Today I received a campaign flyer in the mail from the Nebraska Democratic Party targeting retired Air Force General Don Bacon who’s running for Congress. Democrat Brad Ashford currently holds the seat. The flyer asks, “Does Donald Bacon support Donald Trump?” and encourages voters to ask Don the question stating “every time you ask you get a different answer.”
Knowing Don Bacon isn’t the only congressional candidate targeted by the Democratic Party in this election, I thought I’d offer some advice on how to answer the question.
Like many candidates for Congress, Don Bacon has gone back and forth from saying he’d vote for him last August to suggesting he should step down following the release of Trump’s infamous audios. After “flip-flopping for days” as the Democratic flyer says, “Bacon threw up his hands and said, ‘I’m grappling with it…I’m in a quandary.”
All this flyer points out is that Don Bacon is in good company. Millions of Americans have been going through the same frustration. Columnists, radio hosts, politicians, and everyday Americans are in the same quandary.
My advice to those running for Congress when asked the question? Tell the truth. You like the policies Trump espouses but don’t always like what he says or how he says it. You serve both those who support him and those who can’t stomach him. If America wants business as usual vote for candidates like Brad Ashford who not only support Hillary but is also the co-chair for her campaign in Nebraska.
Interestingly however, though Ashford serves as Clinton’s co-chair, he has refused to campaign with her. This is a difficult year for everyone running for Congress.
Regardless of how you feel about Trump, his policies and positions are clearly better than what America has had for the last eight years—and what we will get for the next four if Hillary is president. We need people like Don Bacon in Congress to stand for the Constitution and the values America was founded on. Democrats don’t want to focus on the issues so they send out flyers to avoid talking about them.
When asked how you will vote for the most powerful office in the land the answer is simple. We are all voting the same way—the best we can with what we’ve got.
That’s how congressional candidates can answer the question.