Admittedly, this article will not be about why Trump is the manifestation of a heavenly body, nor will it be an article praising Trump’s campaign. If Romney or McCain were to run today, there would be no question on who I would support. However, of the two candidates we must elect on Nov. 8, Trump is by far the better candidate.

Personally, I am a strong proponent of gay rights. My personal views have always been that marriage should not just be limited to a man and woman. There is a stereotype that Republicans are homophobic, racist, and bigoted, but this does not represent the essence of the Republican party. The Republican party stands for integrity and honesty, and this is where I have issues with Clinton.

In 2002, Clinton said on “Hardball with Chris Matthews” that she was against gay marriage and thought Roe v. Wade was an “inappropriately decided decision,” and in the years following, she has consistently repeated her beliefs. During a 2004 Senate session, Clinton said, “I believe that marriage is not just a bond, but a sacred bond between a man and woman.” In 2006 and in 2010, she repeated the same position. She finally changed her stance on gay marriage in 2013 in a video with the Human Rights Campaign, likely just for political gain.

Her inconsistency doesn’t just apply to same sex marriage. With any issue, Clinton has argued for both sides. She was pro-Israel, then anti-Israel, and now she’s back to being pro-Israel again. She was a strong proponent of the TPP and then along came Bernie Sanders and now she’s against it. Same for the Keystone XL Pipeline. Hillary has wrapped herself in the Second Amendment but has praised Australia’s ban on guns. America needs a leader who can think for themselves, not just steal whatever ideas seem to be popular at the time. Take her propensity for flip-flopping with her history of lyingc and the result is someone whose words you should never take as fact.

Clinton’s email server conduct is furthermore unacceptable. Her private email server could have leaked the numerous confidential emails she received and sent as Secretary of State. She deleted 30,000 emails before her criminal investigation by the FBI, indicating that she likely had something to hide. A deceptive woman with poor decision-making skills should not be holding our nation’s highest office.

Look, Trump isn’t the Republican nominee we deserve. However, he is still regardless the Republican nominee. There is a reason that half the country votes Republican each election, and that is because we believe in maintaining the individual granted to each man and woman by the Constitution. We are a platform for the millions of lower- and middle-class Americans who believe that the role of government is to empower people, not to render them ineffectual and dependent.

I identify as a Republican because I believe in a free market. I believe in a global police force maintaining free trade. I believe that taxes should not be increased and taxes against corporations have a much more catastrophic end result than say, a consumptions tax or a personal income tax. However, I believe the proper function of government is to do for the people those things that have to be done but cannot be done, or cannot be done as well by individuals. Less government intervention, less taxation and more individual and personal responsibility are cornerstone principles of America.
I don’t stand for everything that Trump says, but regardless, he’s still the Republican nominee. I don’t believe that Trump will do everything that he has threatened, and Congress has to approve his decisions with a two-thirds majority. No matter what questionable things Trump says, keep in mind that there are plenty of Republicans who are sensible. Hopefully those people will earn a spot on Trump’s cabinet too. Voting Trump does not necessarily mean you want a Trump presidency. Rather, think of it as progress towards a bright, conservative future.