Someone must have asked U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo a direct question, such as: Do you plan to vote for Donald J. Trump if he’s the Republican nominee for president of the United States?
Curbelo, a GOP congressman from Florida, then must have felt compelled to answer, which is that he cannot rule out possibly voting for presumed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton this fall.
It begs this question, in my mind at least: Who cares how he votes?
Here’s another question: Is it anyone’s business how one votes, given that we vote in secret?
Rep. Curbelo has placed himself on the hot seat.
By my reckoning, he didn’t need to answer the question at all.
They cast secret ballots in Florida, just as we do in Texas and — I am going to presume — they do all the other 48 states and the U.S. territories.
How we vote is the individual’s business exclusively.
The Trump factor, though, has thrown Republicans officeholders and candidates into a tailspin as they talk to the public — and among themselves — about whether they would support Trump if he becomes the party’s presidential nominee.
Do they need to say how they would vote? No. I guess, though, it becomes a matter of “public interest,” given that members of Congress, governors and elected officials at all levels of government take an oath to represent our interests.
So the question of how they vote in the privacy of their voting booth becomes the public’s business. Is that correct?
I tend to think not.
Sure, I’ve declared in my blog that I’ve voted for Democratic presidential candidates in every election dating back to 1972. I guess, therefore, I’ve made one element of my voting record other people’s business.
But I’ve never divulged that information publicly in advance by declaring right up front who is getting my vote. Readers of this blog are free to draw whatever conclusions they wish.
As for members of Congress, such as Rep. Curbelo, for whom you vote in private is no one’s concern. Heck, they can even fib about it if they want … and no one will be the wiser.