In a stunning op-ed published in the Washington Post, the former chief executive of General Motors says “I have always voted for Republicans for president. Not this year.”
Chief Executive Can’t Trust The Businessman
Big business tends to favor Republicans for obvious reasons. Republicans tend to do things like cut services to people in poverty while plumping up corporate welfare handouts. Thus, it’s shocking to see a giant of the business world, former GM chief executive Daniel Akerson, endorse Hillary Clinton.
In his op-ed, Akerson writes,
“…I have always voted for Republicans for president. Not this year.
The compelling rationale behind this decision: leadership. A good leader must demonstrate such qualities as competence, integrity, empathy, character and temperament. Hillary Clinton has these essential qualities. Donald Trump does not.”
Wow.
I mean, none of this is news to me, but to see this expressed from someone such as Akerson is pretty incredible.
He goes on to say,
“Trump simply lacks the competence to serve as president of the United States. His knowledge of economic policy and foreign affairs is rudimentary, at best; his views are misguided. His threat to impose prohibitive tariffs on trade would repeat mistakes that contributed to the Great Depression. His words and actions have rattled our European and Asian allies at a time when Russia and China are resurgent. He has demonstrated neither the capacity nor the inclination to learn from experts in global economics.”
Calls Out Trump’s Bullying Behavior
As my colleagues and I have pointed out here at Liberal America many, many, many times, Trump has neither the temperament nor the character required to be President of the United States. Akerson sees the same in Trump, stating,
“…Trump has appealed to the lowest common denominators in our society: prejudice, xenophobia and intolerance. He has mocked people with disabilities, tarred ethnic minorities, demeaned women and insulted religious leaders, including the pope.
When Trump questioned the patriotism and sacrifice of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and, thereby, other prisoners of war, he demonstrated a complete lack of respect for the men and women in uniform, as well as our veterans …
When asked how he has sacrificed for our country, Trump compared his experiences in real estate to that of a mother who lost her son after that brave young man volunteered for service in the U.S. Army. Trump’s complete lack of empathy and his failure to understand the heartache of a grieving mother disqualify him from being commander in chief. What kind of person equates the sacrifice of the loss of a child to that of creating jobs or making money?”
He Does, However, Trust Clinton
Akerson concludes his piece by mentioning the myriad of ways in which Clinton is supremely qualified for the job of President. He speaks of her “even temperament” and “unparalleled knowledge.” He finishes with,
“In my opinion, she is ready to be commander in chief on Day One.”
I couldn’t agree more, Mr. Akerson.
So many Republicans are seeing the light this election season, and it seems like we are seeing the death of the GOP. High-ranking officials are exiting the party en masse. The Speaker of the House only begrudgingly endorsed Trump after a long holdout, and that endorsement was not reciprocated for two months. And, perhaps most damning, no living Republican president has endorsed Trump.
Trump supporters are loud and nasty, but they are a minority.
And speaking of all those Republicans bucking Trump, take a look at this video about the letter sent to the RNC Chair.
Featured Image by DonkeyHotey via Flickr under CC BY-SA 2.0 license
