Post #1 for 2015!
Presidential elections are always a fun and important part of studying American government. Read up on the 2016 presidential election and answer at least one of the following prompts in your post. Please use complete paragraphs, cite your information and proof read BEFORE posting. Your post should include a minimum of three media sources in it and not depend too heavily on the candidate's own website or on one media source. I look forward to reading your first posts!
* What candidate running for president (or flirting running) are you the most excited about?
* Who are you the most frustrated or outraged by? Why?
Due by 7:50 am on Fri 9/11/15.
Labels: elections, parties, president, presidential campaign
posted by maby-keirstead @ 6:08 PM
26 Comments:
With the 2016 presidential election approaching, the whole nation seems to be talking about the candidates for office. Until the recent email scandal regarding Hillary Clinton, I, like others, had not really seen Bernie Sanders as a contender (Goodman). However, as he rose in popularity, I found out more of what the buzz was all about.
Although Sanders is older, turning 75 between now and election day, many people have turned to support him (Clifton). I, for one, am a fan of the fact that he does not try to lie and manipulate his position on things simply to get a higher approval rating. He seems very genuine in how he answers things and I do not get the feeling that I am being toyed with when it comes to the man. Also, I think it is important that a potential president of our nation be able to speak his mind while remaining respectful, which I think Sanders does well. In addition to his persona, I think that Sanders’ ideology is right on track. Some people might argue that his ideas are unrealistic, such as his desire to make post-secondary education more affordable or even free, or trying to save the environment (Sanders). However, I think there is merit in that he is trying to move toward some positive changes that would actually benefit US, especially as we graduate high school and move on to higher learning of our own.
On the contrary, for a couple of the same reasons, I absolutely cannot stand Donald Trump. Like Sanders, Trump is not afraid to speak his mind. However, unlike the former, he seems to talk more without a purpose. He does not always think before he speaks, and for that, many people dislike him. Even in the Republican party, he has the highest net negative favorability rating (Cillizza). Making comments such as the need to build a wall across the southern border of the country to keep out immigrants or saying that he is really rich make him sound so unbelievably unprofessional (Trump). For one, the United States is a nation built upon immigration! Saying that he wants to keep out immigrants to protect the sanctity of our country, which is made up of other immigrants, is ridiculous. Second, pointing out the fact that he has money is not a relevant political argument! The presidential election should not be able to be bought by someone who has absolutely no political experience just because they have millions of dollars and are famous.
The election is going to be interesting, no doubt. While I do think Bernie Sanders is a compelling candidate and I am most excited about him at this point, I do not necessarily think he will end up winning the race. More or less, I just think it is best for our country if somebody other than Donald Trump wins the 2016 election.
http://www.forwardprogressives.com/5-pros-cons-bernie-sanders-presidential-candidate/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/h-a-goodman/almost-every-major-poll-shows-bernie-sanders_b_7937906.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/06/17/why-no-one-should-take-donald-trump-seriously-in-1-very-simple-chart/
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/immigration-reform
https://berniesanders.com/issues/climate-change/
Way to get the conversation going Meghan!! :)
With the 2016 election coming up soon, I was excited about being able to vote and have been keeping up with the recent Presidential candidates. So, when I read the description for the blog post, I decided it would be easier to prove Donald Trump as inadequate to run for president, rather than Bernie Sanders as my primary candidate. Based upon the statements Donald Trump has made in this Presidential process, it is hard for me to understand why people, such as the residents of Iowa, would rank him favorably (Iowa’s Crazy). However, I am convinced that the offensive things he has said in the past will negatively affect his candidacy. He seems to almost purposefully offend almost all minorities, so i’ll start with how he’s treated Latinos. He openly stated that he believed Latinos were criminals and thugs (Trump’s Crazier). The fact that any human could be so openly racist is disgusting, but I think it should be illegal that a man running for a position where he is responsible for leading a nation of peoples without biased. Of course, his statement about Hispanic Americans affected his polls, showing he’s losing all Hispanic Republican votes to Jeb Bush (Even a Bush is Less Crazy). However, his views of Hispanic also skew his view of justice. He said the shooting of a woman in San Francisco by a Mexican Immigrant was due to their race, which would potentially affect his ability to pardon Mexicans from crimes based upon their race (Poor Woman in San Francisco). His racism would prevent him from representing Hispanic Americans respectfully, and would ruin international relations with Latin countries.
But more personally to me, Donald Trump is extremely sexist. More recently, after the Republican debate was aired and he was harshly interviewed by the woman on the poll, he blamed her harsh behavior on her being on her period. He also made a sexual reference to a woman on The Apprentice, referring to her being on her knees (Trump Insults Women). Discounting the previous rape charges by his ex-wife, the way he treats women alone is revolting. His views of women would make him unable to execute Presidential duties judicially, he would discount all the women who serve under him as a potential Commander of the Military. As I am going into the military, I would not want to serve under a man who disrespects my service as a woman. There are probably hundreds of pages about how much I am disgusted by the things Trump has said, and that his running for President is taking more as a joke than an official candidacy, but why would I write what everyone thinks? If Donald Trump was elected president, i’m sure the entire country would flee to Canada.
Coming into this class, I knew that we would frequently be discussing this upcoming presidential election. As the majority, if not all, of my classmates will be able to vote in the upcoming election, this is an even more pertinent topic. For this blog post, a comparison of the candidate I am most excited for against the candidate I am most outraged, frustrated, and offended by should be an interesting read.
Bernie Sanders is the underdog that many young, progressive Democrats have started to support. As of this writing, Hillary Clinton is ahead in the Democratic nomination polls by a whopping 25 points to Sanders (Polls). As much as I would love to see Sanders win the Democratic party nomination, based on the polling data collected thus far, it is a long shot that he will pull ahead of Clinton. However, I am very excited to see how it plays out.
Bernie Sanders has been a public figure and leader for over 50 years, starting out as a leader of a sit-in opposing the segregation of the University of Chicago’s off-campus housing, to his present day position as Senator of Vermont. Every decision he has made and every vote he has placed has been for the people (Sanders). For example, in 2010 after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, Sanders secured over $12.5 billion for a program to expand federally qualified community health centers which now serve over 25 million Americans (Sanders). Actions such as these make Sanders a genuine politician that truly wants what’s best for the citizens of this country.
Now on to Donald Trump. After looking through his website in attempt to find his views on education, women’s rights, climate control, or minimum wage, I ran into a wall. A physical wall. The wall that he wants to build to separate our country from our southern neighbor (Trump). The ONLY position Trump takes on any political issue on his Presidential Campaign website, is his view on immigration in our country. I think that Trump forgets that our country consists only of immigrants. The very essence of America is that we are “the great mixing pot”. We consist of citizens of every single ethnicity and religion that the world has to offer. Trump himself, I’m sure, has ancestors from, mostly likely, an European country. Trump stereotypes Mexican immigrants as “criminals, drug dealers, [and] rapists” (Trump Quote). This is ridiculous, and because of comments such as these, Trump has lost, and will continue to lose the Latino voting population, as well as the Republicans that do not think that it is okay to be blatantly racist.
