Feel the “Bern”: From One Young Voter to Another

#Election2016

Getting past the 3 M’s… Mud, Media and Misinformation

Election season is upon us and once again we find ourselves embroiled in Republican and Democratic Party debates.  Unlike last election, however, this time around we have to pick between two unproven leaders.  And whatever they may tell you to get your vote, none of them have any idea of what they’re getting into.  Being President of the United States instantly makes you the most powerful person in the world.  You are endowed with the greatest military the world has ever known, an annual GDP of over $17 TRILLION[1], a nuclear arsenal with the capability of destroying all life on Earth, not to mention a deficit that amounts to over $17 Trillion as well.[2]  For anyone to say they have the “experience” to handle all of this is either; A.) Lying for votes B.) Hiding a rather impressive (and probably illegal) resume from the public or C.) Oblivious of the requirements for President, which is scarier than A.  Regardless, none of the candidates running for office have the experience necessary to run the country.

A lot of people my age seem eager to vote in the upcoming election.  I don’t know what it is, there is just a sense of urgency that if we, as a nation, don’t choose the right person, the country will fall apart completely.  While things may seem bad, I just want to let people know that we have been through worse.  We made it through Nixon, Hoover, Buchanan, etc. and are still standing today.  So don’t place all of your eggs in this one election, we’ll still be around to correct the problem should we elect a poor President in November.

There are assumptions made about voters my age that I would like to address.  One is the assumption that all young voters are Liberals.  This is not true.  I know plenty of people my age that are Conservative and I live in New York.  Being Liberal or Conservative doesn’t define you as a person or voter either. Being Liberal doesn’t make you a radical progressive who wants equality for everything.  And being Conservative doesn’t make you a staunch believer in keeping things the way they are.  Whatever our political views are, most young voters, just like most people in general, are for progress.  The only difference is the speed at which we make that progress.

Another assumption is that we get all of our information from social media.  While a lot of it, regrettably, is through Twitter and Facebook, (74% actually)[3] CNN, Fox News and the other news outlets provide us with tons of information.  At a college campus, there is constantly a TV on with the news and there are always students watching and learning.  I wish more of us would read the paper every now and then or get the perspective from a renowned political scientist or historian, but we live in an era of technology.

The last assumption is that our vote doesn’t matter.  Our vote, particularly those of young voters, is the most important fuel for these candidates’ campaigns.  If it wasn’t important, these politicians wouldn’t be continuously embarrassing themselves to earn our trust and vote.  They portray themselves to be hip and with the times by taking selfies, doing popular dances or keeping up with social media to make themselves seem more relatable to us.  They want us to feel safe and believe that they will be looking out for our best interests.  It’s the same as when a candidate goes to a shooting range and fires off a couple rounds to impress the NRA.  “You can shoot a gun?  You obviously care about gun rights.” Similarly, “Oh, you Dab?  Well you obviously care about our generation.”  So stop telling yourself your vote isn’t important.  We are going to make or break this election for someone.

With that being said, I’d like to talk about each candidate and give my fellow young voters a better sense of what each person brings to the table because with all the mudslinging going around it’s getting hard to tell truth from fiction.  No CNN or Fox News here trying to brainwash you and control your vote.  I’m just a 21 year old trying to help you through all of the mud.  This is not to change your mind, only to put the candidates in the voice of our generation.  If you’re tired of hearing older people tell you who will treat you best, this is worth the read.  Hopefully, this will convince you to go and look up some of these candidates for further evaluation.  I don’t want my views being used because then I am no better than the media or a social media celebrity.

BERNIE SANDERS- DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST (Self-proclaimed youth)

What is there to say about this guy that isn’t already known?  He is the new era in politics even if he may be one of the oldest candidates ever.  But he still embodies that sense of progress and revolution that always seem to drive the younger generations.  He is progressive on every issue and has stated his desire to revamp everything D.C. and turn them upside down.  He plans on hitting Wall Street with everything he’s got.  He’s anti-establishment, like someone else in the race.  But he’s also Anti-Trump.  Look, I get it.  Bernie wants to legalize pot, make school free, health care free, drive the banks away, etc.  He genuinely cares about the people and I believe he would do everything to fix the disparity in the classes.  He would also do his best in stopping corruption at the federal level because he doesn’t stand for it.

