Well it certainly has been a long time since I’ve posted anything here. Time just flies by. In any case, I thought I would put in my two cents about this crazy primary season. A primary season which is criminally too long in my view.
At the beginning of the political race for the presidency, I naturally assumed (like most folks) that this Democratic primary season would be a coronation for Hillary Clinton. Ever since Elizabeth Warren decided not to run, I tended to think of Bernie Sanders as a bit of an afterthought. A self-described socialist from Vermont? Really?
I’ve always loved listening to Bernie on the radio. I’ve always respected his candor and his honesty and always agreed with his positions. I never seriously imagined he had a snowball’s chance in hell of being President of the United States of America.
However, lately I’ve been at war with myself. I respect Hillary greatly but the more I listen to Bernie the more I find myself nodding in agreement. But if Bernie were to become the nominee, do we really want another election cycle dependent upon college kids showing up at the polls? Don’t get me wrong, I know that the 18-29 set is the future of the Democratic party. But young people, while great at showing up to vote in presidential elections, do not show up in similar proportions during off-year elections. In 2008, 18-29 year olds made up 18% of the electorate but in 2010 they only made up 11% of the electorate. In 2012, they made up 19% of the electorate, but in 2014, just 13%.
And by the way, I do not mean in any way to denigrate young people who participate in democracy. I was once that age, and I voted FAITHFULLY in every election. It’s just that Hillary seems to do much better with the 65 and over crowd — the people who seem to schedule their entire fall around election day.
But then again, maybe Bernie is just what the doctor ordered, himself being a septuagenarian. And maybe there’s no evidence that Hillary would have any more of a positive effect on the midterms than Bernie would.
Ugh! Half of my heart and mind is with Bernie and the other half is with Hillary. “Bernie's right on the issues!” “But it’s HER turn!” “Maybe it’s time for Bernie!” “But Hillary’s more electable!”
Double ugh!
In any event, I actually believe that things are still trending in the right direction for a nearly permanent Democratic presidency in this country, regardless of who our nominees wind up being. Demographically, the United States is becoming more and more diverse with every passing moment.
In 2004, the minority share of the vote was 23%. In 2008, it was 26%. In 2012, it was 28%. What will it be in 2016? 30%? 31%? Is it any mystery why the Republican establishment so badly wants Marco Rubio to be the nominee? If Donald Trump emerges as the Republican nominee, we could put up the local dogcatcher and he (or she) would probably win 30 states against that buffoon. No single presidential candidate in history would drive Latinos to the polls in droves to vote against him.
Anyway, the bottom line here is that I like and admire both candidates and I will work my ass off to elect whomever becomes our nominee. To allow a Republican to occupy the White House would be irresponsible, illogical, and completely unacceptable. I sincerely hope that this race doesn’t become as contentious and nasty as 2008 was. We’ve already seen shades of that protracted fight: Bill Clinton became the attack dog over the past couple days and there have been intimations of a “kitchen sink” strategy in trying to bring down Sanders. Again, ugh!
I think our candidates do their best when they distinguish themselves from the clowns on the other side of the aisle by speaking maturely about real issues. We mustn’t let the batshite crazy people win this election!
I still haven’t decided who I’m voting for, but unfortunately, the Democratic powers that be have shifted the California primary to June. I have to wait until June to vote! AAAAHHHHHH!!!!
In any case, I guess this ended up being a collection of musings. Various thoughts I’ve been having that were in need of expression. I hope you enjoyed them.