I have one other issue with Donald Trump; his Twitter account, and the things that he says in general. In early 2013, Trump tweeted the following, “26,000 unreported sexual assults in the military-only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?” (Trump Tweet). Where to begin. For one thing, this is an extremely sexist thing to post, especially on a platform so public as Twitter. As Tera said in her post, she would not want to serve under a man who disrespects her service because of her gender. We’re talking about the potential President of the United States. This man is our potential commander in chief for one of the largest military forces in the world, and him making sexist comments is not and will never be okay. Oh, he also spelled ‘assaults’ wrong in his tweet, but we all make mistakes right?
Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are polar opposites of one another, but they do have one thing in common, they each have seven (7) grandchildren (Sanders and Trump)! This is going to be a very interesting presidential race, and I am very excited to be apart of it by being able to exercise my right to vote next year.
berniesanders.com/issues/ (Sanders)
www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/immigration-reform (Trump)
www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/president/ (Polls)
twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/331907383771148288 (Trump Tweet)
www.businessinsider.com/donald-trumps-epic-statement-on-mexico-2015-7 (Trump Quote)
In anticipation for the coming election I’ve been having a lot of discussions with others about the candidates and what they stand for as I will be able to vote in 2016. For me, it is too soon to choose a specific candidate that I would vote for because I want to wait until the primaries are over, however, as of now the person that I am most interested in is Bernie Sanders.
I am most excited about Bernie because of his plans on creating decent paying jobs, making environmental changes and changing the future of college tuition. Starting out with creating decent paying jobs, Sanders would like to enact the Employ Young Americans Now Act which would help thousands of young Americans with job training and skills needed for the future. A recent poll by the Progressive Change Institute, shows that Americans overwhelmingly agree with Bernie on key issues like education and the economy. “Like Bernie, 75 percent of Americans support fair trade that protects workers, the environment and jobs." (Hartmann ).
Besides Bernie’s position on job opportunities, I like his plans on making environmental changes such as stopping the enactment of the Keystone XL Pipeline which would be harmful for the environment for future generations to come (Sanders) . In addition to this, Bernie has stated that he opposes offshore drilling and has voiced support for a plan to ban fracking in Vermont.
Lastly, I like Bernie’s position on undergraduate college tuition because I feel as though this relates to kids my age the most. Bernie has introduced the “College for All Act” which would allow the Federal Government to cover two thirds of tuition costs at four-year colleges and universities (Schramm) . If this act were to be passed, it would make higher education much cheaper for teenagers in the future.
While I am excited to see how Bernie does against Hillary, I am concerned that his age may hold him back. Being 74 years old (Happy Birthday Bernie) , I think his age may stop some of the younger people from voting for him. On the other hand, I hope that his experience with being a Vermont Representative for 16 years will help him win voter support from the country.
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/08/19/why-surprising-numbers-republicans-vote-bernie-sanders
http://www.nrdc.org/energy/keystone-pipeline/
http://college.usatoday.com/2015/05/19/bernie-sanders-issues-bill-to-make-4-year-colleges-tuition-free/
In the upcoming 2016 elections I am most excited to see how Ben Carson does. I believe he stands a decent chance of winning the election, if he makes it through the primaries. He has many good stances on issues that I tend to agree with. Due to him not being a career politician he is willing to back issues that other candidates would not approach such as wanting the Balanced Budget Amendment. This is an unpopular idea because it would mean decreased government spending. But as Carson says, “Our generation is failing in this regard. A Balanced Budget Amendment to our Constitution will lead to a better future for our grandchildren.” Fiscal responsibility is one of the most important traits that the President needs. Ben Carson has that trait. Also I like his stance on Russia. History has taught us that aggressive nations can’t and should not be appeased. WWII is an example of that. Russia is taking similar actions that Nazi Germany took before the onset of the second world war. They must not be allowed to continue with their current actions. The last issue that I agree with Carson on is his opinion of Obamacare. It is spending money that the government does not have. Of course it would be ideal if everyone in the country had health insurance. But, when it is compromising the future of our great nation, it is not permissible. Carson proposes plans that would reduce government spending while still providing medical aid to those less fortunate, these are called health savings accounts. Overall Ben Carson is my top pick for President in 2016 and I firmly believe that he would help the U.S. to become great again.
I believe that Hillary is the worst candidate for president in the 2016 election. She is untrustworthy and should not be trusted to guide our nation through the difficult times that lie ahead. If you look back at her voting record and the way she voted and supported various issues she was constantly changing her opinions. Instead of standing by her past decisions she has been changing them to match whatever public opinion is at that time. Basically she is acting like a normal career politician whose only desire is to get re elected, not to do what needs to be done. Also relating to her voting record, she did not vote on almost 10% of the issues brought before her. This may have been done for many reasons, none of them being good. The other reason why I believe that she is the worst candidate is due to her actions with her personal email. She put her own convenience ahead of national secrets. She used her personal email for government work simply because she didn’t want to use two smartphones. I would never want someone like this to work in important positions in the government, let alone become President of the United States of America. Also by using her personal email, she blocked herself from Freedom of Information Act requests. Although she did not, by definition, break any laws I still believe that she would not make a good President.
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/hillary_clinton/300022
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/08/20/hillary_clinton_email_scandal_explained.html
https://www.bencarson.com/issues/health-care
As the 2016 presidential election approaches, tensions have begun to mount between friends and coworkers when discussing their favorite candidates. I am personally very excited for next year’s election because it will the first time I am old enough to vote in a national election. I have been raised in a Democrat household, so I am definitely biased, but the candidate I am most excited about is Vermont State Senator Bernie Sanders.
In an era where candidates essentially must be millionaires in order to run, or at least have the support of wealthy backers, Senator Sanders is taking a different approach. As writer Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times notes “Unlike almost all of the other major Democratic and Republican candidates this year, Mr. Sanders has refused to accept support from super PACs” (Lichtblau). Most candidates today are out of touch with the “Average Joe,” but Sanders has formed an almost grassroots campaign funded by donations of as little as $5 or $10 from thousands of members of the middle class. Almost 75 percent of Sanders’ campaign contributions so far have come from small donations (less than $200) (Lichtblau). As someone from a family that is squarely situated in the lower middle class, this alone got me excited about Senator Sanders and his campaign.
I am also a fan and supporter of the way that Bernie Sanders conduct himself when in public. While Donald Trump attacks and insults his critics, Bernie treats his own critics with respect and dignity. Trump said that Megyn Kelly had “blood coming out of her wherever” when she asked him a tough question during the Republican debate. Bernie, on the other hand, allowed to women who were a part of the group Black Lives Matter to take control of the stage at one of his events, respecting their request for four and a half minutes of silence to honor the death of shooting victim Michael Brown (Abdul-Jabbar).
