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I am deeply saddened by the recently released video of a conversation between Donald J Trump and Billy Bush.  Let me be perfectly clear:  I cannot condemn such language strongly enough; there is no place in this world for the denigration or objectification of  women by any means.  If Donald Trump is any kind of a man he should not only apologize to the American public but he should use this piece of his history to mold himself into a better man.

And perhaps he has.  He did issue an apology to the American public that seemed sincere in the style of Donald Trump.  He is a man used to getting his way and making things happen and if he didn’t appear contrite enough to you then perhaps you should consider your own biases.

This video is more than a decade old.  Perhaps, in the ensuing time, he has become a better man.  Only his family can tell us for sure.  I certainly will not depend on the main stream media to be the arbiter of his character unless they uncover factual information and present it in a neutral manner.    Uncorroborated tales and innuendo have no place in the reporting of actual news despite the practice of many “journalists” these days.

I’ve thought a great deal about this situation and what it might mean to a future administration’s policies and their impact on my life and the lives of other women.  My brain spent most of last night circling the possibilities and asking the questions over and over:  What exactly does this tape and Trump’s statement mean?  Should it rightfully torpedo his candidacy?  Should he step out and let Governor Pence stand at the top of the ticket?  Can this nation afford a Trump presidency?  Is Trump the right man for this country?  I played the mental game that I so often do: what’s the upside/downside here?

Most importantly, I pondered this question:  Can I, as a woman of character, intelligence, and the beneficiary of a history of hard-won rights, still support our GOP candidate?  Can I, in good conscience,  ask the 10,000 women that I lead to continue to support the GOP candidate?

I kept coming back to a truth that I learned long ago:  the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.  In that light, how do the candidates stack up?

Donald J Trump said some awful things about women, but there is no evidence that he actually did anything awful to women.  Bill Clinton sexually abused  women and Hillary was directly involved in efforts to undermine the credibility of any  woman who came forward.  Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey, Carolyn Moffet, Elizabeth Ward Gracen, Becky Brown, Christi Zercher, just to name some of them.   How does this make HRC a champion for women?   She lied and covered up for her husband’s despicable actions.  Where was her outrage on behalf of women then?

Hillary Clinton has a decades-long record of lying to the American public:

As a result of her poor judgment, she failed to adequately defend our Libyan Ambassador, Chris Stevens,  and the brave men who tried to save him, and  then created a story about a spontaneous attack over an internet video, dishonoring the deaths of these brave souls and lying to their families.  The Ambassador was brutally killed and dragged through the streets of Benghazi, yet she lied.  Where was her outrage then?

Hillary Clinton’s closest ally and long-time employee, Huma Abudeen, was married to the now-disgraced former Congressman Anthony Wiener.   Wiener  was caught sending lewd and pornographic photos via text to other women.  Where was Hillary’s outrage then?  I don’t recall a single condemnation by Hillary, ever.

Hillary blatantly lied to everyone, including the FBI, about her email accounts and denied the destruction of tens of thousands of emails, including classified emails.  Her private server was likely hacked and our national security may have been compromised.  Where was Hillary’s outrage and concern for our safety then?

There’s also Whitewater, Troopergate ,  Monica Lewinsky, Travel Gate and Vince Foster, to scratch the surface.  How about all the valuables that the Clinton’s removed from the White House when they left?

Then there’s the Clinton Foundation, and we know that we haven’t heard the truth about how, exactly, the huge speaking fees that Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea demanded intersected with the office of the Secretary of State.  Perhaps Hillary should just come clean about her pay-to-play policies, but honesty doesn’t seem to be in her DNA.

Donald Trump, in a private conversation,  bragged about his prowess with women in a crude and indefensible manner.  On the deaths of four Americans, Hillary said, “What difference, at this point, does it make?”     To millions of Americans, and to four families, it truly matters.

Hillary has said some things that telegraph who she is and what she would do if she were given the chance to homestead the White House.  In 2013, she told a Brazilian bank that “my dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders.”  That same year, in a speech to a national housing authority agency, she espoused the need for “both a public and private position” on policy matters and suggested that most deals should be struck out of the prying view of the public.

In a speech in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2013 Clinton praised the single-payer model for health care reform. “If you look at the single-payer systems, like Scandinavia, Canada, and elsewhere, they can get costs down because, you know, although their care, according to statistics, overall is as good or better on primary care,” she said, adding that there were some drawbacks. “They do impose things like waiting times, you know.”

Donald J Trump has built, and lost, and rebuilt his fortune, employing tens of thousands of our people .  He has taken massive projects from conception to completion as, quite possibly, the most prolific developer in the world.  Can Hillary point to a single job that she has created?  I’m pretty sure she can’t read a balance sheet, either.

Trump is brash and  boorish more often than is necessary and has said indefensible things. They were words, inexcusable but harmful only, in truth,  to our sensibilities.

Hillary’s words have often  been the preamble to indefensible actions that caused real harm to real people- many of whom have been women- and, in the case of Benghazi, to the death of four Americans.   This I find unforgivable.

There are some people now calling for DJT to step down and allow Pence to take the helm.  Even a political novice understands the foolishness of such a move 30 days out from an election.   You may as well engrave Hillary’s victory on a silver platter and hand it to her.  If you are one of these people, you should go ahead and register as a Democrat while you are at it because you are no Republican; you haven’t the stomach or the fortitude to fight for conservative values.

If past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior  we know this:  Donald J Trump will, again, say something that will make us all cringe and maybe even furious.  But perhaps he is teachable in this regard; we have seen evidence of this lately.  I am counting on  his council and his higher power to grant him the ability to grow from this.  He really must find ways to convince women that he is not, at least now, the man that he appeared to be over a decade ago.

But we also know that when Trump makes a promise to Americans he will keep his word.  He truly wants a better life for all Americans, not just those who can do something for him.  We know that he cares about the rule of law and the principles on which our country was founded.

We know that Hillary Clinton will continue to lie, vanquish the public’s trust in our government, vaporize the essence of our constitution, and vacate all semblance of truth and dignity.  It is what she has always done.

In a Clinton administration, we know that big business and Wall Street will prosper while our families sink further into the economic abyss. We know that our military will be decimated.  Our future as a great nation for all its citizens would be in undeniable peril.

On balance, then, I will continue to support Donald J Trump for President.  So will the women of TFRW.

Theresa Kosmoski

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