Saying "No" to the party of "No"

Earlier this week, I watched the second Republican debate. After the debate finished I had many thoughts, but one clear observation. This party is no longer the party of president Ronald Reagan. Reagan passed and supported a sensible immigration bill. If Reagan was at last week’s debate and introduced that idea, he would be booed off the stage. Immigration reform (or any sensible reform that would make government more efficient) seems to no longer be the goal of the Republican Party. This is a new Republican Party; it has become the party of the people who are in social movements to take America “back”. The goal of the new Republican Party seems to be to destroy every government program, even if it’s working.

             The second GOP was filled with the candidates gloriously dog-piling Trump, and stances that would make Eisenhower-Republicans roll in their graves. After the first debate I looked at one candidate in particular. Dr. Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon who seemed to be the only candidate using logic and reason to debate. He’s one of the only Republican candidates who don’t believe vaccines cause Autism and climate change was a hoax created by Al Gore to win the 2000 presidency (and I guess it worked, kinda).  It seems like the Republican Party has a patent on crazy and even the intelligent, well-educated Dr. Carson recently said he isn’t afraid to use military drones as a deterrent for illegal immigration on the border.  If you think this is the only time that Carson made a Joe Biden-esque gaff than you’re going to be happily surprised by the time he once referred to Obamacare as the worst thing to happen to America since slavery (11 million previously uninsured people with insurance is bad I guess?). He’s also used prison rape as an example that being gay is not a choice, and mentioned bestiality and pedophilia when arguing against gay marriage in an earlier interview.

            Thirty minutes into the debate and it seemed as if the candidates were trying to out-crazy Trump. The only one who kept some dignity was Rand Paul, who was rewarded for his politeness with Donald Trump calling him ugly.  When the Republican Party reaches the point of calling out candidates for their Spanish roots and not their policies, it’s time to admit, that this Party needs a change.   

Further Reading:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2013/10/11/ben-carson-obamacare-worst-thing-since-slavery/  

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/19/politics/ben-carson-drones-border/

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/02/politics/donald-trump-jeb-bush-spanish/

The rise of the Retrumplican party

Over the summer, I went to Mexico. On my third day in Cancun, I talked to this kid named Hugo. Hugo was from Mexico City and was very politically engaged. After a while, I asked him about Donald Trump, I couldn’t prepare for what I was going to hear next. Donald Trump has referred to undocumented citizens, especially Mexicans, as rapists and killers. Hugo went on a rant and it was then that I realized that Donald Trump is the most internationally hated candidate in a very, very long time.

            The office of president of the United States of America is the most prestigious office in the world. The president should be symbolic of America to other countries. The president should act with the class, integrity and honor that America has. Donald Trump is many things; however, he is not classy and doesn’t possess integrity. He admits to have taken advantage of our bankruptcy laws in order to get ahead and progress his business. How are the American people supposed to trust him to fix things like the broken tax code? There’s no doubt that Trump is passionate about politics. However, being president is not like a reality TV show-you can’t just cut out the bad parts, and when a country is being hostile to him he isn’t allowed to “fire” them. Trump also has a problem admitting when he’s wrong, while Barack Obama has been called an “apologist” for America’s actions in the Middle East, it seems as though Trump would be the opposite.

            Trump’s foreign policy inexperience is only the tip of the iceberg. While Trump can certainly dish the insults, it seems as if he can’t take it. When someone has a different belief than Trump he reverts to calling him or her a “moron” or an “idiot”. Rosie O’Donnell voiced her displeasure with his sexist comments and Trump responded by calling her a pig, which could stand to lose a few pounds. Trump has commented on his daughter’s figure, saying he would date her if she weren’t his daughter (gross). To see how Trump handles criticism you only have to look at his twitter. He once quoted a tweet that said, “If Clinton can’t satisfy her husband, how can she satisfy America”.  Donald Trump has no plans for America besides Immigration reform, he said he’d repeal and replace Obamacare with something “great”. 

             Donald Trump almost makes me have pity, not for him, but for the Republican Party. Liberals have been saying for years that racists tend to vote Republican. I never believed them until I saw his 30% support among likely Republican voters. However, in this day in age of “pick your poison” politics, some may be forced to vote for him strictly based on his party.