In addition to having a platform which I agree with almost entirely, Bernie Sanders conducts himself in a manner not often seen from politicians these days. He also is trying to break the trend of extremely wealthy presidential candidates and is succeeding to some extent, and for these reasons I am excited to see where he goes in the next year leading up to the election.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/26/us/politics/bernie-sanders-success-in-attracting-small-donors-tests-importance-of-super-pacs.html?ref=first-draft&_r=0
http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/08/politics/donald-trump-cnn-megyn-kelly-comment/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/09/02/kareem-abdul-jabbar-this-is-the-difference-between-donald-trump-and-bernie-sanders/
As the 2016 presidential election approaches, tensions have begun to mount between friends and coworkers when discussing their favorite candidates. I am personally very excited for next year’s election because it will the first time I am old enough to vote in a national election. I have been raised in a Democrat household, so I am definitely biased, but the candidate I am most excited about is Vermont State Senator Bernie Sanders.
In an era where candidates essentially must be millionaires in order to run, or at least have the support of wealthy backers, Senator Sanders is taking a different approach. As writer Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times notes “Unlike almost all of the other major Democratic and Republican candidates this year, Mr. Sanders has refused to accept support from super PACs” (Lichtblau). Most candidates today are out of touch with the “Average Joe,” but Sanders has formed an almost grassroots campaign funded by donations of as little as $5 or $10 from thousands of members of the middle class. Almost 75 percent of Sanders’ campaign contributions so far have come from small donations (less than $200) (Lichtblau). As someone from a family that is squarely situated in the lower middle class, this alone got me excited about Senator Sanders and his campaign.
I am also a fan and supporter of the way that Bernie Sanders conduct himself when in public. While Donald Trump attacks and insults his critics, Bernie treats his own critics with respect and dignity. Trump said that Megyn Kelly had “blood coming out of her wherever” when she asked him a tough question during the Republican debate. Bernie, on the other hand, allowed to women who were a part of the group Black Lives Matter to take control of the stage at one of his events, respecting their request for four and a half minutes of silence to honor the death of shooting victim Michael Brown (Abdul-Jabbar).
In addition to having a platform which I agree with almost entirely, Bernie Sanders conducts himself in a manner not often seen from politicians these days. He also is trying to break the trend of extremely wealthy presidential candidates and is succeeding to some extent, and for these reasons I am excited to see where he goes in the next year leading up to the election.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/26/us/politics/bernie-sanders-success-in-attracting-small-donors-tests-importance-of-super-pacs.html?ref=first-draft&_r=0
http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/08/politics/donald-trump-cnn-megyn-kelly-comment/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/09/02/kareem-abdul-jabbar-this-is-the-difference-between-donald-trump-and-bernie-sanders/
He’s already seeming a popular choice in our class, and I’d have to agree that I am the most excited about Bernie Sanders running for president. In my opinion, Bernie Sanders has the kind of solutions that I would like to see implemented. For example, some of his plans to reduce income inequality are to propose a progressive estate tax, stop corporations and rich individuals from evading taxes, and raise the minimum wage by another eight dollars by 2020 (Sanders). Just looking at his campaign website makes me want to vote for him; Sanders has very clearly spelled out what he sees as big problems in the United States and exactly what he will do to fix them. He doesn’t hide behind vague claims or empty promises, a trait that lets me, and I assume many others, put faith in him.
As excited as I am, I’d have second thoughts about voting for Sanders, despite all my admiration for him. In a general election, Bernie Sanders won’t do as well as Hillary Clinton would since he is lies so far left. Against someone like Donald Trump, I do think Sanders has a better chance, however I doubt Trump’s popularity will last until the primaries; I see someone like, say, Jeb Bush having an easier time winning primaries which would create a real problem for Bernie: a far left-wing self-described socialist running against a conservative with a few moderate views (at least compared to many of his fellow Republican candidates). Even if Bernie Sanders did win Presidential Election, practically speaking, with the Republican led Congress little would get done. Waiting around for the midterm elections might not help him either since there are no guarantees about what the next sessions of Congress will look like, so I’d still predict a lot of obstacles for Sanders and his hyper-liberal views.
Donald Trump it appears is doing a really good job of making people upset and has been the target of a handfull of posts, so I’ll try to pick on somebody else. Another candidate that I can’t say I’m too fond of is Ted Cruz. Firstly, something I really dislike about Ted Cruz is that the man STILL denies climate change. Many Republicans accept climate change as a phenomenon that is currently happening, even if they don’t believe it’s a huge problem (which it is) or that most of the damage is coming from humans (which it also is). Cruz however, claims that there isn’t any factual basis for climate change and that it’s actually just propaganda politicians want to use to control people’s lives (Elliot). His actions show his disregard for the environment as well; during his time in the Senate, Cruz opposed the Renewable Fuel Standard subsidy (Cruz). Furthermore, I can’t agree with most of Ted Cruz’s policies. For example, Ted Cruz supports a flat tax rate (Vinik), a tax code that I believe fails to address the problems we are having in America right now. The real problems are the debt (which I don’t think can be improved without some degree of raising taxes AND cutting spending) and the substantial income inequality. While it sounds “fair” to tax people of all incomes at the same rate, even when a person in the lower or middle classes are paying taxes at the same rate as a millionaire, it hurts the lower and middle more because they’re not swimming in excess money. Realistically, for a flat tax rate to work, the rate would have to be set pretty high to support governmental programs and budgets (Vinik). Oh, and Ted Cruz also wishes to abolish the IRS, the people who are kind of, you know, in charge of collecting taxes for the government (Weissmann), so he might have some difficulties in carrying out his flat tax rate plan.
Sources Used:
https://berniesanders.com/issues/income-and-wealth-inequality/ (Sanders)
http://time.com/3981623/ted-cruz-climate-change/ (Elliot)
https://www.tedcruz.org/ (Cruz)
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/121354/ted-cruz-not-serious-credible-candidate-presidency (Vinik)
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2015/03/23/ted_cruz_is_running_for_president_he_has_a_weird_obsession_with_abolishing.html (Weissmann)
With the next election coming up in just over a year, I had originally thought that the candidate that I would be the most excited for would be Hillary Clinton. However, once I began to research him more, Bernie Sanders became the candidate that I am most excited about, mainly because he stands apart from all the other candidates running for President with his ideas. He is a self-described socialist and is one of the longest serving independent senators in US History (Mcintyre). His detailed plans about key issues such as women’s rights and the environment make him stand out from the rest of the crowd, appealing to people from all different ages, but in particular younger voters (Schleifer). Despite his views being much more liberal than any other candidate on the democrat ticket, Sanders has surpassed Clinton in Iowa, leading her 41-40. In addition, Sanders is also leading her in New Hampshire, two key places for the primary elections (Schleifer).
