Categories
Journal News Commentary

The Sad State of Republican Politics

elephant slipping

My least favorite candidates are winning

At the start of the political process leading up to the primaries, I ranked the candidates according to my own ideas about who was the best qualified and most preferable for me.   Unfortunately, and from news reports I am far from alone,  the two people who were at the bottom of my original list are at this point the likely candidates of the two major parties.  And Trump who was at the absolute bottom of the list is the presumed candidate of the party of which I am a registered voter.  Yuck, ten times ugly yuck, gag and puke.  Can you tell yet that I am not a fan of his slander sideshow?

Neither Clinton nor Trump are the person I think should be President

I greatly dislike Clinton’s positions and there are ethical shadows following her too.  Am I alone in such opinions?  Absolutely not.   “Clinton is rich, and morally and ethically corrupt. So is Trump,” writes Jonah Goldberg (http://digitaledition.courant.com/launch.aspx?pbid=e1bdb9a0-d9e0-4569-842b-54331efd8091).

As for Trump, I like Jeb Bush’s reported comment.  Is Trump the kind of person who should be President?    “Donald Trump has not demonstrated that temperament or strength of character,” Jeb Bush said. “And, he is not a consistent conservative. These are all reasons why I cannot support his candidacy” (http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-36234318).   I totally agree.  Trump says what he finds convenient at the moment and has no principles about sticking to his word.

How did we elect Trump to represent Republicans?

I have been reflecting on this.  How does it happen that the grand old party is set to nominate someone that has the highest negative ratings in history, someone with no qualifications for the office, and someone who does not fit the mold of previous candidates morally or culturally in any way?

  1. The primary system was skewed by Trump’s media sideshow.  Stats show that from the beginning, Trump received way more mentions on media that any other candidate of either party did.  He has received interview privileges that even the President does not get.  In the Sunday edition of the Hartford Courant that I referenced, Bill Press on the left and Jonah Goldberg on the right come at the same idea from different angles; the media loves Trump for the show and the attention it gets the media and the public like something exciting and out of the ordinary.  If memory serves, John Kasich in the first debate opined something like, “Come on people, we need someone who knows how to run a government.”  It was what I was thinking as I watched.  Such a common-sense idea was too levelheaded for the media so they quickly dismissed Kasich as petulant and uninteresting.    Never mind that he was right.  Duh!
  2. Americans have been taught in recent years to base their opinions on performance first, rather than character first.  Many years ago colleges washed their hands of any responsibility for the moral and spiritual welfare of their students and focused only on subjects.  One result is we have many graduates with great skills who crash on the job because of ethical failures.   In hiring, interviewers are forbidden to ask questions that might get to the issue of character so companies widely use probational employment periods to see whether an employee  is honest, shows up for work regularly, etc.   The upshot of this downplaying of character is that we apparently now evaluate our political candidates sans character, I guess.  It would be sad if it weren’t actually dangerous.
  3. Many voters are fed up with Congress and career politicians.  The inability of Congress to get things done, the lack of viable compromise, the perpetual national budget mess, and the low moral tone in DC all have led to voters looking toward outsiders like Trump and Carson.  The last Congress had one of the lowest confidence ratings on record.   Part of Sander’s appeal is also his perceived greater independence from the Washington circle.    When career politicians are found to be morally or ethically corrupt, it reduces respect for others, even those who have integrity.
  4. Trump channeled the fear and anger of people in our country in true demagogue style.  Even people who are not racist are worried about the sheer numbers of immigrants.   Since 9/11 Americans find it hard not to be a little suspicious of Muslims.  So Trump’s tactic is working big-time.  But a true leader has an inner moral framework and a long view of history that guide how they approach subjects that divide people like discussions about the US southern border or racism in our country, subjects that evoke fear like immigration from Syria.    I have observed no evidence of such a framework in what Trump says, only a crass trading on the fears and distrusts of the populace for his own benefit.   He shows no long historical view, for example, no sense of the impression of the Republican Party that he is leaving for the future; he seems only to look out for his immediate political windfall.    Never mind that the country is fast becoming a much more multi-cultural place and that the birth rates of immigrants will probably only accelerate that trend.   So if the Republican Party wants to remain viable, it cannot be primarily a party of angry white males and must learn to appeal to the people he is alienating.

What do we do now?

  1. As a Christian, the first thing I am doing is praying for my country.   We believe in the sovereignty of God who rules and overrules, who puts rulers in place and removes them.   So I am praying for my country in this election cycle as never before.
  2. As a voter I am among those who cannot see themselves voting with a clear conscience for either Trump or Clinton.  And I really don’t see that opinion being altered by vice-presidential picks either.
  3. Yet I believe that as a citizen I need to use my vote to express myself.   I, along with others who feel as I do, will be exploring ways to do this.

 

 

Categories
Journal News Commentary

Republican Debate Fiasco

presidential debate image

Another painful Republican debate

I watched most of the debate last night.  It was painful.  Trump’s divisiveness and berating of others reached an all time high.  He baited both Bush and Cruz into less than civil exchanges with him.  You can’t blame them; Trump was mean.   The whole liar or not liar interplay  became so much a part of the night’s dialogue that it overshadowed the issues they were supposed to be discussing.   That’s the way Trump likes it.  The only issue he has anything helpful and substantive to speak about is the issue of  businesses moving overseas and holding money overseas.

The moderators seemed to like the fireworks

John Kasich was prophetic when he spoke up with concern about the tone of the evening, warning that if the candidates kept on in their self-destructive ways, the Democrats would have an easy time in November.    John Kasich and Ben Carson tried their best to turn the debate into something positive.  But the moderators kept going back to Trump and Cruz, as if they wanted to keep the fight going.  Perhaps they were paid to promote fireworks?    No one has the courage to ask what is best for society.  They just go for more “clicks on their page” or viewers for their channel.

My Dislike for Trump and Cruz grows

Personally I cannot see how anyone can support Trump.  Character is the number one qualification for any job and he does not have enough of it to be President.    I also dislike Cruz more each time I hear him.   His “abolish the IRS’ idea is nonsense.  And his plan to undo everything his predecessor has done means he knows nothing of how leadership of a great organization works.   Those who want to progress build on what they are given, tweaking it as needed; they don’t start with wholesale destruction.

Kasich continues to be my favorite

I continue to like John Kasich.  Each debate he shows that he understands leadership.  He knows how to relate to a varied constituency and he is the type of person that can end the stalemate in Washington.   He is also the most compassionate toward immigrants and others who need a hand of some kind.   Yet he is very pro-life and has strong Christian values.    One of the most revealing questions was the one asked of Kasich about why some Democratic voters like him.  It was asked as if this were a crime against the party.   This insinuation shows how short-sighted the party has become.  What Kasich’s popularity among dis-enchanted Democrats means is that here is a candidate that will be able to appeal to many Americans and win in November.