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This Letter to the Editor comes from a former elected official who requested that we not use his name.  Normally, we do not publish letters to the editor that don't have an identity attached.  This commentary was discussed in a telephone call and given the person's background (which we knew) we chose to publish his comments.  This is not an endorsement of a particular candidate (which we don't usually publish) and except for the decision not to publish the name of the author, they are in keeping with our editorial policy.

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The Republican Party leadership at the national and state level has a major crisis on their hands, and very little time to deal with it. Even worse, they know it and seem to be choosing to ignore it.

As a longtime Republican voter, I have a message for The Leadership – pay attention: I won’t vote for the incumbent President of the United States, but I can’t vote to put a convicted felon in that office. Here’s why.

I do believe that most of the legal actions being taken against the former president are politically motivated. So what? Prosecutors have always had discretion to pursue or drop charges. If a person commits a felony, the “Why me?” question doesn’t matter one damn bit. When you break a law, you’re to blame for anything unpleasant that comes your way as a result. Personal responsibility and personal accountability; You got what’s coming to you. It may not seem fair, but it is just.

I’ve voted for Republican candidates I didn’t really like (as in I wouldn’t invite them to have a beer with me) at state and national levels because they’ve come closest to my fundamental ideas of opportunity, personal freedoms, personal responsibility and accountability, and overall governance. I don’t support all the Party’s positions, but I’m with them at about the 85% level.

But I refuse to blindly be 100%. I’m NOT ALWAYS going to vote for someone for president just because they’re the Republican candidate. Most of the time, yeah; but not for a convicted felon. And I’m not alone; far from it. Blindly following the apparent presidential candidate is going to cost us the White House for sure, and probably the slim majority in the House of Representatives.

Party leadership, grit your teeth and do what is required; nominate someone else. It’s about sticking to our political beliefs on governance, not sticking to a person. We may still lose, but at least you and we, as a party, will retain some fundamental sense of integrity.

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