“It has long, however, been my opinion … that the germ of dissolution of our federal government is in … the federal Judiciary … working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little today and a little tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief, over the field of jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped.” —Thomas Jefferson (1821)

Over the last six months, I’ve been asked by hundreds of colleagues, “How will you vote?” Sure as hell not for Hillary Clinton, but to each of them, I responded much as I have in every presidential election since I cast my first vote. More on that in a moment…

The contest between Donald Trump and Clinton has created an extraordinary level of contentiousness, most notably not between political parties but rather between differing constituencies on the right side of the political spectrum. Conservatives, especially voters of strong faith, are divided over support for Trump. That division is evident even among our staff. In 2012, millions of conservative and faithful voters were divided over the Romney-Ryan ticket, and abstained — thus handing Barack Obama a second term.

But never has a national party candidate created as much intra-party discord as Trump, and it’s notable that the only way Clinton will win this election is because of that discord. She’s the weakest candidate the Democrat Party has fielded since Walter Mondale lost 49 states to Ronald Reagan in 1984. (A mere 2,500 votes in Mondale’s home state of Minnesota denied Reagan a clean sweep of the Electoral College.) I hasten to mention that Mondale was far more honest and qualified than Clinton, who is, arguably, the most corrupt and inept Democrat candidate since the party was established.

Astoundingly, and almost exclusively because of the aforementioned Republican infighting, Clinton leads in most media polls.

That being said, however, I’ve always argued that most media polls are outcome-based, which is to say they’re designed for a subjective outcome, which is then promoted as an objective outcome in order to propagate and expand the subjective goal. Years ago I dubbed this disingenuous media polling cycle the “Pollaganda Effect.” It is for this reason that The Patriot Post rarely reports polling unless it meets our very high standard for objectivity.

How ironic it is that media outlets refrain from exit polling on Election Day, ostensibly to ensure that they don’t influence those who’ve not yet voted and, thus, the election outcome. However, they report their outcome-based polling incessantly up until the last minute before Election Day polls open, and they do so precisely to influence the voters and, thus, the election outcome.

So, how am I going to vote?

I’ll tell you, but first allow me to share how that question contrasts with where I’ll be on Wednesday, the day this column posts.

I am on my way for a gathering of distinguished veterans at the National World War II Museum for a preview of the upcoming film Hacksaw Ridge. A month ago I wrote a column on the subject of this film entitled “The Most Unlikely Hero — Desmond Doss.” Desmond was one of our East Tennessee mountain neighbors. As a National Advisory Board Member of the Medal of Honor Heritage Center in Chattanooga, hallowed ground of The First Medals ever awarded, I joined our Heritage Center director, escorting Desmond’s original Medal of Honor for display at the preview.

Desmond Doss was a Patriot whose character reflects infinitely more about the essential spirit of American greatness than this year’s presidential contenders, neither of whom would be worthy of shining his boots. His Medal of Honor citation reads like fiction, but his heroic actions over 22 days are well documented. In my humble opinion (though he would never have accepted such praise), Desmond’s citation is among the most awe-inspiring of all 3,514 Medals awarded since its inception.

It took 70 years to bring Desmond’s story to the big screen, primarily because of his concern that Hollywood would give him the glory, rather than God. This Mel Gibson film gives God the glory! I should note that it is violent, but not gratuitously violent. Instead, the violence will elevates your understanding of the God-inspired heroism of this little man. I highly recommend you see it!

In addition to celebrating the extraordinary courage and character of Desmond Doss, I am also observing the one-year anniversary of the passing of another WWII veteran, the most influential hero in my life, my father.

I was reading through some notes I’d written on the day of his death, and one of the things that best characterized his life is that he always lived for the next sunrise, not the last sunset. Like so many in his generation who lived through the Great Depression and World War II, he learned not to assume there would be another day. He learned to appreciate life and especially the little things, the simple blessings and mercies. In his final years, like so many of the Greatest Generation who gave so much to sustain Liberty for our nation and the world, he was dismayed that in 2008, and again in 2012, a majority of Americans could elect a man who represented the antithesis of the Liberty that men like him, before and since, had fought for.

I’m grateful that he hasn’t had to witness the ascension of the two candidates in this year’s presidential election. But I know he would say what I remind others every day – things have been much worse for our nation in generations past.

So, finally, how do I answer the question, “How will you vote?”

