Mike Cantrell: The Death Of Civility

By Mike Cantrell
In The Journal Record

The election vitriol has become so intense that a high percentage of voters will either not vote, or vote for whom they consider the lesser of two evils.

The rapid and effective dissemination of information through the media, both social and traditional, has forced candidates to adopt a sensational and negative form of communication that none of us like, but most of us watch intensely and react to with emotion.

Donald Trump used the press, which was all too gleeful to accommodate, to vanquish 15 primary opponents with outlandish comments on a daily basis. The brilliance of it was that it didn’t cost him a dime and obviously helped him much more than it hurt him.

Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, hid from the press and unbelievably hasn’t had one open press conference thus far in 2016. Where is the media coverage on that?

The national press, which most of us have relied upon for our “objective information,” is now totally, unreliably biased.

So what are those of us who want to put our emotions aside and make the best choice to do?

I intend to put all the rancor and name-calling aside and decide for myself where each candidate would take the country.

Mrs. Clinton has gone far to the left in response to the surprising success of Bernie Sanders, a socialist. No question, she will take us in the direction of more government involvement in our lives and appoint liberal Supreme Court justices not friendly to the small business backbone of our economy.

Mr. Trump is in many ways a “Trump” card. We don’t know exactly what he will do. From what I can see, I would call him a pragmatic conservative. His position in favor of “fair and better” trade deals is unique among Republican candidates of the immediate past. His intuition is correct. While I believe in free trade, I also know that America’s working class is being “outsourced” out of the American dream. If Republicans don’t recognize that now, Clinton will win and accomplish many of the socialist goals of her newly far-left leaning party.

I’m voting for Mr. Trump solely because he will appoint Supreme Court justices who will keep America going in what I believe is the right direction and make sure all Americans still have the opportunity to succeed.

Mike Cantrell is principal of Cantrell Investments LLC and serves as a board member for the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance, Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association and Council for a Secure America.