With ten issues that make up his platform listed on his website, Sanders provides unique and intriguing views on what the nation would look like if he were the President of the United States. In particular, I agree with his stances on women’s rights and the environment, as well as his section on what true family values looks like to him (Sanders). My favorite quote from Sanders’ website has to be, “When it comes to the rights of women, we cannot go backward, we must go forward” (Sanders). A long-time champion of women’s rights, Sanders is one of the few candidates that genuinely cares about the struggles that women face, especially during a time where nearly all the candidates seeking the republican nomination are against abortion and Planned Parenthood.
Another stunning part of Sanders’ campaign is that not only does he not want to take money from Super PACs or participate in any smear campaigns, Sanders has raised more money for his campaign than any Republican candidate (Graham). The fact that he has far less money than any other candidate in the race because of his decision to utilize the funding from a political action committee is admirable (Graham). He is a man who practices what he preaches, and to me that is a sign that he is an honest and trustworthy candidate. Only 4% of the nation views Sanders as an untrustworthy candidate, compared to 30% for Hillary Clinton (Schleifer).
By standing with women and many of the other groups like the LGBTQ+ community, members of all different ethnicities, and keeping the interests of young Americans in mind, Bernie is making a name for himself in the race for the presidency. Although he is making small victories and gaining attention, he receives far less attention that Hillary Clinton. I do worry though that some of Sanders’ views could lead to a further divide within Congress, being that he is so liberal. In order for the nation to make great changes, we need both parties to work together. I do sincerely hope though that Bernie makes it through the primaries and onto the general election. He certainly is a candidate to watch.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/10/politics/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-iowa-poll/index.html (Schleifer)
https://berniesanders.com/issues/ (Sanders)
http://www.newsweek.com/14-things-about-bernie-sanders-328159 (Mcintyre)
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/super-pacs-are-for-republicans-campaign-cash-is-for-democrats/398759/ (Graham)
This presidential race is set to be a very exciting one! With potentially 6 Democrats and 17 different Republicans vying for the presidency, I am pleased that this will be my first presidential election (Who's Running For President?"). I have a couple of Democratic candidates that I am thinking about supporting, but Bernie Sanders stands out to me (sorry to sound like a broken record!). He is very frank about what he believes, and he is not afraid to say his stance (in a very non-Trump fashion). Bernie is different-- he is viewed by Republicans as a socialist, but that’s what he considers himself as, and his views are different and wholesome.
Bernie is becoming increasingly popular among young Democrats due to his very liberal stance. He appeals to me due to his position on a few things: On Climate Change, he wants to preserve our resources and stop climate change before it becomes too late (“Issues”). Sanders thinks ahead to a world that our children and grandchildren inhabit, and he wants to make it the best world for them by taxing carbon emissions (which might actually slow down climate change) and stop the formation of the Keystone XL Pipeline. He also talks about Real Family Values, and according to him, the values he holds dear improve family life and strengthen ties between family members (“Issues”). He is an avid gay-marriage supporter, voting against different anti-gay-marriage bills in 1996, 2006, and up through the present. He also believes that Women’s Rights are crucial to keep and the Republican plans to decrease the power of women needs to stop. His belief in paid maternal leave and a higher minimum wage ring well and will put America firmly with other countries on this issue.
I am very excited about Bernie’s presidential journey. In both Iowa and New Hampshire, as of today, Bernie has closed the gap between Hillary and him in the polls! He is leading at 41%, with Hillary at 40% (Schleifer). The gap that was originally double-digits wide closed in a span of two months, which is so unexpected, that even Mr. Sanders is surprised: "Did I think (the issues) would resonate as quickly as they have? The answer is no" (qtd. in Levine). Probably the main reason for this spike is because Sanders is being utterly honest to his constituents about his policies, his views, and his opponents. When Democrats were polled on the honesty of their candidates, 86% said that Sanders was honest and trustworthy, while only 64% of them said the same for Hillary (Schleifer). Bernie, I’m rooting for you and I trust that you will pull through!
And a word about Mr. Trump; he is a joke. You do not build a wall to stop immigration. It will not work. You do not insult a woman to and about her face. That’s just mean. Thank you. :)
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/2016-presidential-candidates.html?_r=0 (Who's Running For President?")
https://berniesanders.com/issues (“Issues”)
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/10/politics/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-iowa-poll/index.html (Schleifer)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-polls_55f1bf40e4b03784e2785bc2 (Levine)
http://time.com/3656219/2016-candidates-gay-marriage/ (Berenson)
This is the first presidential race that I have ever payed close attention to and it's still over a year away, but already is pretty interesting. The two candidates that I find most interesting that are currently in the running could not be any more different. Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, both of whom seem to be popular candidates to talk about in our class. Bernie is much more popular among young voters, specifically because of his plan to make public colleges and university tuitions free (Budowsky). This issue in particular affects me much more than anything else ever would. I’ve always thought that education is one of the most important things that the government could support, yet as far as I could tell politicians would only ever cut spending on education. When I first looked at his plan for this, the realist in me wondered how it could ever be possible, either to pay for or to implement. In fact a lot of his goals on his website seem far fetched, at least to accomplish in four years (Sanders). Then I looked back at Obama’s goals for his presidency, and they seemed much more modest and he did the best he could I’m sure, but only about half of them were successful (Obama). Yet still that doesn’t hold me back from supporting Bernie because I came to understand that although these goals would be difficult, if he could at least push the country in the right direction that would at least be a start. I’m sure that there will be compromises, for example I could see the minimum wage getting to $12 by the time he's done, or maybe college costs are cut in half, and that still would be very impressive and the U.S. would be quite different than it is today.
On the other hand there is Trump, who I’m constantly entertained by. He seems to not have much of a plan for his presidency and the ones he does have are ridiculous. Yet all the same I can't tell if he is a big dummy or a genius that is just satirizing the U.S. governmental system. It would be the ultimate insult to U.S. politics if he were to become president and I can’t imagine him doing any good for the country. At the same time I don’t think he would do much of anything. I can't imagine that congress would let him build a wall across the Mexican border, or that Mexico would pay for like Trump intends them to (Trump). Yet here he is polling top among the republican candidates (Polls). I certainly wouldn't vote for him for president, although it would at least be comical at first. Still there is a long time until the election and at this rate almost anything can happen.
