OPINION: Principles vs. policy in the presidential race

I am proud to declare that I voted Ronald Reagan into office during my very first trip to the polls in 1980. Though I consider myself a moderate, I’ve wound up voting for every Republican presidential candidate since Reagan; including Donald Trump (twice).

I generally support Republican positions, so it should be no surprise that I prefer many of Trump’s policies over those of Kamala Harris. But this year, I find myself asking: Is a president just a platform of policies, or is it also about character?

I’m something of a history geek, and I’ve always tried to teach my kids and grandkids that George Washington was our greatest president. Not because of any policy position he held, but because of his character.

For the first time in human history, this man who had ready access to power declined it, twice.

Following the Revolution, George Washington could have installed himself in any position he wanted with the full backing of the Continental Army. Instead, he resigned his commission and walked away. He walked away again after two terms as our first president when he could have easily kept that position for life.

Washington understood the precedent he was setting and that the principles of a free society are more important than personal ambition or even deeply held policy objectives.

Fortunately, our system of government is collaborative, designed to limit exposure to potential bad policy (due to a healthy separation of powers). In other words, the nation can survive someone whose policies we don’t like. However, this nation cannot survive without the foundation of its core principles.

I didn’t tell anyone that I voted for Donald Trump in the last election. I was, frankly, embarrassed for supporting a habitual liar, just because I liked what he was saying. But then the wake-up call came on Jan. 6, 2021. Many of Trump’s supporters want to put that behind them; they try to dismiss it as just an unorganized riot, and they want to deny that for the first time in our history, a sitting president dismissed the will of the people and tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.

For the first and only time in my life, I was ashamed to be an American. I can’t imagine the shock and profound disappointment George Washington must have looking down on us right now.

I’m sorry, but nobody gets to walk back from that kind of betrayal, not even if they’ve got a better immigration policy. Character matters, integrity matters, democratic principles matter, and these values must always trump mere policy concerns.

That means that despite her policies, I must reluctantly support Harris, as I can’t think of anything more un-American than supporting a megalomaniac who would do or say anything to get and hold power.

Protecting the soul of this republic is what should always come first, and sometimes that means putting the ideals/principles of this land over our own policy preferences.

John Hozey was a search and rescue pilot for the U.S. Air Force at Elmendorf Air Force Base, the assistant borough manager for the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, an administrative director for Sen. Ted Stevens, the city manager for the City of Valdez, and the deputy chief of staff for Gov. Bill Walker.

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