I didn’t watch it.
Politically, my mind is made up. I’m going to vote for Joe Biden in November, even if he drops dead between now and then. Watching the SOTU would therefore be just a kind of political entertainment, and I’m not really into that.
The reason is, of course, that I’m a Never Trumper. He’s a clear and present danger to the Republic, and should never be allowed anywhere near the reins of power, ever again. From that standpoint I’m a single-issue voter. But going beyond the candidate himself, I — a former Republican, who even voted for Richard Nixon, God help me — deeply and sincerely disagree with everything today’s Republican Party stands for and supports.
I am not, in general, a single issue voter. I prefer to look at the totality of an individual’s or party’s positions on a wide range of topics. Politics is the art of the possible. You don’t always get what you want. There’s a lot of truth behind the ancient term half a loaf is better than none. You look at the sum total of each party’s policies, and you choose the lesser of the two evils. If offered the choice between a dog and a cat, you can’t say I want a pony and go pout in a corner. Well, you can, but that usually means you end up with the pet you like the least — protest voters take note. There are, of course, policies, boundaries, red lines, beyond which I will not go. Republican positions on Women’s rights, Social Security, support for Ukraine, and Immigration are among those. Another one, of course, is their craven, cowardly, unpatriotic willingness to submit to the will of Donald Trump. I want my politicians to be statesmen, not yes-men.
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