David Plazas

dplazas@tennessean.com

GOP nominee Donald Trump has questioned the legitimacy of the electoral system without evidence.

Hillary's Clinton penchant for secrecy and the email server scandal should give voters pause.

This is the most significant election in a generation, and citizens must vote to have their say.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump claims the elections are rigged and that he will only accept the results, to quote the candidate: “If. I. Win.” He offers no evidence of his claims because there is none.

His complaints echo famed segregationist George Wallace’s false and patently false allegations in 1968 that polls were rigged against him.

Trump's escalation of his already ugly, misogynistic, dishonest, racist, bigoted and self-aggrandizing rhetoric threatens the very ideas this country was founded upon.

The United States has thrived as a democracy because of a peaceful transfer of power since 1797 when George Washington ceded control of the nation to his successor John Adams.

History shows that the final tally might not be known on Election Night and that some county and state totals might be so close they demand a recount.

Take 2000 during the election between George W. Bush and Nashville’s own Al Gore. Bush finally won. The final result did not come until a Supreme Court ruling at the end of the year. As vice president and president of the Senate, Gore publicly confirmed the election results and declared his former opponent commander-in-chief.

The one-person, one-vote principle is an inherent right, fought for by the late legendary Nashville attorney John Jay Hooker.

Voting has not always been fair in America. It took a series of amendments over a hundred years to expand suffrage to African-Americans (1870), women (1920), voters who could not afford poll taxes (1964) and 18- to 20-year-olds (1971), and instances of voter fraud have been reported, investigated and prosecuted. However, government and academic studies again and again show that it is minuscule.

In short, the system is just overall.

It is ironic that Trump does not have faith in a system where the majority of state elections chiefs are Republicans. Moreover, Americans live in a time when the GOP over the years has successfully instituted unnecessary so-called anti-fraud measures like voter ID laws that courts have ruled were intended to disenfranchise people of color and low-income voters.

He also had no issue accepting primary results.

Trump’s outrageous claims threaten the legitimacy of every elected official in the country.

That is why respected top Republican officials in our state, Gov. Bill Haslam and Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, have condemned Trump’s “rigged system” canards.

Trump will prove to be the least worthy major political party candidate ever to have run for the highest office in the land.

Democrat Hillary Clinton has a distinguished public service record as a First Lady, U.S. Senator and U.S. Secretary of State.

However, the personal email server scandal, her penchant for secrecy and her trustworthiness should give Americans pause.

The First Amendment forms the foundation for what guides The Tennessean. It calls on journalists to hold government officials accountable, tell the public the truth, and empower and encourage citizens to exercise their constitutional rights.

Neither candidate has shown the necessary commitment to transparency.

However, this presidential election is the most important in a generation. It will have an impact on the United States’ place in the world and the way Americans talk to and behave toward each other.

The next president will have a fundamental role in the future of health care for Americans, the makeup of the United States Supreme Court and whether this nation continues to be a beacon for new Americans.

During the past several months The Tennessean Editorial Board actively sought to interview Clinton and Trump without success.

A fundamental part of the editorial board’s endorsement process is its ability to have access to candidates and ask them questions.

In its various incarnations since 1836, The Tennessean has endorsed candidates for president: two decades of Whig Party candidates in the mid-1800s; 150 years of candidates from the Democratic Party, as it shifted from a segregationist organization to a champion of civil rights; and in 2012, a break from tradition, by endorsing Republican Mitt Romney in his bid to unseat President Obama.

This year, the editorial board is breaking tradition again and instead presents the case for each candidate by a varied group of responsible citizens and leaders.

What we do endorse is Americans exercising their right to vote, candidates accepting the final election outcome, and the new president working hard to rebuild the trust of Americans in the institutions that have served them well for more than 200 years.

Opinion Engagement Editor David Plazas wrote this editorial in consultation with and on behalf of The Tennessean Editorial Board, which comprises President Laura Hollingsworth, VP and Executive Editor Michael A. Anastasi, News Director Maria De Varenne, Metro Columnist Frank Daniels III and Plazas. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.

Scroll down to read a series of six articles commissioned by The Tennessean making thoughtful cases for 2016 presidential candidates:

The United States’ 240-year journey to greatness has taken numerous twists and turns.

The nation has survived and recovered from depressions, recessions and panics; matured past slavery and denying the vote to women; and extended freedom far beyond the white male land-holding class.

A constant since 1787 has been the U.S. Constitution and the institutions that were created to help govern Americans and keep the government from overreaching its authority.

However, the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has shaken the legitimacy of our governing and electoral systems and threatens to destroy them by imposing a new, murky world order with the prime intent of benefiting his wealth, celebrity and erratic whims.