I answered the same way I have responded to that question in every quadrennial election since I cast my first presidential vote: “I vote for our Constitution — meaning the candidate who I believe will honor his oath ”to support and defend“ and thus, in particular, will nominate constitutionally constructionist judges to our Supreme Court, who will, likewise, abide by their oaths. My vote will be for the candidate who will defend American Liberty against relentless assault by the Socialist Democrat Party – statist leaders who are, at their core, devoted to central government power and tyranny.”

I answered, I will vote for Donald Trump, and my vote for Trump is a vote for Mike Pence, whose choice to join Trump’s ticket lends it enormous credibility and conservative gravitas. I am confident that my vote for the Trump/Pence ticket is a vote for our Supreme Court, a vote for national security – standing strong against existential global threats, especially Red China – a vote for securing our borders, and a vote for economic policies that are based on the principles of free enterprise.

Recently, my friend Cal Thomas, who’s been an astute political observer and advocate of Liberty longer than most of today’s crop of politicos have been alive, penned his opinion on this election in “At Stake: The Constitution.” Cal wrote, “This election is about a lot of things, but it is fundamentally about the U.S. Constitution and whether federal judges will adhere to their oath to ‘faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me … under the Constitution and laws of the United States,’ or dilute, attack and destroy our founding document.”

Cal also noted, “The Constitution is on the ballot in the persons of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, who hold differing views of it and have pledged to appoint radically different judges to federal benches.” He concluded, “This election will … decide whether the Constitution remains a self-authenticating document, protecting our liberties from encroaching government, or something that … can be shredded along with our liberties.”

As Thomas Jefferson warned about the “despotic branch,” “The Constitution … is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary which they may twist and shape into any form they please.”

Like Cal Thomas and many other elder observers, I believe that Donald Trump is far more likely than Hillary Clinton to abide by his oath and nominate constitutional constructionist judges to the Supreme Court — judges who’ll promote Liberty over tyranny.

For the record, I could not have imagined a year ago that Clinton, who has a lifelong record of lies along with a prolific record of corruption and catastrophic failures in partnership with her husband, could beat any Republican contender. Today, I’m much less certain.

While I understand well the nature of presidential character as exemplified best by our first commander in chief, George Washington, and while I believe neither Clinton nor Trump even register on those character scales, I also understand that the outcome of the November election will not only determine our president for at least the next four years but also the composition of the Supreme Court for the next quarter-century. Think about that before you decide to stay home or to cast a “protest vote” for a third-party candidate.

I would state emphatically that those who choose to sit this election out or “choose neither” are making a choice – to undermine the best prospect to advance Liberty. Choosing not to vote for the “lesser of two evils” is a vote for the greater of those evils. If you’re reluctant to vote for Trump, I understand. But at least cast your vote for the Liberty, for our Constitution, for the Supreme Court and for Mike Pence. And make no mistake: A vote this year for a third-party candidate in any state where the Clinton v Trump contest is close constitutes a vote for Clinton and a third term for Obama. Period.

After the conservative congressional advances across the nation in 2010 and again with historic gains in 2014, despite the needless presidential loss in 2012, throwing this year’s contest to Clinton will prove a disastrous blow to Liberty.

In the final debate between Trump and Clinton, she asked, “What kind of country are we going to be?” If her legions of low-information voters have their way, ours will be a country that continues slouching toward tyranny.

And a final note regarding the contentious debates about Trump: Hillary Clinton’s MO has always been to ignore the message and “shoot the messenger,” sometimes literally. This has been her response to all of the leaks of her concealed communication files as secretary of state and at her other adjunct organizations. Her default pivot is to blame Russia for hacking into their communication servers (if Russia did indeed hack accounts) rather than address the corruption exposed by the contents of those communications — because she has NO defense for that corruption.

However, over the last six months, we’ve received strenuous objections from “conservatives” who have also been shooting the messenger. We’ve had donors withdraw their support while claiming we haven’t been critical enough of Trump. At the same time, we’ve had donors withdraw their support claiming we’ve been too critical of Trump.

The fact is, our editors across the country do a very good job of providing analysis that genuine conservatives need to stay well informed. Our steadfast commitment to Liberty and the truth, and our clarity regarding the distinctly different worldview of those on the left and on the right, have sustained support for our mission and operation budgets through our 20th anniversary on the Web.

This is the most challenging quadrennial election I’ve ever witnessed, but our mission to advance Liberty is timeless — and not tied to any political cycle or candidate.

P.S. I think early voting more than seven days prior to an election open’s the door for a lot of voter fraud. It also means that many votes are cast before all the candidate information is disclosed. Based on the latest revelations, voters in seven states – Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – can void or change their ballots. Clinton voters may want to reconsider…

Pro Deo et Constitutione — Libertas aut Mors
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis