Matthew Tully

I hesitated before writing this column. Not because I questioned the need to write it, and not because I doubt its validity. I’m just a bit nervous about adding fuel to the nation’s political bonfire at a time when people are losing friends because of electoral disagreements, political offices are being bombed, and even saying that you support a certain candidate seems like a hostile act.

I know that by writing this column, yet another critical take on Donald Trump, I am going to anger a lot of people at a time when I’d rather not. Worse, I know that I’m going to anger a lot of good people — people who have supported me by reading my drivel over the years and who simply have a different point of view about politics, government, policy and what’s important this election year. I’ll probably lose a few readers.

I know all of that.

But I don’t think I could justify keeping the best job in journalism if I didn’t come out once again, particularly at this critical time, and join all of the others across the ideological spectrum who see in Trump a uniquely dangerous man. And while I don’t know what to think about polls during this volatile year in politics, a new Monmouth University poll showing Trump with only a 4-point lead in Indiana left me thinking about the need for more of us to speak out, and about the opportunity we Hoosiers have to take a stand, send a message and cast a collective vote that will look a lot better that the alternative in the distant view of history.

Indiana needs to say no to Donald Trump.

Indiana needs to say no to his hatefulness and bigotry. To his ugly sexism and bullying. To his acts of pettiness and his overarching nastiness. To his boasts about sexual abuse and misogyny. To the maniacal, narcissistic behavior he puts on daily display and to the tenor of a candidate who would rather destroy our faith in this country and its elections than accept responsibility for his own self-destructive ways.

For all that, and so much more, Indiana needs to say no to Donald Trump.

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The polls are close, or at least closer, and it wouldn’t take much for Indiana to do something that wasn’t seen as possible just a few weeks ago. Four percentage points add up to a little more than 100,000 votes in an Indiana presidential election. What does that mean? It means rejecting Donald Trump is a real possibility in a state filled with Republicans and Clinton-averse independents.

And while denying Trump Indiana’s 11 electoral votes won’t determine the national outcome (if Indiana is in play, after all, this race is over), it would cement the fact that Hoosiers said no to a candidate who sank to new political lows, offered ugly and dark proclamations, set the worst example for our children and treated women like objects while mocking the disabled, stereotyping minorities, threatening to jail his opponent and exploiting in the most cynical ways many of the worst divisions within our nation.

The election of Clinton would disappoint many people. It would likely be followed by the types of controversies, investigations and divisions that always come with the Clintons. But we’re talking about four years of what likely will be a divided government led by a president who has offered thoughtful and detailed policy ideas that, in many cases, are too moderate for many within her own party. We’re talking about four years of a Democratic presidency that will give Republicans a much-needed chance to regroup and prepare for a winnable 2020 election campaign.

The election of Trump, on the other hand, would say something now and forever about our country that I believe most of us do not want said. It would say that we tolerated or embraced bigotry, hatred, sexism and the most irrational and bizarre candidacy in memory.

I’m writing these words and bracing for the fierce reaction that is sure to come. It always comes, and it’s likely to be even stronger now that Trump has spent so much time vilifying the media. Oh, well. That’s a relatively minor price to pay.

In the end, I’m not worried about those on the fringes who send rude, obscenity-laden notes my way. I’m used to it. It’s the much larger group of people — those who are voting for Trump out of a deep concern for the nation or the economy, or a deep loyalty to their party and many other reasons — that left me uneasy about writing this column. I have no interest in offending or labeling good people who just have a different perspective on politics.

I know this next point infuriates many on the left, but there are a lot of good people voting for Trump, or thinking about voting for Trump. For many, this is about the Supreme Court, Clinton’s failings and other issues that are valid and fair. Remember, we have all forgiven politicians on our side of the aisle for plenty of things while voting for them. Let’s not stereotype someone based on their votes.

But let’s also not treat this as a typical presidential election. This one matters in a way that most elections — those featuring decent candidates on both sides — have not.

This is a strange time because the political rhetoric needs to be toned down, but the pleas to reconsider a vote for Trump need to be louder. We need to focus much more on the many things that unite us, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore the need to speak out about a politician whose conduct is more troubling than anything many of us have experienced in the world of politics.

Election Day is approaching at a time when Indiana is celebrating its bicentennial. In recent weeks, we’ve seen a beautiful embrace of the state’s past. Many Hoosiers are thinking about our heritage and the things that make our state so unique and special. Our story and our history, of course, are told through the decisions that every generation makes.

Today’s generation has a big decision to make. It’s one we will look back at years from now and consider an important marker. I hope Hoosiers will decide there are some things we just won’t tolerate and some decisions that are too important to base on anything more than the message they send.

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Thank you for reading. You can follow and contact me at Twitter.com/matthewltully.