https://berniesanders.com (Sanders)
https://www.barackobama.com (Obama)
https://www.donaldjtrump.com (Trump)
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/244826-why-bernie-sanders-excites-students-and-young-voters (Budowsky)
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/2016_republican_presidential_nomination-3823.html (Polls)
Donald Trump. The boisterous, vain, and offensive Republican candidate embodies most everything that traditional politics despises, and that’s a good thing. Do I think that Donald Trump would be a good president? No, although I think that he wouldn’t be necessarily a bad president either. From my perspective, Donald Trump doesn’t have the intelligence or the diplomacy to get any of his agenda pushed through a hostile Washington. He would be an ineffective President, and likely a slave to the other parts of government. Be that as it may, Donald Trump’s involvement in this election cycle is a good thing for America, and he may unknowingly usher in a new age of political reform. Trump is not an establishment politician. His current popularity shows how disillusioned the average American is to the political system. In a way, I think people aren’t supporting Trump for his positions or policies, but as a way to flip the bird at the Republican party and Washington in general. Just think, if republicans found out that Jeb Bush was a registered Democrat just a few years ago, in favor of the legalization of drugs, in favor of a single payer healthcare system, said the rich didn’t pay enough taxes, and was against the notion of free trade, he’d be booed off the RNC stage and labeled a communist. However, for Trump, things are different. He is the nuclear option. People on both sides are tired of politicians in bed with special interests and the pandering and lies they tell on the campaign trail. Trump highlights this issue in a way that it would never be highlighted normally. Without Trump on the stage in the Republican debates, this issue is never brought up. But Trump had the temerity to say on stage during the first debate that he gives money to politicians’ campaigns, and in response they do his business favors when he needs it. People support Trump because he’s not a robot. During the first Republican debate, Trump was the only candidate who appeared to speak off the cuff and not give a rehearsed answer which was screened by consultants. This candor is exactly what is needed in American politics and highlights just how broken our current system is. If you put Donald Trump up against a Jeb Bush not afraid to ruffle some feathers Donald Trump gets trounced. But Donald Trump against a group politicians playing with the old playbook, Trump dominates. People are tired of our current system where there’s a sort of implied understanding that candidates will lie and where primary candidates go one step right further than everyone else and then rush back to the middle in the general election. This broken system needs to change, and, whether or not the Donald realizes it, he’s acting as a catalyst for this change. He’s Trumping the system.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/19/donald-trump-republican-primary-immigration-debate
https://www.dollarvigilante.com/blog/2015/08/08/rand-paul-donald-trump-admit-to-briberycorruption-and-no-one-notices.html
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/08/1409879/-Donald-Trump-and-Bernie-Sanders-agree-The-Political-System-is-Broken-and-Corrupt
Like the rest of my peers, the fact that most of us will be able to vote in the upcoming election is amazing. It’s the staple of someone’s 18th birthday and we are lucky enough to have an election directly after we celebrate them, but sadly i’m not as excited about this election as others. I personally want a candidate with a well thought out plan, and structure with flexibility in their ideas, and a definite moderate target zone. Most candidates within the election have one or the other, and when I start to zone in on a specific candidate and begin to get excited, one of their major issues goes completely against my own opinions. This might just be me being picky, but honestly I do take voting seriously and do not want a candidate who is good enough for america, but will truly make the presidency their first priority. My over patriotic lens leaves me the most annoyed by is Mike Huckabee.
Although he portrays a facade of nationalism, promising security of the 2nd amendment (issues) he skips over major issues that are the basis of our country, and focuses on smaller aspects of the presidency that can easily be changed within a term, swayed by unseen circumstances and lack of funds. Huckabee also uses christianity as a basis for the country as a whole, which should not be the case considering there is a multiplicity of religions that should be viewed equally.I am a christian too, but I believe in fulfillment of the law for all people. For instance on his campaign home page the first thing that is seen is a letter to obama going against the Kim Davis case in kentucky, which “supports religious freedom” in his words (Huckabee Liberty)
(located here: http://time.com/4029400/kim-davis-denied-me-a-marriage-license/ ).
In reality though once the supreme court passed that law, it should be fulfilled, and no person should be able to rise above the law in the name of religious freedom. Overall I think faith should be separated from government not blended. As MSNBC states “the republican candidate just doesn’t seem to understand american civics very well” (Dred Scott), and if it’s not obvious already that is not someone we want as the center of american civics. Therefore his bias blinds people from the lack of actual changes he is presenting the country with and will not be a strong candidate for the presidency in my opinion.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/huckabee-dred-scott-still-the-law-the-land
“Dred Scott”
http://mikehuckabee.com/fightforreligiousliberty “Huckabee LIberty”
http://mikehuckabee.com/issues “Issues”
Being that the next presidential election is the first I can vote in, I have been paying some close attention to who is running, especially from the Republican party. In August, I watched the Republican Presidential Primary Debate held by Fox News. As I watched the debate, a couple candidates caught my attention: Ben Carson and Marco Rubio. These two candidates both seemed to know exactly what they were talking about, and neither of them were disrespectful during the debate, which in my opinion is a problem many politicians face (almost too many). I believe that both of these men are qualified to be the next president, but I will have to see how they display their stance on certain key issues, and, if they remain to be honest with Americans as the generals get closer and closer (no flip-flopping!).
Another candidate that stood out to me, but not because of his persona or education on certain topics, but by how inadequate and under-experienced he seemed to be running for president of America, was Donald Trump. I was shocked by how he held himself onstage. He was not professional at all, and he usually had no idea what he was talking about. When all the candidates were asked that they would pledge to stay with the Republican Party, and not run as an independent if they did not win the generals, Trump refused to pledge (“Donald Trump Signs Republican Pledge”). But, just this past week, Trump did in fact sign his pledge to the Republican Party (“Donald Trump Signs Republican Pledge”). This change not only goes to show how he wants to just stir up attention by doing/saying outrageous things, but also his dishonesty with the American people. As someone runs for president, they should not be changing their stance on issues or changing their mind after they have said that they will do one thing. How can we trust a candidate who does this to be our future president?
Trump also has been displaying his Immigration Plan on his website that will “make America great again” (Trump). As I read the plan, I could not believe what he was proposing: building a wall, making Mexico pay for it, not allowing birthright citizenship, and an end to welfare abuse (Trump). None of these will help America for the future, but most likely hurt us. We would be creating enemies with Mexico trying to make them pay for a wall that they would probably never agree to pay for. Also, Trump believes that in order to end welfare abuse, applicants to the U.S. should prove that they can pay for housing, healthcare, etc (Trump). What kind of country would America be if we imposed this on people trying to come here to live the American dream? This plan overall goes to show that Trump is not realistic on any issues, especially immigration, and also displays his anti-Latino mindset. Trump has already spoken out loud on how he feels about Latinos, calling them “rapists” and “drug dealers” (Vasquez).
All in all, Trump (in my opinion), really does not have any place to be running for the next president of the United States. He has repeatedly disrespected many people, especially women, calling one women a “dog” in one of his tweets (Trump Tweet), and commenting on Carly Fiorina’s face as he asked “would anyone vote for that?” (Estepa). I think Trump needs to take a look at his own face and hairstyle before commenting on anyone else's. To me, Trump is taking running for president as a joke. But, running for president, in fact, is not a joke. A president should focus on leading a country, and what good he will bring to the country, NOT on tweeting about people in harsh manners.
