Colin Powell, once Ronald Reagan’s National Security Advisor, George H.W. Bush’s (and Bill Clinton’s) Joint Chiefs Chairman of the United States Military, George W. Bush’s first Secretary of State, and once thought of as a Republican Presidential candidate (in 1996,) has not been fond of his Republican Party leadership for a while.
It started in 2008 (maybe earlier after the incompetence in the administering of the Iraq War, especially after his controversial 2003 presentation to the United Nations justifying the use of force) when he saw the extremist wing of the Party gaining traction in the party with the Vice Presidential nomination of Sarah Palin by John McCain. This fringe element, crystallized by an elderly lady telling the late Republican Senator that she did not trust Obama because he was an Arab (Muslim.) Please see the video below:
To his lasting credit, McCain did not allow that to fester in the audience, saying Obama was not an Arab and was a decent human being who he just had differences on the issues with.
Powell credited McCain as well but also found a little fault with him for not telling the woman and others who shared her views that it should not matter if Obama was a Muslim or not. This is the United States. Any citizen over 35 can become President.
Please see the clip of Secretary Powell’s comments to Meet the Press on this subject when he announced he would vote for Barack Obama, the Democrat, in 2008.
Powell, who said he was troubled by the racism that was penetrating his party, would vote for Obama again in 2012 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 when the KKK Endorsed Candidate, Donald Trump, became the nominee.
In 2020, Powell announced he would support Joe Biden’s Presidential Candidacy.
He made that announcement on CNN on Jake Tapper’s State of the Union, saying:
On Donald Trump, General Powell said:
“We have a Constitution. And we have to follow that Constitution. And the President has drifted away from it” and he “lies all the time.”
Powell is not the only major Republican who feels their party has left them and has given hints of supporting Joe Biden.
Cindy McCain, the widow of the late Senator, apparently will be as well according to reporting from Jonathan Martin of the New York Times.
With Trump’s Republican Predecessor George W, Bush and Mitt Romney revealing they will not be voting for the current White House occupant and the Democratic Presidential Nominee (who hit the magical delegate count for the nomination this last week) poll numbers, unlike Hillary Clinton in 2016, reaching 50 percent support in some recent samplings, Team Biden has had a good week.
They and the people need to remember November 3 is still five months away.
Please remember:
- Primary Election Day is on August 4, 2020, and General Election Day is on November 3. 2020. Please see the below graphic for all-important voting dates.
- Please check your voter registration at myarizona.vote.
- Register/sign up for the Permanent Early Voting List (PEVL) in Arizona or any state that allows early or absentee balloting and mail. Arizona residents can sign up at myarizona.vote.
- Arizona residents, mail your General Election ballot by October 28, 2020, for the November 3, 2020 election.
- Check-in with the Secretary of State’s office where you live to verify your mail-in ballot was received, processed, verified, and counted.
- Know the voter ID requirements in your state.
- If you can, support Clean Election Candidates with a small contribution.
- Also, please remember to stay informed on all the candidates and vote for all the offices on the ballot.
- Also, remember to research all the ballot initiatives, sign to get them on the ballot if you support the measure, and vote on them as well.
