Don’t Be A Douche, Vote Blue
What you need to know about this election cycles candidates, the problem with Trump, and why write-ins never succeed.
Everywhere I look I see my friends and family drawing a line. They are either firmly dedicated to the pragmatic Hillary or to being outsiders supporting Sanders. For a lot of these people it’s not about being blue, it’s about being right. Some have vowed to write in a candidate’s name, and others simply say they won’t vote at all if their candidate isn’t the one running. It is clear that the GOP race is a shit show filled with xenophobic, racist, fear-mongering imbeciles. That does not change the fact that many Democrats are acting like children in their support for a candidate.
How are these two things related and why am I allowing myself to dip into a potentially unethical line of reporting? Because we are at a critical moment in the election cycle. We have reached a point where Trump is more than likely to get the nod and Sanders’ supporters are vowing to write his name in on the ballot if Clinton is the DNC candidate. This is beyond stupid.
We are at the apex of something so terrifying, yet many have brushed this aside in favor of idealistic long-shots. But the reality is that we could be close to seeing Trump as our Commander in Chief.
Let me be clear, I am not supporting one candidate over another. I am not going to support Clinton or Sanders in this article. However, I will say that whoever gets the nod also gets my vote.
But about Trump…
I have written two articles about the man already (Here and Here), but with each passing day I see his numbers grow. Just last week he won the New Hampshire primary with a landslide 35.3 percent of the vote earning him 10 delegates from the state according to both the AP and The New York Times. Although many people say this win doesn’t hold too much weight — Clinton also won the NH primary against Obama back in 2008 with 39.1 percent — it is a telling sign of what is to come. It is safe to say that Trump’s numbers are not going to go down anytime soon, and as other candidates drop like flies — Christie stuck in Wonka’s tube and a house landing on Fiorina — the margin between everyone is going to increase in Trump’s favor.
In the almost impossible chance that Trump drops out, who is next in line to take his place? That is a little more tricky to assess. Where as Cruz beat Trump in Iowa, Kasich stole the show in New Hampshire (Kasich came in second to Trump, but it was such a big upset media were all over it.) Then there is Rubio who people now view as an automaton because of his debate performances. He was third and fourth in Iowa and New Hampsire respectively. And of course, who can forget the two weakest links in this whole mess; Ben Carson and Jeb Bush. Both have had a rough time thus far breaking past 11 points.
How about their plans and proposals for presidency? Well it goes back to what Trump is doing — get why he’s such a big problem yet, no? OK follow along because I’m about to get TL;DR. Anything Trump says or does makes waves in the election cycle. In hopes of leeching some of that residual momentum the Trump Train left behind, the other candidates come out with either direct opposition or they mimic him just enough to stay in the “he’s not that crazy” category.
If you don’t get that then there really isn’t any helping you, please vote blue. All I can say is if you don’t bad things will happen, America , 9/11, Obama, terrorism. Did I use enough buzz words for you?
For everyone else, it is clear that Trump is the center of the mess that is this campaign cycle. What you may not see is how drama from the GOP carries over to the DNC. Well here it is pretty straight-forward: each time of those clowns make horrible comments or accusations about either candidate, the Berners and Clintonites get more fuel to burn each other with. By falling into the trap, the GOP gets more support from swing voters (voters who either don’t support one side or will vote across their party line, such as myself.)
Which brings me to my other dance with mostly-ethical reporting. All you Berners need to lay the fuck off Hillary, and stop being stupid by saying you’re gonna write his name on the ballot. It’s childish, destructive, and just plain idiotic.
Let me just say as well that if you actually look at his proposals and “new-wave” ideas, you’ll find they are inline with Clinton. In fact, she has been able to go into depth with how she intends to implement those plans whereas all Sanders can do is talk about the “millions who will rise up.” As Zachary Leven wrote,
“This is the most depressing, and perhaps dangerous thing about Bernie Sanders. He is not a problem solver. Problem solving requires an honest, accurate understanding of reality and the challenges you face. And Sanders shows no interest whatsoever in acknowledging the complicated nature of our country. With him, all our problems, and the solutions to those problems can be fully expressed on a bumpersticker.”
But let’s reel it in before all you Berners start coming after me with crap like, “You just want Clinton to win,” and “She’s bought by big banks, she’s not progressive!” Let me explain something. No one, not a single person in major politics, has gone without some kind of major investor whether directly or indirectly. Even Sanders, the so-called rebel outsider, has gone to bat on behalf of the Democrats to raise money from large banks such as JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup. Further, as Clinton pointed out in the most recent Democratic debate, Obama had the largest donations from Super-PACs and still went after big banks.
“I would just say, I debated then-Sen. Obama numerous times on stages like this, and he was the recipient of the largest number of Wall Street donations of anybody running on the Democratic side ever. Now, when it mattered he stood up and took on Wall Street, he pushed through and he passed the Dodd-Frank regulation, the toughest regulation since the 1930s. So, let’s not in any way imply here that either President Obama or myself would in any way not take on any vested interest, whether it’s Wall Street, or drug companies, or insurance companies or frankly the gun lobby, to stand up and do what’s best for the American people,” said Clinton.
So it is possible to remain progressive while still getting large donations? Wow, who would have thought?
Sad to say it doesn’t just stop there. No brother, there are still all those people out there who vow to write in Sanders’ name if Clinton gets the nomination. Let me repeat myself, it’s fucking stupid. Look at all the people who have won by write-in and tell me what you see. If we examine just presidential hopefuls we see there no more than 10 have won more than a single state, and only three have won more (Thomas Dewey won Oregon and Pennsylvania in 1944, Kennedy won Pennsylvania and Massachusetts in 1960, and Henry Cabot Lodge won New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts in 1964.) So in essence when all the Trump-tards and GOP nutters are voting, you are taking away from Clinton who will already have a tough time in the election.
I am going to (sorta) break the fourth wall here and talk to you — yes YOU — directly. Be realistic and actually listen to the candidates. Do your research on their voting record and assume everything you’re told is a lie. Go out and honestly fact-check both attacks and praise because that is where the truth lies. Yes I’m probably breaking some rule of journalism by doing this, but I don’t fucking care anymore. The need for people to be informed and educated when electing a president or any public official (the primary purpose of a journalist to accurately inform the public) outweighs the need for me to simply say both sides are right. They are not. The GOP at this point has its head in its own ass, Trump is a media-whore and tyrant, Sanders is a wonderful idealist with no way to sway a Republican controlled House and Senate, and Hillary is stronger than you give her credit for.
If you made it this far I hope I at least shared some info that will help you better decide where your loyalty lies. If you’ve decided I’m a fool and totally out of my mind, come at me bruh. Prove me wrong, otherwise stay in your lane and keep letting smooth talkers and idealists place a veil over your eyes while they bend you over. With your ideology, you’re already fucked.