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/immigration-reform (Trump)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34144850 ("Donald Trump Signs Republican Pledge")
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/09/10/trump-fiorina-look-face/71992454/ (Estepa)
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/09/donald-trump-racism-increase-latinos (Vasquez)
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw (Trump Tweet)
As February approaches along with the first presidential primary in Iowa, some candidates, such as Carly Fiorina, have gained momentum while others are sharply falling behind as even more candidates join the race. The stage for this election is set with a record breaking 200 candidates (Graham). When people first began talking about the 2016 election it sounded like Hillary Clinton would receive the democratic nomination hands down. However, Bernie Sanders is calling for change the average American wants. In fact, earlier today Sanders tied with Clinton in Iowa polls (Levine). He’s putting forth clear proposals on how to better the United States. If anyone is going to get young adults and teenagers interested in voting it’s Sanders. He’s the subject of many memes and also stirring up interest with his proposed College for All Act which guarantees free tuition (Schramm). Personally I like that he not only knows how to navigate the political field because of his years upon years of experience in Congress, but also hasn’t let it affect his stances on issues.
Bernie Sanders has an agenda called, “12 Steps Forward” which highlights 12 of the most important goals of his platform (12 Steps). Many of these focus on problems that need to be fixed and helping with the recovery of the United States’s economy. His stance on taxes is practical given the amount of debt the country is in and will likely even out the disproportionate amount of taxes lower income people pay. Sanders is calling for the minimum wage to be raised to a livable wage. Which is important to me and a lot of other teenagers because most companies aren’t willing to pay people more than they have to for basic labor. Not to mention some people have to support a family with these jobs and end up working more than one so they can afford food and a place to live. Sanders defining campaign issues are education, economic reform, and climate change. In the social arena Sanders has allied himself with the racial, gender, and LGBT+ equality movements. He has a long track record of supporting these movements especially the LGBT+ movement with his opposition to DOMA dating back to 1996 (Hensch). The most important part of this is that Sanders has connected with most of these groups significantly more than the other candidates even if these issues aren’t at the top of his priority list.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/2016-election/384828/ (Graham)
http://college.usatoday.com/2015/05/19/bernie-sanders-issues-bill-to-make-4-year-colleges-tuition-free/ (Schramm)
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/agenda/ (12 Steps)
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/246370-sanders-i-was-ahead-of-the-curve-on-gay-rights (Hensch)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-iowa_55f1798ae4b093be51bdb35c (Levine)
The current pool of four democratic nominees, with only two having more than a couple percent, is simply pathetic in the face of the seventeen republican nominees. The democrats simply have almost no variety, all because Hillary was the expected winner from the get go. This country needs real leadership and a smooth transition from the divisive presidency of Obama. This country needs a charismatic, yet stoic political figure. This country needs someone with a strong political background and realistic, achievable ideas. This country needs Joe Biden.
Now Joe Has historically been ahead of the curb on multiple issues. He was one of the first to combat segregation, accepted gay rights almost a decade before many others in his party and warned against lingering wars in the middle east (OnTheIssues). His stances on issues have often been bipartisan and his closeness to the center makes him far more viable in a primary election than his self proclaimed “socialist” associate. Joe carries all of the spirit and strength of the Obama presidency with very little of the baggage. He remains relatively scandal free, avoiding embarrassing political mistakes on his record unlike Clinton. With the policy, charisma, and experience behind him, his greatest disadvantage is personal.
The Biden family have faced near Kennedy levels of tragedy. From the death of his first wife and newborn child decades ago, to the very public death of his eldest son Beau, few politicians could only imagine the sorrow that Joe has faced. Although the events garnished Joe national attention and deep sympathy from both parties, the death of Beau has been understandably draining on both him and his family. The drain has made Joe reluctant and is the greatest reason he hasn’t entered the race yet as stated by himself (CNN). Transitioning from burying another child to performing the exhausting tasks of campaigning might be simply too much for any one man.
If Biden was to run, he would perfectly serve as a clear moderate choice with a strong chance to perform well in a primary. Despite not even announcing his campaign, he already holds a third place position in democratic polls (Huffington Post), and for good reason. He has the political ability to extinguish Hillary’s campaign without feeling any Berns.
http://www.ontheissues.org/Joe_Biden.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/26/politics/joe-biden-path-to-beat-hillary-clinton/
http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2016-national-democratic-primary
The next presidential election is over a year away, and for some reason I have noticed more talk and been more involved in the debate over who we think is best for our country. I luckily get to turn 18 one month before the elections so I can actually vote! Media plays a large roll in candidacy, Trump certainly knows how to use it, as many other candidates do. However, I find it frustrating how much the news has been covering 3 main candidates; Trump, Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush. To be frank, I didn't know of any other candidates running, I had only heard Sanders name mentioned but until the presentations in class I didn't know he was a politician at all! Another candidate that bugs me, is Carly Fiorina. Her stance on the Environment and not wanting to step on the toes of other groups is completely ridiculous. She says "If" when she talks about Human contribution to the global pollution that is killing our planet, and the policy on environment protection is on of the biggest issues I wish for a future president to have.
One of the candidates I am most excited for is Ben Carson. Not only am I excited to see the reaction he gets from the public having little to no politic experience, but I am also excited to see how they would react having a new change as a politician that wasn't looking for re-election. Also, Bernie Sanders is another one of my favorites in the democratic party candidates. His idea of getting "Big Money Out of Politics" is a great way to keep businesses that have been able to do whatever they want simply because they have enough money, out of the governments business! Another thing Sanders does to impress me is under "Issues" on his website is list Woman's Rights, and although women have made great steps in equality; Men and Women are still not equal in society and some workplaces!
http://2016.republican-candidates.org/Fiorina/
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/neurosurgeon-ben-carson-seek-gop-nomination-president-n353026
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/10/politics/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-poll-interview/
https://berniesanders.com/issues/fighting-for-womens-rights/
I could not be more excited to get to vote in the 2016 presidential election, however, that means that I must do my research to see who I should vote for in the first place. I not only am going to be researching the candidates and their political agendas, but also reading up on their lives outside of politics to see if I think they could completely fulfill the role of president. I am very excited to see how Bernie Sanders and Ben Carson do before the general election, even though they are from different parties.
