I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. I Timothy 2:1-4

Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If any of you want to come with me,” he told them, “you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it. Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life. If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

I live in Texas, and I voted in the Republican primary for this state on Friday (early voting). I did NOT vote for Donald Trump. In fact, I will never vote for Donald Trump, come h— or high water. I am not a fan of Hillary Clinton or of the Democrat party. In fact, I disagree with most of their ideas and positions, especially in regards to their support for abortion and their disregard for the Constitution. Nevertheless, Donald Trump is more dangerous, more despicable, and more incompetent than even Hillary Clinton. I believe that he is a dangerous demagogue and a spoiled con man. He couldn’t make Atlantic City great with his grandiose schemes that went bankrupt, and he won’t make America great either. He will make our country a laughing stock around the world, if not something worse.

This man uses language that is crude and profane at every opportunity, and then has the effrontery to demand an apology when the president of Mexico uses one crude word to describe Trump’s wall—the wall that he hopes to have Mexico pay for. Donald Trump mocks the disabled, disrespects women, and refuses to disavow the support of neo-Nazis and the KKK. He wants to bar an entire religious group from even being considered for immigration to the United States, and he says he will deport an estimated 11 million people who are here illegally, the biggest mass deportation in the history of the world. Actually, Trump says there are probably more than 30 million people who are here illegally, but whatever the number he’s going to deport them all–then let the “good ones” come back in. (Hitler only deported and killed about 6 million Jews.) Donald Trump would have to find a way to do this mass deportation peacefully and without a massive disruption of our economy and culture. I’m sure Mexico would be happy to pay for the police/immigration agents and the infrastructure that would be required to make such a thing happen. (/sarcasm)

Mr. Trump is admitted adulterer and a misogynist. He has no plans to do anything, including no plan to build a wall along the US/Mexican border, no plan to create jobs or improve the economy, no plan to replace Obamacare, no plan for foreign policy, and no real tax plan. He is a fake, and he is vulgarly entertaining his way into the presidency.

I voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980 and in 1984. I voted for George (HW) Bush in 1988. And again in 1992. I voted for Bob Dole in 1996, even though I preferred Phil Gramm or Alan Keyes. I voted for George W. Bush in 2000, even though I was skeptical about his conservative leanings. I was wrong. I happily voted for W in 2004, and I believe he was the best president we’ve had since Ronald Reagan. In 2008, I voted for John McCain in spite of his disdain for evangelical, conservative Christians because I thought he would at least, if elected, appoint conservative judges and govern somewhat conservatively. In 2012 I held my nose and voted for Mitt Romney for much the same reason. I have a history of Republican loyalty and of being able to compromise for the greater good. However, with Trump, all that loyalty is thrown out the window. If Donald Trump is the nominee of the Republican party, then the Republicans are no longer a conservative party. Nor will they be a force for good in this country. I will not have left the Republican party, they will be leaving me, as Ronald Reagan said under somewhat similar circumstances.

In addition, I am disappointed in the political and religious leaders who have jumped onto the Trump bandwagon in hopes of either gaining influence and power or ingratiating themselves with the new political class. Or perhaps they are as deluded and foolish as the other followers of Donald Trump. Either way, I will not be following the words or actions or suggestions of anyone who is now following Donald Trump.

And I will not forget the people, formerly respected voices in the national debate and some in the evangelical community, who decided to sell their souls for a mess of pottage and a boatload of bluster:

Sarah Palin: I thought she was unfairly maligned and ridiculed, and perhaps she was, but now I see that she is blind and without discernment. I never plan to listen to another word she says or writes.

Mike Huckabee: He hasn’t endorsed Trump, but his daughter is working for Trump. And Mike Huckabee has praised and all-but-endorsed Trump. I will not listen to him or support him in the future either.

Jerry Falwell, Jr.: Mr. Falwell is not a man who speaks for me or for my fellow evangelicals. Even some people I know who are graduates of Liberty University are ashamed of his endorsement of Donald Trump.

Pastor Robert Jeffress: He has disgraced the church of Jesus Christ by partnering with a man, Donald Trump, who ridicules the disabled, mocks the name of our Lord, and can’t even disavow the support of the Ku Klux Klan.

Chris Christie (not an evangelical, but supposedly a conservative): I didn’t like Chris Christie very much before he endorsed Trump, but had Christie been the nominee of the Republican party, I would have voted for him in order to stop Hillary Clinton from becoming president of the United States. However, now I will never vote for Chris Christie for anything just as I will never vote for Donald Trump.

Jeff Sessions, Alabama senator. Also Rep. Chris Collins, Rep. Duncan Hunter, Gov. Jan Brewer, and Gov. Paul LePage. All of these formerly conservative politicians should be shunned, and I will certainly never support any of them ever for any national office.

Ann Coulter: I used to think she was kind of funny, but not anymore. She’s just another attention-seeking celebrity.

Willie Robertson (Duck Dynasty): Why Trump? Because, says Mr. Robertson, he has two attributes we need in a leader, “success and strength.” ISIS exhibits success and strength. So do all “successful” dictators and tyrants. I would only note the absence of moral character and good (any) ideas.

Phyllis Schlaffly: She says Trump is “is the only hope to defeat the Kingmakers.” So I suppose she wants to be The Donald’s Kingmaker.

Rudy Giuliani: He’s “informally advising Donald Trump.” I wish he would advise Trump right out of the race, but I see no signs of that happening.

Newt Gingrich hasn’t endorsed either, but he says that we had better “see Trump as the future”, in other words, fall in line behind Mr. Trump. Well, I won’t do it—not ever.

Pat Robertson said of Donald Trump when the candidate visited Regent University, “You inspire us all!” I am not inspired and not impressed with Mr. Robertson’s idea of inspiration.

Herman Cain, former Republican presidential candidate, is campaigning for Trump and tells fellow Republicans to “get over it” and fall in line to support Trump because Trump is going to win.

Steve Forbes

Sean Hannity.

I have also lost respect for:

Ben Carson, who is staying in the presidential race for the sake of vanity and a platform. I doubt that God told him to run for president as a spoiler so that he could come to the debates and complain about face time. Update: Mr. Carson has dropped out of the presidential race, and I can now hear what he is saying about integrity. Before, his actions spoke too loudly for me to hear his humility. I have still lost respect for his common sense and intuition.

John Kasich, who is staying in the race for the same reason and maybe to prove that he can pull enough votes in the Midwest to deserve a vice-presidential offer from Trump?

I probably won’t post about this election cycle again here at Semicolon; however, this blog is my own little corner of the web, and I felt the need to express my opinion. Thanks for listening/reading.

And please, whomever you voted for or plan to vote for, pray for our country and for God to determine the outcome of this election in accordance with His will and for His glory.