BUT this guy, like Trump, seems like a ticking time bomb.  If he’s president, I’m afraid he’ll tackle too many issues too fast and he’ll get shut out.  Congress and the courts won’t want to hear it and he’ll be forced to take executive action which leads to an abuse in power.  It’s one of the things that Obama got too comfortable with towards the end of his term, in my opinion.  Bernie’s got the fire and the path to progression but sometimes it’s way too fast.  And the Socialism thing scares me.  I know he has explained himself numerous times but still, he should know better.  We spent over 40 years fighting the Union of Soviet SOCIALIST Republics (USSR) because we did not believe in their ideologies.  So to throw that word around your campaign so freely is irresponsible in my eyes and one of the major hindrances in his campaign.

Overall, Bernie is a unique candidate and I hope his style and fire rubs off on some of the younger generation.  A less radical person with that personality would be unstoppable in their political career.

HILLARY CLINTON- Democrat (*message deleted from server*)

Hillary Clinton is possibly the scariest and most exciting candidate of them all. (Trump the other) When I think about Hillary, I cringe.  She seems deceitful, unforgiving and mysterious.  Her life has been in the public eye for so long and still she somehow manages to keep secrets.  While it is disturbing, it is equally impressive.  It is impossible to believe a word that comes out of this woman’s mouth.  She has also flip-flopped on a number of issues.  And there is nothing wrong with changing your mind.  However, with Hillary, she makes it appear as if she never flip-flopped and had always had her current views.  Her relationship with President Obama is extremely awkward.  Their friendship is completely based off of his public approval ratings.  She has no problem stabbing him in the back and then supporting him if the numbers support her actions.  Benghazi is obviously scary.  She seems tense every time she is approached with the question randomly.  But then when she is talking before a committee, you can’t help but believe every word she says about it.

It begs to the point that this woman is calculating and extremely persuasive.  And it is hard to tell whether or not that is a good thing.  What works for her is experience.  She was first lady as well as Secretary of State.  While she was not great at either, she still has the closest idea of how the country is run.  That and, like Jeb Bush, she has the bonus of having the support of someone who has done this before.  Bill Clinton will obviously help Hillary out and that could be seen as a reason to vote for her.

Hillary Clinton is an extremely gifted politician, probably the best in the race.  But she seems too untrustworthy to elect.  There is a reason people feel unsure about her.  It’s that gut feeling kicking in and we should listen to it.  That, and like Cruz, there is the possibility of a legal issue which no one wants to deal with.

Martin O’Malley– Democrat (The 3rd person on stage at Democratic debates)

I feel like I have to first tell you who this guy is considering his abysmal poll numbers.  O’Malley is the former Democratic governor from Maryland who stands to the left of Hillary when they debate on TV.  While at first glance, he may just seem like a special moderator, O’Malley is actually in the debate as well.  And if you listen closely to what he has to say, you’d discover that he says a lot of likeable things.  When I listen to him speak, I find myself intrigued about what he is trying to do.  He isn’t a rebel like Bernie but he also isn’t completely establishment like Hillary.  Instead, he’s closer to the middle, closer to Hillary, but still far enough away.  Hopefully he performs well in Iowa because I’d like to see him get a real shot at the nomination.  He may be the man we need for the job, we just don’t see it.  A moderate always seems like the way to go, especially in a time where it looks like the 2 bickering parties may legitimately go to war.

The problems are obvious. No one knows who he is. He polls terribly everywhere and when they debate, he is given 4 questions the entire 2 and a half hours the debate runs.  It’s hard for us to learn about someone when they’re not given the chance to present themselves.  However, I partially blame that on him.  When he is called on to speak, he speaks perhaps too calmly and always ends up being interrupted by Clinton or Sanders.  Problem is, he doesn’t assert himself on the debate stage and that does not bode well for the office. Another issue is that he still may be too establishment for most peoples’ taste.

If all remains the same, it’s obvious that Martin O’Malley doesn’t have a powerful enough voice to sit in the oval office.  If he can assert himself, however, he is an extremely interesting candidate going forward.

DONALD TRUMP- Republican (ISIS=fearless / Megyn Kelly=intimidating ???)

Donald Trump is THE scariest candidate we’ve ever seen.  He has the country by the throat and he refuses to let it go.  He effectively jumped on an issue (immigration) that touched the hearts of many Americans and exploited it for the votes.  With a herd of passionate followers, Trump has been compared to the likes of Hitler and, while ridiculous, they’re not all that far off.  Trump despises Muslims, Mexicans, Fox News, CNN, President Obama, etc. the list goes on.  He proposes insane policies that would never in a million years be allowed to be implemented.  His words sound good, I know.  They make us feel like we can be a fighting nation.  But we need to understand that everything Trump says is filler.  He shouts a bunch of nonsense and creates uproar but there is no substance to what he says.  He has yet to tell us how he will get Mexico to build a wall or how he would negotiate with Iran.

