Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Having Second Thoughts on the Democrats - A Political Snippet

Watching Donald Trump march toward the Presidency scares me beyond description.  His vituperative nature cannot be the face of America, at least not my America.  But every time I hear him call Hillary a crook, I remember why I've never been one of Mrs. Clinton's biggest fans.

Those in the know report a disturbing lack of enthusiasm for her, without citing specifics about the why's.  There's none of the energy surrounding Sen. Sanders, whose resume is certainly less impressive than the former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State.

I've been relying on those qualifications to secure her a seat in the Oval Office.  Watching Trump advance despite predictions to the contrary, I'm beginning to wonder if enthusiasm resulting in a less qualified Democrat might be preferable to voters staying home and a narcissist winning by default.

Can I be feeling the Bern, just a little? Can I toss aside the fact that he is flat out wrong on guns, that Hillary is a woman and I have a granddaughter, that experience and knowing the players should have some bearing on my choice?

I just don't know.  I don't know if I'll have the chance.  It's like betting on a match race, knowing one of the entrants will scratch before post time.  I don't want to care, but I do.

13 comments:

  1. Well, Trump is better than Cruz... and I believe Bernie is better than Hillary but I was listening to his commonsense approach to issues for years before he made the run. He used to spend an hour answering questions on talk radio shows I once liked (networks ended them over lack of ratings in my area anyway). But she's going to get it and I accept that. To me her resume is mostly due to who she married and I don't much like him.

    Bernie has a practical approach to gun control because really we want to have the one who sold the gun accountable for what was done with it? If they sold it knowing the person was a nut, then it makes sense, and probably is already illegal, but many crimes with guns aren't committed by nuts but rather those enraged at the moment.

    Anyway he can't get it; so it will be her and those who feel she's not been trustworthy, that she's too tied to a love of big money, that she likes wars more than she should, will just have to hope we are wrong. I am not only depressed at having to listen to her for four years but also Bill. ugh! But the alternative is in the unknown realm and not worth the risk as with Trump, who knows what we'd get.

    I can't remotely see though voting for her because she's a woman. I didn't vote for Obama because he was black. To me it has to be stand on issues and do we trust them. I wish there was a candidate who excited me as Obama did but there's not. He will be much missed and the speech and video he did at the Correspondents' Dinner are certainly part of why but he's done the best he can in a bad time where weighing one interest against another makes winning difficult on anything :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's lovely being stuck with no good choices..... UGH indeed.
      a/b

      Delete
  2. Rain is right. No need to feel the Bern now, it's over. Although in Oregon we've yet to have our primary, so yesterday when I filled out my ballot I voted for Bernie Sanders. This is Bernie country up here. In the general election I'll vote for Hillary.

    Here's my opinion. All of us have to vote for a candidate we don't feel good about, left and right. I can hardly bear to think of all the investigations and attempts to impeach that will plague another Clinton White House but what choice to we have, Trump?

    She will slug along her four years and accomplish very little. Perhaps a little in her first two years before mid-term elections put Republicans back in power in Congress. She moves in increments, not with bold plans as Obama did. She has nothing major in the plans, she's just focused on getting in the White House.

    Come 2020 Democrats will have a problem. She'll be 73, an incumbent with very low public approval. Will she run again for a second term? She's not a quitter. Who would Democrats run if not her? I don't see the party grooming any new leaders. It's like Democrats stepped aside and ceased to do anything until the Clintons were through using the stage.

    Who will be her Vice President? I hate to see a young enthusiastic, leader in the making, put in that position. Not good.

    What happens in 2020 if Republicans run a young enthusiastic leader while we're still stuck with Hillary?

    Nevertheless, I cannot vote for Trump so Hillary it will be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Look to Cory Booker as an up and coming Democrat behind whom we can unite. I hope he doesn't go for the VP slot; it would look like pandering.

      It's times like these that I despise the events that took Gabby Giffords from the mix. DAMN
      a/b

      Delete
    2. Julian Castro, housing secretary, is another possibility for the future. Interesting your comment about Gabby Giffords. I've thought so much about her this election cycle. I do think she was presidential material. She's still pushing on but aphasia is a cruel thing for a person like her. You just about have to be able to speak to be a politician. I love her.

      Delete
    3. My vote also went to Bernie in the primary-- fellow Oregonian here

      Delete
    4. Gabby for sure would have run (and, I think, won) vs John McCain. Instead, Jeff Flake sits there, being another tool in the Tea Party box. She is doing so much better, but the damage done is too severe, I think, for her to run and serve. Therapy takes A Lot of time.

      I like Julian Castro, too.
      a/b

      Delete
  3. I guess, I'm in the minority. I love Hillary and always have. She is more than qualified to be President and although I've always liked Sanders, I don't like how his stance on guns or how he votes so narrow-mindedly that he doesn't see the bigger picture (i.e. voting against the Amber Alert!). I also don't like the fact that Sanders is promising the moon, but he has no way to pay for those promises.

    As for Trump, he scares the crap out of me and the people who follow him even more.

    I just hope people are not so complacent as to let Trump into office. He should be no where near the White House.


    Megan xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You've been on Hillary's side forever, Megan, and your loyalty is noted and commended. It's your trust in her, and the trust of others who know her more intimately, that helps me relax (just a little anyway) about the inevitability of it all.

      As you say, Trump should be no where near the Oval Office.
      a/b

      Delete
  4. I have just been a fly on the wall for the Democratic primaries. I don't totally love either candidate but I totally would would take either over anyone the Republicans have on offer. Frankly, the whole scene makes me embarrassed for our country.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm with you, Olga. I keep looking back in history to see if a charlatan had ever gotten this far..... I'm flummoxed and furious with the Republicans for being glad of the publicity he brought without considering the consequences. He makes hate a mainstream value, and I reject that for America.
      GRRRRRRR..................

      Delete
  5. Megan pretty much said it for me.

    ReplyDelete

Talk back to me! Word Verification is gone!