Trying to Understand Why My Friend Jonah Goldberg Won’t Vote for Hillary

Trying to Understand Why My Friend Jonah Goldberg Won’t Vote for Hillary
Yes. "My position in all this is really rather simple. I’ve never much cared about the idea that I might influence voters one way or the other. We think about that kind of thing institutionally at National Review, of course. But as an independent writer, I’ve always thought playing those sorts of games was corrupting. I see my job as telling the truth as I see it. Hillary Clinton will be bad for America. Donald Trump will be bad for America. I could spend a lot of time and energy trying to figure out which one would be worse—and I have many thoughts on the topic which I’m happy to share—but no matter how that question resolved itself, it wouldn’t change the fact that both are unacceptably bad. At least for me, I think it’s better to be honest and straightforward about that and let the chips fall where they may. Many conservatives—including many friends and fans—don’t like that answer because they think I have to bend the knee to some abstract binary: If I’m not for Trump that means I’m for Hillary. This seems to me a confusion of the logic of voting (which itself is pretty faulty, voters have other options) for the obligations of a writer or analyst. Ted Cruz, before his prostration, told conservatives to vote their conscience. I’m going to speak my conscience. When given a choice between two crap sandwiches on different kinds of bread, my response is “I’ll skip lunch”—and then I’ll tell you why."