Thankfully, America and its institutions are bigger than one man, and no one person – no matter how convinced he is that he alone has all the answers – can break it, through insults, early morning tweets or bold-faced lies.

The next president of the United States must be someone committed to public service, who understands the restraints of the position, who recognizes and respects the power of co-equal legislative and judicial branches; and who empowers Americans to fulfill their promise.

There is only one candidate in this race that fulfills these qualifications and that isHillary Clinton.

Clinton, the Democratic nominee, former Arkansas and U.S. First Lady, senator and Secretary State, is the most qualified candidate running in 2016.

Clinton has a long record of advocacy for Americans on a number of issues, particularly health care. While her efforts in the early 1990s failed to create universal healthcare, she turned the lessons of defeat into a bipartisan victory by championing and advocating for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program in 1997.

Twice elected as a senator from New York, she developed a reputation as an effective, industrious legislator working hard across the aisle. Much of her focus turned to securing aid to rebuild New York City after the devastating 9/11 attacks.

She served on committees on budget, armed services, environment, health and education, and developed a wide breadth of understanding of policy issues.

As secretary of state, the hawkish Clinton visited 112 countries. She was America’s No. 1 diplomat and advanced a "smart power" policy that projected a strong military presence while investing heavily in alliances, technology and partnerships. She made women’s rights a cornerstone of her tenure and was the first secretary of state to usesocial media amply to project America’s interests abroad.

Clinton clearly has the intelligence, temperament and policy chops to be president.

This election has exposed areas that she must address if she is to be successful as president, all related to trustworthiness and transparency.

She must better connect Americans with their government so they can regain trust in their institutions.

She must do more than past administrations, including the Obama Administration, to be a faithful champion of greater transparency and make it easier for Americans to access public records and prevent government agencies from denying records requests.

Trump’s success as a candidate has shown that there are many people who feel like America does not work for them. The United States has made great economic gains since the Great Recession, but too many Americans have not felt the recovery in their own lives.

However, Trump is not the solution. He is the barbarian at the gate, waiting to plunder the nation, incite a mob with empty promises and build new walls to hide his mess from scrutiny.

He lies about rigged elections and knowing more than the generals; he is crude and uncivil in his discourse and nonchalant in bragging about sexually assaulting women; he fans racial division and bigotry against ethnic and religious minorities; and he has spent more time tweeting insults at a former Miss Universe than in explaining real policy solutions for America.

This is a binary choice.

One candidate is fit for office, the other is not.

Hillary Clinton should be elected president of the United States.

David Plazas is the opinion engagement editor of The Tennessean and one of five members of the Editorial Board. He resides in Nashville and is a registered voter but unaffiliated with any political party.

Editor's note: This column is part of a series of articles commissioned by The Tennessean making thoughtful cases for 2016 presidential candidates:

Quite frankly, I write this article in disbelief … disbelief that the media and dishonest politicians continue distract the American public through sound bites and unsubstantiated accusations from over a decade ago, instead of discussing the very real issues affecting our country.

At times, I am in awe that the news networks fail to report the negative stories surrounding one candidate, while at the same time obsessing over past accusations directed towards the other.

With that being said, apologies have been given and now it is imperative that we, as a nation, analyze each candidate's stances how to make our country better for our children and grandchildren.

Donald Trump is not just a political candidate for me and for many other Americans who are beyond scared for what lies ahead for our country. He says what he thinks and is not a scripted politician.

But Donald Trump is the shot of adrenaline that our country needs right now and is a person with ideas and a vision that many Americans can relate to.

This election is about a candidate’s vision for the future of our republic in a world that grows more dangerous by the day. And that’s why I – and many like me – are voting for Donald Trump’s vision for our future … and for his conservative ideas as to how to make our country better for hardworking Americans.

Donald Trump is someone who thinks our country’s economy is growing at a snail’s pace in respect to what it should, a country that cares more about taxing and punishing innovation and growth than rewarding it, a country whose trade deals and regulatory web have cost us jobs and wealth, a country that no longer places peace through strength at the center of our foreign policy, a country who is in need of conservative justices who won't judicially legislate and who will uphold our constitutional rights, a country who has been paying lip service to immigration reform for over 50 years, all while radical Islamic terrorism has become a far cry from just a threat.

Donald Trump has a motto: “Make America Great Again.” But more important, he has actual conservative plans on how to solve these problems for our children and grandchildren.

And that’s why we are voting for Donald Trump, and why you should too.

Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, serves in the Tennessee Senate. She served as the Tennessee delegation chairman during the 2016 Republican National Convention and nominated Donald Trump as the GOP presidential nominee.