I am definitely excited to see Ben Carson's progress as a republican candidate. Ben Carson has good experience in positions where he might have to make tough decisions, which is a lot alike to the job of president. He used to be a neurosurgeon, and had to make decisions on a whim to decide what is best for the patient ("Biography"). Personally, I think that is a very important skill for the nominees to have. Presidents have to make tough decisions about foreign affairs and domestic affairs that affect millions of people (RealClearPolitics). I believe that how Carson went from nothing to everything just through his will to succeed really shows good potential for a president (RealClearPolitics). Moving specifically into his policies, I loved his idea to stop the increasing federal deficit with the Balanced Budget Amendment, saying that we should be thinking of future generations who will have to deal with the fact that this generation spent more than they had year to year (BenCarson.com). I have to say that I am a little disappointed in the fact that Carson does not talk at all about the climate or other key issues of this time (terrible infrastructure, ISIS, unemployment numbers). He basically skims the surface to not scare away the moderates. On his website, nothing can be found on any of these topics, and I cannot figure out if I would vote for him or not based on his 6 major issues he notes.
The second politician I am quite excited to see is Bernie Sanders. After looking on his website, it is clear that he is not afraid to tackle key issues such as the terrible infrastructure, worsening climate, and equality between groups (BernieSanders.com). I am curious to see whether he beats out Hilary Clinton (probably not) for the party's ticket. Even though Hillary Clinton is much more well known, will that allow her to stay on top to keep the Democratic Party ticket? I am not so sure. In support, Sanders is generally a candidate which appeals to many groups, which should help him to secure more votes. The one thing that is questionable about Sanders, is the fact that he calls himself a socialist, which may turn people away if they do not understand what he means. People hear the word socialist, and turn away, thinking it is some sort of communism. While that could be barely true, the type of socialism that Bernie believes is smart is the use of universal healthcare, free childcare, parental leave benefits, free higher education, low income inequality, and overwhelming unionization of workers (NewRepublic).
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/2016_republican_presidential_nomination-3823.html
http://www.biography.com/people/ben-carson-475422
https://www.bencarson.com/issues
https://berniesanders.com/
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/121680/bernie-sanders-democratic-socialist-not-just-socialist
Running for president is a move that draws attention, both negative and positive. In some ways, this is a good thing that allows voters to see both sides of a candidate and make a decision based on the attention that they receive. In the case of Donald Trump though, the attention that he is drawing is frustrating to see. Polling at forty-one percent, Trump is the first Republican candidate to poll at over thirty percent (Agiesta). In this class, it is popular to dislike Trump, but voters seem to like him based on the numbers seen in the past few weeks and months.
With all of the comments he has made towards other candidates and Americans in general, it is difficult to see why he is so popular as a candidate. Singling out Carly Fiorina in an interview was rude, uncalled for, and unprofessional. He even went so far as to defend what he said and explain why he thought so (Dann). In presidential debates, candidates frequently are disrespectful towards one another, but the frequency of how often Trump is in the news for calling out another candidate in debates, interviews, and speeches is uncanny (Solotaroff).
In a political sense, Trump is completely unprepared to be president. Many people are fed up with career politicians because nothing gets done when representatives are only looking for another term. It can be a breath of fresh air to get a candidate who has less experience in politics, but a television personality is not what people are looking for to lead the entire country. He has no political experience and his only platform is on immigration reform. Building a wall is illogical, ineffective, and unfair. The fact that he expects Mexico to pay for this is also crazy (Trump).
What makes Donald Trump most frustrating is that he is racist, sexist, and overall disrespectful. He says whatever he wants, when he wants, and it is never a good time to say it. He has no experience in politics, and using social media to express conservative views does not count (Trump). He certainly has made the Republican candidacy interesting, but if he continues to lead the polls by the general election, it will be worrying to think of what could happen.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/trump-seriously-20150909 (Solotaroff)
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/ (Trump)
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/10/politics/donald-trump-ben-carson-cnn-poll/ (Agiesta)
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/carly-fiorina-responds-after-donald-trump-insults-her-looks-n424801 (Dann)
You always hear about all the good and bad things Democrats and Republicans do. But you never really hear about the third party candidates. Through working on our presentations I have learned quite a lot on Jill Stein and the Green Party. It has always frustrates me how unrealistic candidates can be with their plans for our country.
Stein wants to go completely powered by wind, water, and solar by 2030. While that is a great idea, she has no plans as to how she is going to accomplish that. [EcoWatch] She always talks about how awful our current energy system is and how great her new plan is, but she never talks about what she is going to do to get us there.
Her big ideas also extend to war, or in her case the lack of war, which she has no experience in. She wants to pull out of every war and close down all foreign military bases. [Jill2016] What happens when one of our alias needs us and we are too far away to help them out? I do agree that some of our current conflicts aren’t really our fight to fight, but I would rather the conflict be somewhat contained and completely overseas than have them turn chaotic when our soldiers get pulled out and have it come over here.
I understand that the probability of a third party candidate winning presidency is very slim, but I feel that Stein isn’t very serious about running. She is very passionate about the party platform and going green and saving the Earth, but she seems like she is in it more just to get her voice heard than actually complete. She hasn’t been in debates and she has no campaign commercial. Most people probably haven’t heard of her and she doesn’t really seem to care.
While reading other people’s posts, they mention how the candidate is doing in the polls...Jill Stein isn’t even listed on the poll. [PollingReport]
http://www.pollingreport.com/
http://ecowatch.com/2015/06/30/jill-stein-green-party/
http://www.jill2016.com/plan
As all of my classmates have already said, the fact that many of us will be able to vote in the next presidential election makes it that much more exciting and i think will make it a great year in AP Gov. For me personally, I’m not one hundred percent committed to any candidate, as it’s still very early and a lot could happen between now and November of 2016. However like most of my classmates the candidate I am most excited for is of course Bernie Sanders. I find it interesting that people thought he would have a hard time gaining young votes because of his age, when he actually seems to appeal very much so to young people (even within our class you can see that he is a popular candidate.) Sanders is my main choice because out of all the candidates, I believe that he would make the most positive progress for our country. Not only is he qualified but I feel like he is more trustworthy than most candidates, unlike most politicians he actually sticks to his beliefs and doesn’t simply change them to fit whatever is the popular opinion and that is something I respect. His most popular proposal, especially among young people is free public college. “..Sanders has proposed a formula to create free college education at public universities and finance the program through a small transaction tax on Wall Street trades.” (Budowsky) Although it may seem unrealistic to some, i think in time, it could work, i mean it does in other countries so why not here. A quote i read said “It’s unclear if the Sanders boom will fizzle or if he can convert the large crowds he is attracting into a movement..” (Nicholas) Like I previously said he is gaining a lot of support from a younger demographic but I think he has a very good chance against Clinton.