With such little information, it is hard to see how he’s grown such a huge lead.  But it’s what he stands for that makes him a viable candidate.  Underneath all of the crap, Trump is a Populist who is speaking from the angry side of America.  And we are an angry nation right now.  We feel betrayed on a lot of what has happened recently.  Other nations view us as weak.  And Donald Trump is the voice that is loud enough to attack those problems.  He is also as far away from the establishment as possible.  The nation hates the establishment right now and them attacking Trump only makes him more powerful.  He’s like the Hulk.  Every time he’s attacked, he just gets stronger and more popular.

The thing is; Trump is a really good politician who also happens to control the media.  They give him attention every time he opens his mouth and don’t understand how he is increasing his lead.  And I know this whole excerpt on Trump seems all over the place but that’s exactly how it will be with Trump as President.  Can you really call yourself a responsible American if you place the United States nuclear arsenal in this man’s hands?  Maybe you can, but for me, I think one bad negotiation with Iran or Russia and it’ll be, “Ah, these Iranians are losers anyway.  Give me the button. Bye-bye losers.  Don’t worry, the Iranian people will still love me after this.  I have great relations with those people.  I’m building a casino there as we speak.”

TED CRUZ- Republican (Noted Canadian)

Ted Cruz is one of the, so-called, anti-establishment candidates.  Maybe that’s because he hates immigrants, maybe it’s because the establishment hates him, or maybe it’s because he was born in CANADA.  I don’t know.  What I do know is that he has some crazy plans for the country.  He basically wants to erase everything that President Obama has done over the past 8 years.  He doesn’t seem to understand the idea of progress and he’s also pushing too hard to be the humorous candidate of the field.  I hate to break it to you Cruz but you’re not funny at all.  So keep sending links to videos and I’ll continue to get more upset.  Also, the guy was born in Canada.  Look, I get that he’d most likely be fine if a legal issue was brought up but do you really want to risk that?  Giving the election away because of a lawsuit would be a horrible way to lose.  Maybe it’s best that he just endorse someone and try again when there aren’t exploiters in the field.

That being said, Cruz does have some intrigue to him.  He’s different and maybe that’s what the country needs.  He’s similar to Marco Rubio in a lot of areas except for the fact that Rubio isn’t as much of an extremist conservative.  Cruz is tough and an incredible debater.  That would suit him well in the White House.  Relations are a huge concern and with a man as persuasive as Cruz, who knows what could happen.

While his debating skills and tough demeanor are incredible assets, I feel Cruz would be better suited as a Secretary of State.

MARCO RUBIO- Republican (Serious with a side of Cuban)

Marco Rubio is a lot like Ted Cruz except for the Canadian part.  They both come from immigrant parents, they both hate immigrants and they both say they’re anti-establishment even though they’re US Senators.  They also both want to erase the last 8 years of Obama.  Within 30 days of office, Rubio plans on getting rid of everything Obama did.  His hatred for the administration is incredibly strong.  What I don’t get is why he’s so completely serious all the time.  He talks as if it is completely urgent that he get elected.  Like if we don’t pick him the US is going to blow up because of Obamacare.  He needs to focus more on reaching us and less on pleading for our vote.  He comes across as desperate.  Finally, the amount of times he’s missed votes in the Senate is just kind of weird.  Is he responsible enough to lead the country?

But still, Rubio is a solid candidate.  He’s not an extremist like Cruz.  He has also worked with Democrats before.  Sure, he flip-flopped but sometimes being able to compromise or change your opinion is a good thing.  That is the most important quality of a president; getting the parties to work together.  It is Obama’s number 1 failure and he would admit it.  That and Rubio dislikes the current immigration policy and he comes from immigrants.  That is a good sign to me.  It shows that if he’s not even going to be biased towards something that personifies him, maybe he won’t be able to be bought by corporations and lobbyists.

