With the 2016 presidential election quickly approaching, most citizens are nervous because they still are undecided about who their vote should go towards. The candidates are vague and mostly blend together, besides the popular front runners of Trump and Sanders. People can't decide who's really worth their time.
Being a political science major, I've learned at least the basics of how the government runs, how true some of the promises candidates make are, how running a campaign and how voting works and the probability of campaign promises coming true. That being said, I'm here to offer my opinion on each candidate based on their history and their stances on issues, as stated from their websites. I'll try to remain as unbiased as possible but I am a political science major for a reason.
Republican Candidates:
As of March 20th, there are still three candidates in the running: Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich.
Donald Trump.
Trigger warning: mention of rape.
He's not even a politician but we'll still give him a chance. On his website, he has five concerns under the "issues" tab. Five. They are U.S.-China Trade Reform, Veterans Administration Reform, Tax Reform, Second Amendment Rights, and Immigration Reform.
Trump's stance on the US-China trade reform is that he wants to bring more jobs back to America. He wants more US citizens making revenue to boost the economy. But only when it's not his company. His clothing company, Donald J. Trump Collections, hosts an array of expensive suits that are not made in America. They're made in China and Mexico. This conflicts with his very stance on this issue and conflicts with his big ol' wall. He wants to keep Mexican immigrants out of America but he still wants their labor. Seems hypocritical to me.
Trump's VA reform plan wants to bring more attention to women veterans. He wants VA hospitals to be constantly equipped with an OB-GYN staff. Again, he seems to care but why would he insult the women candidates, Carly Fiorina and Hillary Clinton, and also face rape accusations from his first wife if he really cared for women?
An actual quote from Trump's website under "Second Amendment Rights": "It’s been said that the Second Amendment is America’s first freedom. That’s because the Right to Keep and Bear Arms protects all our other rights. We are the only country in the world that has a Second Amendment". So, according to Trump, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the freedom to protest or rally peacefully aren't America's first freedoms since we would have to fight the government with guns for them. Without these freedoms, he couldn't say half the ridiculous stuff he does. Also, he says that no other countries have a second amendment. Since other countries have a "Bill of Rights" or something similar, I believe they do have "a second amendment", it's just not about guns. Whether you're for and against gun control, you can agree this statement was either written by Trump himself or a second grader with how vague and assuming it is.
Conclusion: Do yourself and everyone a favor; don't vote for Trump.
Ted Cruz.
On Senator Cruz's website, he appears to be a good, American, family man. But he's technically Canadian. He was born Alberta which, according to the constitution, makes him not eligible to run for presidency. His parents, though, were both naturally born citizens of the US which is why he's gotten so far without anyone besides Trump saying anything. There's still speculation whether he will be allowed to take the seat, but for now he's still in the running.
Cruz has nine defining points about issues on his website. And, just like you guessed, they're mostly about religion and guns.
While Cruz doesn't say it as loud and proud as Trump, he still wants to build a wall on the Mexican-American border. I think that's all that needs to be said about his immigration policies.
Ted Cruz preaches about religious liberty, saying he has fought in a number of Supreme Court cases and uses his Senatorial powers to make sure citizens can practice our faith. And yet, he says this, "America was founded on a revolutionary idea. Our rights do not come from government. They come from God". Again, mentioning God should be a turn off but when the majority of the citizens believe in some practice of Christianity, it's over looked. He also stood with Kim Davis when she tried to deny another couple's marriage because of her own belief and it interfered with her government job but again, whatever. I'm trying to remain unbiased, remember?
Cruz is pro-life. He fought to have Planned Parenthood defunded. He also doesn't want to recognize marriage equality and brags on his website about defending Texas's marriage laws when the state's court attempted to recognize a Vermont civil union.
Conclusion: Just as bad as Trump and low-key might be the Zodiac Killer.
John Kasich.
http://johnkasich.com
John Kasich is the current governor of Ohio, a primarily democratic state when it comes to presidential elections. He has nine main issues on how he plans to turn that around.