On the complete opposite spectrum Donald Trump, to me is the most ridiculous choice. I can’t imagine any good he would bring, being in any part of the United States government. The amount of utterly ignorant comments he has made honestly baffles me. To be quite honest however I find it quite clear that he is mostly making such offensive comments for the pure fact of shock value. As a presidential candidate Trump would have been very weak, he has little to no qualifications and is definitely not a politician and for that matter a poor business man (how many times has he filed for bankruptcy?). However by making such ridiculous comments he has become the most talked about candidate and is even leading many polls. Like writer James C Moore said Trump's campaign is “..nothing more than a marketing campaign to drive up his brand.” In the end however I think there is only so many offensive comments he can make before it just become evident that he is in no way qualified to become the leader of our nation. However like I said the election is still 14 months away and I’m excited to see what candidates will rise and which will continue to be popular as we get closer to the election.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/244462-bernie-sanderss-great-idea-free-public-college
http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/29/opinions/moore-donald-trump/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/bernie-sanders-adapts-to-his-sudden-popularity-in-democratic-race-1440188472
With the 2016 presidential running coming close in just over a year, I have thought a lot about who I am most excited about as a candidate. Along with most of the class, I am most excited about Bernie Sanders as the Democratic candidate. Since I;ll be able to vote in the next election, I want to run for someone who I know would be fit for the job; republican, or democrat. In my opinion, I classify myself as a liberal on the political scale, so it's a plus that Bernie happens to fall under that category. Although some people believe that Sanders would be unfit for president due to his age (dailykos.com), I personally think that his age wouldn't be that much of an issue.
Bernie's views are very similar to the ones I am looking for in a presidential candidate. Not only is Sanders an advocate for gay-marriage (Scanlon) which, I personally think is a great thing; he is also an advocate for women's rights (berniesanders.com). On his website under the 'Women's Rights' issue, one of the first things you see is a quote that says, "When it comes to the rights of Women, we cannot go backwards. We have got to go forward" (Sanders). He thinks that we are going back into a country where women have to defend themselves, and stick up for themselves (Apart from Trump). In his opinion on Planned Parenthood, he says we should not allow the right wing to defund Planned Parenthood, we should expand it. Planned Parenthood has helped so many different people, and defunding it would lead to a serious problem. Also, his environmental views show that he thinks we should discontinue the Keystone XL Pipeline - plus, many other environmental issues that need to be taken care of. I think this is substantial in our society, and that we need to change the way we treat the environment.
On the other hand, the candidate I am least excited about is obviously, Donald Trump. If he won the presidency election, I am positive that I would be moving out of this country. Not only is he the most ignorant (in my opinion) out of all of the candidates, his views are completely against mine. He thinks women shouldn't have the same views as men do, and that's extremely demeaning. Also, he completely discriminates against anyone who is a minority, and a lot of our country makes up of minorities. (Trump) I would be honestly terrified for our country if he became the president.
Sanders and Trump are on completely different spectrums of the political scale, and I think that's a major reason why I favor Sanders, and completely dislike Trump.
https://berniesanders.com/issues/ (berniesanders.com)
https://berniesanders.com/issues/climate-change/ (Sanders)
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/07/1350098/-at-age-75-Bernie-Sanders-is-too-old-to-be-seriously-considered-for-President# (dailykos.com)
http://dailysignal.com/2015/06/27/bernie-sanders-praises-gay-marriage-decision-times-are-changing/ (Scanlon)
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/ (Trump)
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FROM MORGAN K:
“The job has gotten even bigger and more difficult. I understand how the job is done, and I understand what has to be prioritized…” (On Politics). This quote said by a one Hillary Clinton in July, 2014 about the possibility of running for president in the upcoming 2016 election. After she was appointed secretary of state by President Obama from 2009-2013, Clinton pursued many topics of issue that people had not discussed much in the past, and became the most traveled secretaries of state in American history (biography). I personally am glad she is running for president because she is using the media attention to talk about helping families and how she will help them. I am very excited to finally vote in the upcoming election and I am very excited to support Clinton as she works hard to tackle many issues we find prevalent in today’s society, while proving she is still human, not a political robot. Also seeing how a one Donald Trump holds up in the primary elections (it should be pretty interesting)!
As I said before, Clinton has become the most traveled secretary of state's and I think that is one qualification that makes her a strong presidential candidate, because she will be more comfortable and experienced when foreign issues will need to be addressed. In her time as secretary, she set a new record for secretary of state by visiting 112 countries as she helped undo the damage that the George W. Bush administration had done to the global image of the United States (Foreign Affairs). She was actively engaged in foreign affairs and women’s rights / human rights alike. Even now that she is running for president, she is still working to make women’s health and making minorities equal in our country. She has had a lot of support from president Obama from her work as secretary, claiming, “She was a formidable candidate in 2008. She was a great supporter of mine in the general election. She was an outstanding secretary of state. She is my friend. I think she would be an excellent president” (ABC News). With support like that, one would think Clinton would rely heavily on it, when infact, she has used little to no help from her husband, former president Bill Clinton. She is showing that women can be just as independent as men and can work just as hard, if not harder to achieve this goal of hers. That alone inspires me to try my best and not rely too much on others because I can achieve as much as any other person on my own.
MORGAN CONTINUED...
While I love chatting about the good intentions of Clinton and all she hopes to accomplish as president, I cannot help but discuss my distaste for a few of her opponents for the primary election, and one opponent in particular. That’s right, Donald Trump! I have noticed how many people in the class have talked about Mr. Trump, and thusly have tried to avoid him and talk about another opponent. But through my research of Mrs. Clinton and her stance on Women’s health, I stumbled across an article that caught my attention. The headline read: “Trump: I will be ‘far better’ for women’s health than Hillary Clinton” As I read the article to help my understanding of why he felt this way, I realized I was becoming more confused how a man could handle women’s health better than a woman. He claimed “I will take care of women’s health and women’s health issues better than anybody and far better than Hillary Clinton, who doesn’t have a clue” (Hohmann). I then could not read anymore due to the sheer lack of information of how he planned to “improve” women’s health and women’s health issues beside the fact that his wife and daughter say he should talk about it more in debate. His ideas for our country worry me and while he is a strong business man, he is very hypocritical and cynical and also, his hair scares me. Hillary Clinton said, “If anyone wonders if mine (her hair) is real, here’s the answer. The hair is real. The color isn't. Come to think of it, I wonder if that’s true for Donald too” (Walshe). Clinton has something she brings the campaign that draws me in as a potential voter… Oh yes! A human quality that many politicians lose sight of in the heat of everything. She does not let that get to her though, she is still tough and will get things done, but will not forget, at the end of the day, people have homes and families to go home to. She is trying to make sure she can keep that sacred task safe. And that is why I am excited to see what this election season brings for her.
http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2014/12/16/presidential-candidates-2016-quotes/
(On Politics)
http://www.biography.com/people/hillary-clinton-9251306#synopsis (biography)
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2013-04-03/clinton-legacy (Foreign Affairs)
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-obama-hillary-clinton-excellent-president/story?id=30252247 (ABC News)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/08/27/trump-i-will-be-far-better-for-womens-health-than-hillary-clinton/ (Hohmann)
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-hair-donald/story?id=33387279 (Walshe)
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