Editor's note: This column is part of a series of articles commissioned by The Tennessean making thoughtful cases for 2016 presidential candidates:

“If you always do what you’ve always done, what makes you think that you are going to get something different from what you’ve always gotten.”

The 2016 presidential election is the ultimate posing of this rhetorical question.

Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson is the choice for Americans who want to make our government work for us, and not for the political class. He is the best choice to get something different from what we’ve been getting, and give America’s government back to the people.

Johnson’s rhetoric is far more measured than the other two candidates who appear on every presidential ballot in the United States, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, and has consequently gotten little national media interest.

Experience

But Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, is the epitome of a man who lets his actions speak, not his boasts.

“Fixing America is not an insurmountable task. It's actually about putting people first rather than politics. I wouldn't be involved in this if I didn't think that we can make a difference, and that it is easy, it's really easy to be principled and put the issues first and politics last.”

Unlike Clinton or Trump, Johnson has run the executive branch of government, and did it well enough to win re-election by a substantial margin. He did it as a Republican governor in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than a 2-1 margin.

He was elected on a campaign of “a common sense business approach” to government, with promises to cut the growth of government spending, reduce taxes, increase jobs, and, of course, law and order.

Once he was elected, Johnson executed his promises by using his veto power – he vetoed 47 percent of the bills that reached his desk, and exercised line-item veto power on almost every bill he signed.

“I may have vetoed more legislation than the other forty-nine governors in the country combined,” Johnson said in 2011. “And it wasn't just saying, "no," it was really looking at what we were spending our money on and what we were getting for the money we were spending.

“I really do believe in smaller government, I really believe that there are consequences of legislation that gets passed and maybe it isn't in our best interest to pass all the legislation that we pass, that it layers bureaucracy on transactions that aren't made any safer...”

Building a business

While he was student at the University of New Mexico, he worked as a self-employed handyman, going door-to-door looking for jobs. He graduated with a degree in political science in 1975, and launched his construction company, Big J Enterprises. He was the sole employee.

It did not remain a one-man operation, eventually employing as many as 1,000 workers. He sold it in 1999.

Personal toughness

Watching Johnson give an interview, or talking with him on the phone, you are likely struck by how unassuming he is. He looks goofy, and does not attempt to dominate a room with bluster, haughty demeanor, or bullying postures.

But do not mistake his modest behavior for a lack of toughness.

No candidate in this race, perhaps in any previous races, can match his physical and mental toughness.

On Dec. 16, 2014, when he was 61, Johnson became just the 396th person to climb the “Seven Summits:” Mount Everest, Mount Elbrus, Denali, Mount Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Mount Vinson, and Carstensz Pyramid—the tallest peaks in Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, South America, Antarctica, and Oceania respectively.

He was invited three times to compete in the World Ironman Championship in Hawaii, one of the most grueling competitions in sport.

Fiscal conservative, social liberal

If Johnson and his running mate Bill Weld, former governor of Massachusetts, were elected, they have said that their first task would be to present a balanced budget to Congress.

“My entire life I watched government spend more money than what it takes in and I just always thought that there would be a day of reckoning with regard to that spending…

“Listen,” Johnson said in a September telephone interview, “we are heading to a fiscal cliff, and we have to address it.”

The balanced budget plan would address spending on social security, Medicare and Medicaid, as well as military spending, with an emphasis on the costs of the current strategy of “regime change” in areas around the world.

He said that the best way to address Medicaid spending challenges would be to make block grants to the states.

Johnson thinks one of our greatest governmental failures is the “war on drugs,” and favors legalizing marijuana.

He supports a woman’s right to choose.

But he also fully supports the Second Amendment of the constitution.

He is opposed to the policy of American military interventionism that, he says, makes America less safe.

He is in favor of free trade, and immigration that is focused on bringing people into the country who want to work and participate in the American economic dream.

In short, Johnson is not what we’ve always done.

He is a man of experience, toughness, character, and humility.

Washington, and all of America, would benefit from the kind of change he would bring.

Reach Frank Daniels III: fdanielsiii@tennessean.com, 615-881-7039, or on Twitter @fdanielsiii

Editor's note: This column is part of a series of articles commissioned by The Tennessean making thoughtful cases for 2016 presidential candidates:

Mistreatment of women has been a regretful part of our culture for a long time, but its ramifications have recently reached a new low.

A presidential candidate shrugging off the seriousness of his crass statements is shameful — enough to make any parent cringe and dole out stern punishment. But I see two benefits from this fundamentally wrong situation.

One, we found out before the election — not after.

Two, it’s given all leaders the opportunity to put principle before politics.

