Ronna Romney McDaniel

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have two distinctly different visions for the future of our country.

Hillary Clinton wants the status quo: sluggish economic growth, weakened national security, higher poverty rates, skyrocketing health care costs and a rapidly expanding government.

Donald Trump recognizes the need for change. He will strengthen our military, tackle our national debt, enact policies that create jobs, fight for fair trade and get our economy growing again.

The mainstream media has made this a campaign about personalities, dedicating their time to digging up every morsel of Donald Trump’s personal life, while neglecting to report the alarming record of secrecy, pay-to-play and carelessness of Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state.

By distracting the voters with the politics of personality they are neglecting to educate voters on the factors that should matter: the records and policies of these two candidates.

Hillary Clinton’s record as secretary of state is the best way to assess her flawed candidacy. She presented Russia with a “reset button” while underestimating the geo-political foe they were becoming. She housed classified emails on an unsecure server, threatening our national security.

Most telling was her failure to respond to the terrorist attack that took the lives of a U.S. ambassador and three others on Sept. 11, 2012, in Benghazi. She falsely blamed the attack on a video in public while privately telling her daughter the truth of the terror attack. When congressional hearings were held to determine what happened that tragic day, she deleted over 30,000 emails. Her recently revealed emails show she continually prioritized her ambition and privacy above transparency and the security interests of our country. Clinton’s record and her desire to retread the failing Obama policies make her unfit for the presidency.

Donald Trump is a businessman who over decades has created thousands of jobs. Trump has proposed lowering corporate tax rates to 15 percent, which would make the U.S. competitive with the rest of the world. His advocacy of fair trade and cracking down on currency manipulation will keep and create more jobs here in Michigan.

He wants to reduce the regulatory burdens that are stifling small business startups and economic growth. He has a plan to strengthen our military, our borders, our world standing, and to defeat ISIS. He has pledged to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia with a rule of law justice who will follow the constitution.

Donald Trump speaks from the heart. He sees a broken Washington that favors the politically connected, leaving behind hard-working Americans. He is not running to serve Washington special interests; he is running to serve the interests of main street.

Much of our country is facing an economic crisis and we need a change agent who is willing to roll up his sleeves and get to work. We need a leader for all, not the chosen political few.

Unfortunately, much of this election has been focused on tabloid-scandals and name-calling. That needs to end. We need a return to the issues.

And what we’ve seen so far is that, on the issues, there is one clear winner: Donald Trump has the vision, leadership and team around him that can enact an agenda that works for all of us. He’s the leader we need in Washington.

Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Again,” isn’t a throwback to the past. It’s a promise that our nation can have a brighter future.

We should cast our ballot for Donald Trump on Nov. 8.

Ronna Romney McDaniel is chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party.