Oh, sorry I did not answer your question.
Of course I am hopeful about the upcoming election. To me it is about more than just who will be president. My vote for president in that election will not make a difference I am in a deep red state and we have the electoral college so my states electors will go to Trump.
Hopeful just means I have some small hope the election will bring better things. I have not given up hope yet. Even after the election I will look for a silver lining even if I don't like the outcome.
I am a Republican who will not be voting for Trump and I will not be voting for our Republican incumbent senator either in our "Jungle Primary" held on the same day as the General Election. We do not have separate Primary elections for senators we have an open Primary with a potential for winner take all if a candidate can get more than 50 percent of the vote. If not the top two candidates go into a run off and they can be from the same party. I am going to vote for one of the underdogs to see who rises to the top before I vote in the run-off. I also want to see who wins the presidential election as I might decide to vote for a Senator from a different party than the winner of the Presidential Election. I am uncomfortable with one party having control of too much of the Federal Government.
To me it should be more important who is your mayor or governor than who are your senators and president. I think the role of the Federal Government is and should be limited and it is already too powerful (too powerful and to beholden to big money). That is why I am and have been a Republican which is very hard these days as the current Republican leadership is a huge embarrassment. The Democrat leadership is also embarrassing.
We (they) are in the thrall of the United Neo-Liberal/Conservative Plutocratic Oligarchic Elites. It no longer is sufficient to call them "the Powers that Be" as that does not reveal their malevolence. The Powers that Be, could be benevolent but currently they are not, clearly revealed by wealth inequality not properly offset by charity and philanthropy. I don't mind low taxes on the rich if the rich would use enough of their wealth to make our society better as I think they could do a better job than our government but they are not doing the right things, not doing the things they could and instead are focused on increasing their wealth and the resulting inequality. There are two ways to reduce wealth inequality you can make the rich poorer or you can make the poor richer. They are doing neither.
