Back in the dark ages, the 1960s and 70s, it was fairly common to hear someone say, “No, I don’t like him, but I’m going to hold my nose and vote for him.” That is how I voted for Trump twice, holding my nose. He’s certainly not someone I’d invite over for dinner, but he got some things done no one else could before the swamp creatures launched an all-out attack.

I’ve written about my concerns with elections in past blogs, including the rather long-winded Tweet This! And, to be completely open, I wrote a version of this post a couple of months ago. However, I decided it wasn’t worth the effort because people have become single-minded when it comes to voting.

I changed my mind last Friday morning while on the treadmill. One of the morning news programs interviewed three potential voters in Arizona concerning the senatorial race. One was dead set on voting for the Democrat because he was pro-choice. One was dead set on voting for the Republican candidate because of border security.

The third hesitated when asked why she was going to vote for the Republican. She finally admitted she did not like him but would vote for him because of the Republican stand on issues that mattered to her. So, at least in one state, with one voter, clothespin politics is still in play, which brings me to this piece.

I was once very proud of Texas voters because we tended to vote for the individual instead of the party. Sadly, that has become harder and harder to do because of the 24-hour news cycle and social media. It is almost impossible to stay informed and objective in the modern world.

Of course, that is to be expected. People are called sheep in the Bible for a reason. We tend to follow the leader, even if he, or she, is leading us off a cliff.

So, maybe it is possible to bring back hold-your-nose or clothespin politics. Hopefully, that is the case because the world in which we live will make certain you know every mistake ever made by anyone who stands up to the establishment. At the same time, those using the establishment to hide their sins will be praised or put on a pedestal for standing up against the evil outsiders.

Of course, some folks may not be able to hold their nose and vote at the same time. If you have that problem, Amazon or Walmart will be happy to ship you a boatload of clothespins for your use and to hand out to friends.

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