I’ve been proud of the Democratic Party since Trump’s distasteful comments. Hillary Clinton has been the very example of a leader during this controversy.

I’ve also been very proud of Gov. Haslam, who has decidedly put principle before politics. Haslam reminded me of former Gov. Ned Ray McWherter, while clearly a Democrat’s democrat, won the respect of both sides by putting the state’s needs before politics.

As I’ve traveled the state encouraging our citizens to vote, I’ve clearly seen that we need more leaders like Haslam with his firm stance decrying Trump’s lack of principles. I only wish that more of our Republican leaders across the state and in Washington would be as honest.

I encourage all Tennesseans to rally behind our governor and do the right thing. I’ve never seen a political system more fractured than today. It wasn’t that long ago that McWherter reached across the political divide to appoint Republican businessman Nelson Andrews as the chairman of the board of education.

We once saw cooperation between and across parties to put the good of the people first. It’s a shame we don’t see that much anymore.

Women’s role in politics has come light-years since gaining the right to vote. We should be proud of Nashville’s pivotal role in the Suffrage Movement and passage of the 19th Amendment.

Yet we see the opposite from Trump, who consistently degrades women and gives every indication that he considers them less capable and unworthy of significant roles in our country’s leadership.

I certainly know first-hand what a formidable candidate a woman makes and what quality work she can accomplish during her first year in office. There are fewer Republican women in Congress today than there were even 10 years ago, a disheartening fact Politico reported recently. Only 8 percent of the 308 congressional districts with primaries this year nominated a Republican woman for the office. Even more disturbing is that this is “in line with the current makeup of the House Republican Conference, which is 91 percent male and 9 percent female.”

We have an historic opportunity to elect the first female president of the United States. The New York Times considers Clinton’s chances at 92 percent. Similar results are on nearly every election forecast, regardless of their skew. FiveThirtyEight reports that Clinton’s chances are 87.6 percent. Right-leaning FOX News’ recent poll has Clinton leading by a substantial seven points.

Nearly 55 years ago, President Kennedy spoke in Nashville in May 1963.

In an eloquent speech given six months before his assassination, he discussed the importance of using one’s talents to serve society. “I urge all of you today, especially those who are students, to act, to enter the lists of public service and rightly win or lose the prize,” he said.

Calling it our obligation, he said, “You will find the pressures greater than the pay. You may endure more public attacks than support. But you will have the unequaled satisfaction of knowing that your character and talent are contributing to the direction and success of this free society.”

Bill Freeman is the chairman of Freeman Webb Inc., a real estate investment, management and brokerage company based in Nashville, which he co­-founded in 1979. He is a Democratic Party fundraiser, Hillary Clinton backer and member of the Metro Nashville Airport Authority.

Editor's note: This column is part of a series of articles commissioned by The Tennessean making thoughtful cases for 2016 presidential candidates:

For me, deciding to support Donald Trump really came easily. Everyone I initially “favored,” everyone I really “liked,” either turned down the nomination or decided to find a real job instead.

My first choice was the “brilliant” Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Unfortunately, shortly after casting his deciding vote in favor of Obamacare, Justice Roberts found out that from now on, all his future surgeries will be performed by a dental hygienist in a 24-hour, walk-in clinic in Franklin.

Furious at Obama and Hillary, who had both assured him he wouldn’t lose his lifetime doctor, he is anxiously awaiting for someone to “fix” Obamacare, so that Washington insiders like himself, would continue to receive better treatment than the rest of us.

My second choice was the iconic FBI Director, James Comey, who decided instead, to apply for a job with the Clinton Foundation. When Wikileaks made his application public, The Foundation issued an immediate statement stating that we shouldn’t worry about any security breach, because all of the FBI director’s personal information was sent to them directly by email on his own personal server.

Furthermore, his donation check was definitely not “pay for play.” He just wanted to show his appreciation to be added to the list of all the other foreign dictators, who donated money to Hillary’s favorite charity while she was still Secretary of State.

The 49ers “star” quarterback, Colin Kaepernick was my third pick. Unfortunately, Kaepernick’s political career ended suddenly, when he suffered a career-ending knee injury while demonstrating his anti-American kneeling position to the entire adoring editorial board of the New York Times.

This occurred while he was explaining why, despite his $11.9 million dollar football contract, he still believes that here in America, only the privileged class can succeed.

My fourth and final choice was Elizabeth Warren. She also turned down the nomination because she was so busy trying to live frugally on her modest $174,000 government salary. (Thank goodness it included lifetime benefits.)

