On a Year of Ridiculous Republicans
Art credits to Lily Yang!
November 12, 2015
To the voters, it is the year of laughter, outrage, amazement, and all things in between. To the politicians, it is the year of shock, worry, and anxiety. To the media, it is the year of a blessings, ratings, and scandals. To some, it is the year of Trump. To others, it is the year of Carson. Or the year of Bernie Sanders, or simply the year of the underdogs. And of course, it is the year of big money politics. But really, it is the year of ridiculous Republicans.
Undoubtedly, the mess in the Republican race for the presidential nomination really started with a man whose ego cannot be rivaled and whose hairstyle cannot be equaled: Donald Trump. As anti-establishment fervor builds up within the Republican Party, Trump has seized the opportunity to say what so many want to be said: “Politicians are losers,” “I’m really rich,” and “Obama can’t lead.”
As John Kasich, another Republican contender in the 2016 presidential race, said in the first Republican debate, Trump’s simple message resonated with many people. His message expresses what so many people feel about the political system in this country: it’s broken, and it needs reform. Yet he does this without presenting much policy to solve the issues he keeps bringing up.
Mrs. Lamberti, an Honors American History teacher, describes her concern that “the problem with Donald Trump, as well as with many of the other presidential candidates, is that they often do not provide solutions to current day problems. And when solutions are provided, they are often not supported by statistics and facts and do not account [for] historical trends.”
However, this type of loud-mouthing from Trump is helping him. Right after his boisterous candidacy announcement, Trump surprisingly surged in the polls, completely overtaking career politicians. For almost three months now, he has been at the top of the race.
Also remarkable is Trump’s unwavering tactic of standing his ground after making controversial statements. Over the past few months, his insults have ranged from calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” and “drug lords” (though some, he assumes, are good people) to denouncing Senator John McCain as a war hero to insulting Senator Rand Paul’s physical appearance on the stage of the second Republican debate. Each time hepiles on more controversial statements, he rises in the polls. In fact, 27% of Republicans in a CBS poll think Trump should be president. His success in the polls has prompted many Republican candidates to rethink their campaigns.
Desperate to make headway in the polls, Senator Lindsey Graham published a video of the senator destroying his cellphone in various ways, and Senator Rand Paul published a video where Paul himself burns the tax code. “Trumpism” behavior, a term that Rick Perry coined to describe Trump’s narcissistic, brazen, and demagogic demeanor, has now spread like a wildfire to other candidates as well. Mike Huckabee, in an effort to gain attention, compared Obama’s Iran Deal to the equivalent of “taking the Israelis and marching them to the door of the oven.” Meanwhile, Ben Carson caused controversy when he said a Muslim should not be president. After he said this, his Facebook page boasted 100,000 new followers. He also seemingly criticized the victims of the Umpqua Community College shooting by stating that “he wouldn’t have just stood there as the shooter killed him” and that he would have “charged at the shooter.” In spite of these outrageous comments, Carson polls at 21% as the second most popular Republican candidate behind Trump in the same CBS poll.
As for the Democrats, there is one thing that must be said: they are not as bad as the Republicans. The Republican race resembles a circus show, with eighteen candidates vying for a bigger share of the polls. The Democratic race is much more relaxed and civil. The only candidate truly discussed is Hillary Clinton. Clinton (along with Jeb Bush, another Republican contender) is the embodiment of the establishment wing of American politics (which includes the old-school, accomplished, and well-funded candidates); most Democrats are betting on Hillary to be the nominee.
But a shift is starting to occur in the Democrats’ race: anti-establishment fervor has now spread from the Republican race to the Democratic one. This time, the underdog in the Democratic race has appeared in the form of Bernie Sanders, a senator from Vermont. Although Sanders still trails Clinton in the polls, he has made gains that have disconcerted the Clinton camp.
One poll conducted in mid-September by Monmouth University showed Sanders leading Clinton by seven percent, spooking many of Hillary’s supporters. His base has more energy and excitement than Clinton’s, spurring Clinton to greater heights in an effort to stay ahead of the elderly senator.
“I think what’s happening with Bernie Sanders is that he excites his base more. And in a year that is challenging traditional authority, Bernie Sanders could really threaten Hillary’s already faltering campaign,” states Prayaag Rao ’18. Everywhere Sanders goes he garners crowds of thousands of people, who are mostly young liberals who are inspired by his messages on inequality, racial justice, and the environment.
Amidst the turmoil in this election, pleas to end the huge role of money in politics have increased in volume. Ever since the Citizens United ruling in January 2010, corporations and unions have had the go-ahead to spend unlimited sums of money on ads and other tools to either endorse or attack a candidate. Since this ruling, politics has become increasingly dirty and complicated, as representatives in Congress beg for money each day from lobbyists to hold their position while presidential candidates receive an agenda from their generous donors. The New York Times has reported that nearly half of all the money donated to the presidential candidates has come from just 158 families. This type of power concentrated in the hands of a few rich families is the antithesis of what our country was founded on. Clearly, we must reform the current system to purge these “big money” interests from US politics.
While we wait and see how the political atmosphere unfolds, we can relax, enjoy ourselves and watch gaffe after gaffe and crazy statement after crazy statement.
References
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-trump-still-leads-carson-in-second/
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/09/politics/donald-trump-ben-carson-poll-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34485358
http://www.forwardprogressives.com/5-ben-carson-quotes-proving-hes-too-crazy-to-be-president/
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2012/10/18/11527/citizens-united-decision-and-why-it-matters
Sophia Canzano • Nov 16, 2015 at 12:05 pm
I feel that Donald Trump has a well rounded campaign but will not full-fill our countries needs if he becomes president.
Peyton Robb • Nov 16, 2015 at 12:03 pm
In my opinion, i think that this article tells truth about how republicans are acting in the polls and state many facts that provide answers to why republicans like Donald trump shouldn’t run for president. but, i also would disagree because i think some of the things they argue support reasons to why they should win the electrion
Lucie Scaglione • Nov 16, 2015 at 11:57 am
Trump is fun to watch for the debates and all as he is an entertainer but i think its afe to say no one would consider him an actual candidate for president. its slightly concerning that hes still winning in the polls though.