Hold your nose, vote

A former Secretary of Defense once said we must go to war with the Army we have. To paraphrase, we must go to the polls with the candidates we have, and not the ones we wanted.

Donald Trump was not the candidate I wanted, but he has won a majority of the votes and a majority of the delegates. As a party loyalist I will support the candidate of my party. I find statements of nonsupport by party leaders or talk of a third-party candidate to be foolish and nonproductive. I am disappointed with some of the candidates who pledged to support the nominee of the party, and now show reluctance to do so.

I have been asked if I can “hold my nose” and vote for Trump. That will not be a problem; I have been holding my nose for the last eight years. I agree with a statement by a wise political mind that said an empty chair in the White House would be an improvement over what we now have.

If the bitterness within the GOP continues, I believe we are likely to lose the presidency to Hillary Clinton. I would not view the election of Donald Trump as the answer to all our problems, but I would view the election of Hillary Clinton to be a sickening event that would likely bring with it the loss of the Senate and possibly the House of Representatives. It could mean the end of democracy as we know it. PHIL PHILLIPS

Fayetteville