Her critics don’t realize that she actually needs her $430,000 teaching position at Harvard to afford her modest, unpretentious $1.9 million-dollar Cambridge, Mass. home. Being of Native American Indian heritage really prepared her for this middle class life.

Obviously, the same is true for Hillary, who left the White House “penniless and in debt.” It was amazing how many $250,000 speaking engagements magically appeared for both her and hubby Bill to produce her “modest” $200 million dollar net worth.

I was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Donald Trump’s home town, Queens, N.Y. I have come to the conclusion that what this country really needs to straighten out the mess in Washington, is a non-politician, an outsider, someone with a “Brooklyn-Queen’s attitude.”

Nothing can be worse than the hypocrisy and incompetency we have now. Donald Trump is for me.

Dr. Stephen Morris, DDS, was born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, N.Y. He retired to Nashville.

Editor's note: This column is part of a series of articles commissioned by The Tennessean making thoughtful cases for 2016 presidential candidates:

In 2012 I described myself as a libertarian-leaning Republican. Ironically enough, I also had a strong distaste in my mouth for Ron Paul and his supporters that year.

To refresh your memory, Ron Paul was a candidate in the 2012 Republican primaries who held very principled, libertarian views and garnered a great deal of support. When he ultimately lost the nomination to Mitt Romney, many of his supporters voted third party or didn’t vote at all.

I personally was outraged by this. Beating the Democrats and Obama was crucial in my eyes, and clearly a third party could not win. These people were simply not facing reality and were putting our future in jeopardy because of it.

A lot has changed in four years though, and so have I. I’ll be voting third party this year and I’d like to tell you why.

Had Rand Paul won the Republican nomination, wild horses couldn’t have pulled me away from the GOP. Had Jim Webb won the Democrat nomination I very well might have voted for a Democrat for the first time in my life. That’s because I now vote on principles, not people, not personalities and not party.

Neither of the two major parties nominated individuals whom I can vote for. I’m equally disgusted by both of them.

Fortunately, there is a third option. That option is Gary Johnson. He’s the Libertarian Party nominee and the former governor of New Mexico where he has a fantastic track record.

He also has an outstanding platform with thoughtful, original policies that address the root issues of problems we are facing as a society. If you agree with me on the following topics, I would highly suggest you look into Gary Johnson as well.

Foreign policy is of the utmost importance. The bases are loaded so to speak, and the decisions made by our next president will be of paramount consequence in all of our lives. For too long, the United States has held a reckless and rash foreign policy that has led to the rise of ISIS, the demolition of Libya and the destabilizing of the Middle East – among other equally disastrous things.

Enough is enough. America should be focusing on problems at home, no more nation building, no more playing police dog for the world and especially no more inserting ourselves in conflicts that don’t pertain to us at all. If an existential threat arises then we should rise to meet it – constitutionally, by Congress declaring war.

Speaking of dealing with problems at home, immigration reform is essential. But I adamantly and wholeheartedly disagree with Trump’s proposals on both ethical and economic grounds.

Immigrants are a vibrant and cherished part of our nation’s fabric, and no one knows this better than a former governor of a border state. A wall is a senseless waste of money, and the cost of deporting millions of people, both financially and to our civil rights, is an asinine expenditure. Instead, we should focus on creating a more efficient and simple system for legally entering our country.

Other problems we must address at home include criminal justice reform, ending the war on drugs and stopping the infringement of our Fourth Amendment rights. It’s equally important we reform our tax code and balance our budget, as well as scale back regulations.

The rights to self-protection, free speech and religious liberty have all come under attack recently and must be defended. And as our public education system continues to erode, expanding educational choice is imperative. I’ve heard both major candidates threaten these liberties outright or propose policies that would be detrimental to their advancement.

That is why Gary Johnson is the only candidate for me in 2016.

Hannah Cox resides in Nashville. She is a political activist and has worked in the nonprofit and private sector arenas.

Editor's note: This column is part of a series of articles commissioned by The Tennessean making thoughtful cases for 2016 presidential candidates:

Election Night Watch Party

Early voting goes through Nov. 3. Election Day is on Nov. 8. Do not miss your chance to vote. Regarding the write-in option, only votes for candidates who have been certified by the Tennessee Secretary of State as "write-ins" will be counted.

Also, be a part of Nashville history: attend an Election Night watch party at The Tennessean — the last presidential election to be spent at the 1100 Broadway location.

The event goes from 5:30-10:30 p.m. and includes a tour of the presses, traditional Election Night newsroom pizza and discussion with our journalists.

Attendance is limited to 50 and the cost is $15 per person. Attendees will receive a Tennessean goodie bag

Register at http://electionparty.tennessean.com to reserve your spot.