2016 is a big year for me. First off, this is the year I finally turn 21. In only one month I’ll be able to legally drink. But don’t say "legally" if my parents ask. Ironically, the first year the government allows me to buy alcohol is the same year they allow me to vote for our country’s president. I guess it was the government’s way of helping me with the headache that comes with the power of voting in this country.
With the Connecticut primary only two months away, I now find myself more politically involved than ever before. I’ve been paying close attention to the race so that my first presidential vote is a knowledgeable one, and boy am I ready for a drink.
I’ve been hoping that all of the debates, rallies, interviews, and press conferences that I have recently watched would help me pick a favorite. But what I’m realizing is that this constant, scrutinizing look into the candidates has lead to me liking very few and not having a clue which one to vote for.
The less appealing political party in my eyes is the Republican side. My first time voting leaves me with Republicans that just entertain me more than seem like successful options. Ted Cruz, for example, just made news for supporting a homophobic "Duck Dynasty" member making a speech endorsing Cruz. This, along with Cruz’s shocking similarity to Kevin from "The Office" makes it impossible for me to vote for him.
Marco Rubio apparently can’t say anything that wasn’t written beforehand, but that makes sense, because he also looks just about old enough for this to be his first chance to vote. Jeb Bush... Well, his name’s Bush and I didn’t have to be old enough to vote to know the previous Bush’s failures, so that eliminates Jeb immediately. Ben Carson has the aggression of a sloth and as much previous political experience as I do.
Speaking of having no political experience, there's GOP front-runner Donald Trump. The crazy-haired guy I grew up seeing on the same type of reality television shows that those old enough bashed for stupidity is now the likely Republican candidate. The same guy that got into a fight with one of my favorite rappers Mac Miller is close to living in the White House. At the end of the day, it’s impossible for me to trust a political party that supports candidates like these, especially someone as outrageous as Mr. Trump.
The Democratic party is thankfully smaller and less of a reality TV show, but still adds to the mess that is deciding who to vote for. Hillary Clinton was the First Lady when I was born, and I’ve seen her now run multiple presidential campaigns. Similar to my feelings about Jeb, it's hard for me to trust a person who has been so heavily involved and prominent in a government I’ve been told not to trust.
On the other hand is Bernie Sanders, a long-time politician I do find myself believing to be sincere. But like so many of these candidates, he only recently made his way onto the big stage. Before a few months ago, I never heard of the Vermont senator. As much as I would love to feel comfortable voting for him as so many Millennials do, it’s hard for me to have faith in someone I just heard about to lead a country.
As I said before, this is just my first opportunity to be involved in the political process. I am beyond excited to finally participate in voting, but I find myself struggling like so many other young voters. Finding one person to really believe in and support is a lot harder than regularly watching the news and watching every presidential race video there is on Facebook. Hopefully, I’ll find enough confidence in one of these candidates soon. Until then, I guess I’ll just reap the benefits our government allows 21-year-olds to have. Cheers!