Kasich wants to remove national standardized testing and leave it up to the states' discretion as to how difficult their tests may be. He also wants to implement Ohio's early detection plan for at-risk students so they get the proper help they need to graduate and get their diploma on time. He also wants to keep college affordable by a) encouraging students to take more AP classes in high school and b) state funding schools based on student success rate rather than enrollment.
Kasich, quite frankly, has a more relaxed view when it comes to foreign policies: he doesn't want to build a wall. He wants to defeat ISIS, obviously, but also work on relations with Russia and bring more jobs home from China. He also wants to buff up our military... by cutting taxes? While this makes no sense and our military certainly doesn't need to be larger, this is what his website says, "Military strength requires economic strength, and Gov. Kasich has crafted a realistic plan to revive the economy by cutting taxes, balancing the budget in eight years, and cutting regulations that kills jobs". You do you, Kasich, you do you.
But yet Kasich wants to help vulnerable citizens. He created an Earned Income Tax Credit in Ohio that cut taxes for low- and middle-income families. He wants to expand housing for mentally ill children and adults alike. He also wants to increase drug abuse education and funding for those struggling with addiction.
Conclusion: Why is anyone voting for Trump when Kasich is running? Honestly?
Democratic Candidates:
As of March 20th, there are still two candidates in the running: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
Hillary Clinton.
Hillary Clinton has held an array of political positions including First Lady of the United States, Secretary of State and Senator of New York. But she just can't decide on her political stance for more than a decade.
Clinton's policies have changed as the times have changed. She used to be a Republican and worked for Republican campaigns in her younger years. Even now, she says she's for the people but almost all her campaign donors are big businesses and banks. What's going on?
As for the environment, Clinton wants to implement more environmental laws to help control pollution. She also wants to launch a Clean Energy Challenge to encourage states and counties to go beyond what the federal government is requiring to make a cleaner environment. She wants to cut methane emissions and revive the coal industry.
Clinton wants to progress towards a reform of the criminal justice system. She supports legislation to end racial profiling and provide federal funding so every officer can wear a body camera. She wants to reduce minimum sentencing for nonviolent drug offenses and also eliminate the sentencing differences between crack and powder cocaine.
As for guns, Clinton wants to require a more comprehensive background check for sales. She also wants to limit online gun sales as much as possible. She wants to close any loopholes and keep military-style weapons off the street.
Clinton wants immigration reform but not in the way you think. She wants immigrants to be able to achieve citizenship in a more humane way. She will defend President Obama's DREAMers Act, which allows immigrants who are enrolled in school but here illegally to finish their education and provides housing. And she would like to expand affordable healthcare for immigrants.
Conclusion: Has some great ideas but not sure if she can be trusted. Not a bad option if it comes down to it.
Bernie Sanders.
Sanders is currently in his second term as a senator of Vermont. He's been known for fighting for civil rights all his life. There are many accounts of him getting arrested for marching and protesting alongside with Martin Luther King Jr. He's never wavered on his positions. He's here to represent the 99%, as obvious from the millions of union workers, millennials and regular people who are his sole campaign donors. He even avoided the Vietnam draft by filing as a "Conscientious Objector" and used his time at home to protest this "rich man's war".
Sanders recognizes the inequality of wealth in this nation. He is going to demand that the wealthy pay their fair amount of taxes. He’s going to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2020. He wants to put more people back to work by investing in a five year rebuilding of nation’s the infrastructure. He’s going to expand Social Security for the elderly.
With the United States being one of the most powerful nations on earth, Sanders believes we should jump start tackling the climate change. He plans on introducing legislation to tax carbon and methane emissions to discourage methods that give off the toxins. Sanders also secured a $3.2 billion grant to reduce greenhouse gas emission which includes upgrades for 86,000 buildings and installed 9,500 solar energy systems.
For racial justice, he has many plans for this complicated aspect. To address physical violence, he wants to demilitarize our police forces and require body cameras for law enforcement. To address political violence, he wants to make Election Day a federal holiday to increase voters’ ability to participate and make sure there are sufficient polling places and poll workers to prevent long longs. To address legal violence, he wants to ban prisons for profit, which result in over-arresting to keep prison beds full. He also wants to invent in drug courts and medical and mental health interventions so these people can end up in treatment, not prison.
Conclusion: #FeelTheBern
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