JEB BUSH- Republican (Avoiding his last name like it’s the plague)

JEB! He was doomed from the start and it’s not even his fault.  Jeb has the unfortunate pleasure of being related to two former presidents who got themselves into some hot water over in the Middle East.  Both dad and W. embroiled themselves in wars which were public disasters.  The public forgave dad but they cannot find it within them to forgive W.  With that hate for the Bush family still ever present, Jeb has found it extremely hard to get any traction.  But he can blame himself some bit also.  He picked a fight with a man who was far more prepared for it than he was.  Trump demolished Jeb within weeks and sent him crashing down the polls.  And the thing is, Jeb kind of rolled over and took it.  Like O’Malley, there is no fight in this guy and it makes him look incredibly weak.  He is being viewed as the weakest of the Bush boys and his brother was a cheerleader.

Regardless of all the negatives surrounding Jeb, good can still be found.  For one, he has incredibly rich backers which is allowing him to stay afloat long enough.  What will help him is surviving past the preliminary caucuses when candidates begin to drop.  After that, Jeb can assert himself.  And he should because, although he is the epitome of establishment, he brings a moderate approach to the Republican Party that can’t really be seen anywhere else.  Let’s not forget all of the help he can get from the family.  And while you may not like it, only 5 men know what it is like to run this country and 2 of them are in Jeb’s family.

If he can get over the fear of his last name as well as get from underneath Donald Trump’s boot, Jeb! could be looking at an interesting campaign.

CHRIS CHRISTIE- Republican (Invented the “I Hate Hillary” t-shirt)

Chris Christie is out of shape.  I’m not one to talk but it’s just the tough truth.  There is a certain image the President has to uphold nowadays.  While it shouldn’t deny him votes, it does promote a bad message about America.  That and the fact that he’s a fighter from Jersey are holding him back.  No one likes New Jersey so naturally no one is going to like a candidate from there.  He likes to yell, much like Trump, but it’s not nearly as effective as Trump.  He also tends to attack Hillary Clinton more than actually talk about himself which is hurting his campaign.  Just promote your message man.

That being said, Christie, like Rubio, is one of the candidates poised to make a big push and make things interesting.  He is governor of New Jersey, a blue state, which means he can get votes from Democrats and he can also work with Democrats.  Christie has also been a leader through tragedy and hard times.  During Superstorm Sandy, he guided New Jersey through hardship and then, in its aftermath, brought the state back to life.  His past as a lawyer and attorney general also give him some good perspective on legal issues that confront presidents.  And his tough demeanor will only benefit him in negotiations as long as he withholds from threatening other leaders with baseball bats when he gets upset.  If he lays off of Hillary a little bit, Christie might be able to pull off some major upsets.

BEN CARSON- Republican (Known for voicing Droopy Dog)

Ben Carson was soaring for a while and maybe it was because he’s a brilliant neurosurgeon.  Or maybe it was because he’s black.  Or maybe it was because he didn’t say much while he was soaring.  I agree with the latter because once that man started talking, his numbers dropped incredibly fast.  People began to realize that, though he was brilliant, Carson knew nothing about politics.  And don’t feel bad because it wasn’t just us.  He even tricked his own campaign staff into thinking that he was qualified.  They soon found out just how lost that man truly was.

Carson is anti-establishment but he is also the establishment’s best hope for winning.  His incompetence might just be enough to convince people that they need an establishment candidate if they want to keep the country moving.  He’s not worth the time anymore.

JOHN KASICH- Republican (Goes to gay weddings-Opposes gay weddings ?)

Kasich is the governor from Ohio who is that dark horse candidate we always tend to find ourselves talking about.  Much like Rick Santorum in 2012, Kasich is quietly climbing the polls although he’s not doing much.  He may perform well for a little while but, like Santorum, he will fall off when people see what he’s really like.  Kasich doesn’t really offer much in this race.  He is very run of the mill compared to the other candidates.  I personally love a candidate who is run of the mill because it shows that they’re humbled and non-extremists.  But Kasich neither talks loudly nor carries a big stick so he can’t be seriously considered in my opinion.  He would definitely make a very reliable Vice President though and he tends to remind me a lot of Joe Biden in his demeanor.

 WRAP-UP

I hope this has been helpful.  These are what I believe the pros and cons of the candidates are.  I tried to be fair and show the good and bad of each.  Some had more than others but in the end I think it’s enough to get the point across.  All of the candidates have their pros and cons.  You need to pick which one you can live with and then go out and vote for them.  If you don’t know who to pick, that’s okay too.  There’s still plenty of time.  The most important thing is that you choose who you want and not who the media or anyone else told you to choose.  I don’t even know who my candidate is yet and I also just made it worse by writing all of this.  Good luck.

[1] http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp

[2] http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/debt/current

^[3] https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/reports/survey-research/millennials-news/

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