Who in November?

Last week, the RNC was held in Cleveland. This week, the DNC is in Philly. While much has already been said about the fractured parties and the scandalous activity that’s driven us to where we are now (no further comment), I still have questions, and they all revolve around this main one:

To those politicians not in favor of Trump or Clinton: ‘Who are we to choose?’

This cycle, my public involvement has ebbed and flowed because it’s been a roller coaster of a year. One moment, I know what’s coming and where I stand. The next, it’s all a blur.

Regardless, I still firmly believe that this cycle is very important with more than just the next four years at stake. There are Supreme Court seats likely to open (in addition to the one already open). There are international security and trade concerns. There are educational policies and structures in need of being revisited. And the list goes on and on.

And to top it all off, we barely concluded one of most draining primary seasons (for both parties) with a record number of candidates. We can’t afford to not be informed. We can’t afford not to vote. And while I don’t always agree with President Obama’s platform, he said it best last night:

Don’t boo—vote!

Sure, I understand that each political leader fills a specific role. Some like to fundraise; some stump. Some stay local; others go national. There’s also the “down ballot” argument, which has many highly respected officials up in arms, campaigning as fervently as possible. I get it, and I can respect it.

But, I still want to know who to vote for in November. Yes, I’m thankful for the freedom and ability to choose this on my own; but still, I would feel better about the process if previous candidates and other elected officials would stop shying away from the question.

Specifically, I want to know for whom Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, and Ted Cruz are planning to cast their votes. Jeb Bush, too! Are they going to write someone else’s name in, or are they secretly going to vote for Trump/HRC?

But maybe it’s not my right to know. However, they are choosing to publicly go against the grain of the party—so that kind of changes things, right?

As an example, I can respect the way Mrs. Fiorina’s chosen to rebut Mrs. Clinton’s argument over the past few weeks by highlighting videos of statements made during her own presidential run. Nevertheless, it still doesn’t point me to who I as a Republican should vote for.

Maybe at this point, though, I should look to Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, and Paul Ryan instead, but I know doing so won’t fully satisfy my wonderings.

To me, however selfishly this may sound, I feel let down. I supported Mrs. Fiorina and Gov. Kasich during the primary, so is it too much to ask them what to do now?