gulch are helpful as well.

Absolutely.

Me dino shall always resist enemies of U.S. Constitution both foreign and domestic.
And its the undomesticated domestic ones who are the most dangerous.

Trump has my vote. His disregard for PC is refreshing, and what we sorely need. PC is just a tool the liberals use to control us. Plus, Trump doesnt need to do this. He has a great family, a good business, a great lifestyle to do what he wants. To run for president and put up with the constant negativity from the crooked establishment take a LOT. He is an inspiration, and I really think he wants to do good for the country. It will do very little or nothing for him personally at his age.

When the pissing-matches are considered "debates" and when hardened criminals can be displayed on stage as heroes, what difference does it make who wins?

Way back while BC was president, I pegged Hillary as a politically incorrect "vicious bitch". She just had that look about her. It was like she had a thin veneer of civility covering up a very evil person. Then in this election, all we see is the open mouthed wild smile of someone that we all should love. Unfortunately, its just another thin veneer in my opinion. I would love to be a fly on the wall in her office to see the REAL hillary come out when she didnt get her way on something.

I agree, Term2. The slide to oblivion cannot and will not be stopped by the ballot. But I still maintain that, though he may not stop it, Trump will still be more entertaining to watch.

Those werent really "debates". They were mud slinging of anything she could dredge up on the part of Hillary in her two minutes. Then the other side would try to debunk what he could plus toss more mud back on her. Nothing really was learned at all in that exchange. The person with the most mud on them at the end was the LOSER. What a way to pick a CEO for a country !!!!

As you know, I disagree with you on letting Hillary win the election. That will not be good for any of us, and will if anything accelerate the destruction of the country. If the destruction and rebirth was a short term thing, I might be more interested in "getting it over with" by electing hillary (sanders would be even better for that approach). BUT, the destruction will require the government tapping and wasting the wealth of the country, and that will take years and years (maybe 40). And then there is the rebirth- which would just be a regurgitation of what we have now unless the philosophy of a large percentage of the citizens was aligned with freedom principles. By the time that happens, I will surely be 6 ft under.

I am voting for Trump. He would slow things down, but not stop the road to socialism in the USA. The biggest problem with a hillary is that she will encourage laziness and a lack of motivation. THAT will make the country less great. Plus she will put more roadblocks in the way of people who would start new businesses, and favor the ones who contribute to her power and wealth.

I agree with your analysis of the election. I watched "road to the white house" that was done by cnn a few months ago, and it showed how pretty much all of the elections in the last 50 years at least were shams and basically won by campaign managers pulling dirty tricks.

I agree, but the drive towards socialism is so strong now that the replacement of one judge is just a speedbump in the parking lot. Other judges will die off, and they will be replaced by socialists. The country is doomed. All we should do is live out our lives as best we can, and not waste time on saving the country long term.

The media is filled with so many hidden agendas that they arent to be believed, or even listened to anymore. Too bad.

When you consider that the MSM is the propaganda arm of the liberal-progressive movement it puts everything into perspective.

Ditto your sentiment. Everything else is idle commentaries from media.