Via Boston.com:
Given his expressed views on politics and Hillary Clinton, it may not be surprising who Curt Schilling is supporting for president.
In a sprawling blog post Friday, the former ESPN analyst and Red Sox pitcher wrote he will vote for Donald Trump this November.
Despite some misgivings with the presumptive GOP nominee’s policy positions, Schilling wrote that he has known Trump for decades and believes he is a “man decisive in action and confident in his ability.” In the nearly 1,500-word post, Schilling lays out three reasons why he has come around on Trump:
1. I trust him. I don’t agree with him on many things, that’s cool. I also know that there is and never will be a candidate anywhere that I will agree with on everything. That candidate doesn’t exist. If you say it does I think that makes you a sheep, someone afraid to have or voice an original, albeit unpopular, opinion at times.
2. While I don’t agree with him there are two incredibly important things he possesses that neither candidate on the Soviet ticket do. He loves this country. You can laugh, you can mock, but you also are full of crap if the current administration has ever given you the confidence that they love this nation above all else. He will protect my family, and my loved ones. I say that because Mr Trump is where he is for one major reason. He’s been successful because he understands that surrounding yourself with smart people and listening to them, then parsing ideas and deciding, is how you win. Not all the time, but most of the time. When he says he will ‘make the military great’ he means “I’m going to create a group of men and women I trust to rebuild the worlds greatest armed forces and then insure that you and your family are protected BEFORE looking out for the interests of others”.
3. I firmly believe that to know the real heart and soul of a man you look at his children. Who are they, what are they, and how do they act. I’ve never, even for a second, heard his children speak with anything but respect, courtesy, integrity and confidence. While you may think they are ‘spoon fed’ rich kids, experience tells me they have busted their asses to make their own way and be their own people.
In the week and a half since I publicly split with the Republican Party, I have had dozens of rather spirited conversations with Republicans who aren’t Trump fans but have decided to stick around for yet another election and take one for the perennially incompetent GOP team. The conversations always involve the same three or four regurgitated talking points about why I HAVE to vote for Trump (side note: I’m an American, I don’t have to vote for anyone). Most of them have reluctantly come to a place where they have convinced themselves that Trump will actually do some of what he is saying he will do. Almost all of them see it as a calculated risk that will probably go their way. I see it as complete suspension of disbelief.
Schilling begins his endorsement by saying he trusts Trump even though he doesn’t agree with him on much. That’s really what this election is all about now. Good for Trump if he can convince the fence-sitters that he will have some follow-through and not keep pivoting the country into oblivion. There are many of us who can’t get to the trust portion of the relationship. It might be an easier sell if Reince and Co. weren’t such a clown car. Were the GOP able to convince the electorate it can keep Trump on a somewhat Republican path, more people could probably sign onto the uneasy alliance. The Republican Party doesn’t seem very clear on what a Republican path is anymore, however.
Schilling’s third point is one that people making the case for Trump may want to add to the tired talking point mix (“SCARY HILLARY!” SUPREME COURT!” “OMG THE CHUPACABRA!”), as it is both a positive and excellent one. Contrast that with Chelsea Clinton being handed a lucrative major network “news” job without a real résumé or any talent to speak of, and a new light gets shed on a worn-out, contentious conversation.
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