My Take of the 2016 Presidential Candidates

Because, you know, it’s way, way too early for this schadenfreude.

I know what that word in bold means, etymology and all:  enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others.  Why people take such joy in others’ flaws is beyond me – and why I cannot (today) in clear conscience endorse any candidate.

In one year and a few days, the American public will have the opportunity to select the next President of the United States. Will it be the boisterous one who we’ve seen on TV every night? What about the one who is running from a track record sixty miles and thirty years long? Or perhaps someone out of the blue that we do not know anything about today yet makes the most compelling argument to become POTUS 45? I really don’t know, as I don’t have a crystal ball that I can foresee that far into the future.

What are the issues I hold most importantly to me?

In no particular order, my major concerns are domestic policy; education; civil rights; infrastructure and environmental issues; and the economy. Read below to understand what I am looking for in POTUS 45 as a leader of an increasingly diversifying nation. 

Domestic policy:  Now that I’ve gotten a foothold into the middle class, what tax policies would be enacted to keep me there – or at the very least, make life for my daughter easier than my own struggles? Is that even possible? I’m talking about tax reform, EITC, the Social Security I do not expect around in thirty years, and how laws are applied to all Americans versus the haves and have-nots.

Education:  I’m blessed to have been able to attend AND graduate from college with minimal student loan debt thanks to hard work, academic scholarships, prayers, and a bit of luck along the way. I also shook that beast (Sallie Mae) off two years ago! Unfortunately, six-figure student loan balances are becoming a way of life and not only does that impact how young adults begin life, but also it makes going to school tough to justify. How do we prepare citizens or retrain for a better opportunity of life without breaking the bank or spirits of so many people with a lot to contribute to society? Not everyone needs that four-year liberal arts degree – what about scoring a trade such as automotive repair or plumber? There is a larger demand for those two fields than a philosopher doubling as a barista, no offense to Starbucks associates everywhere.

Civil rights:  Obviously, I am a big supporter of #BlackLivesMatter. We know what happens when Quan shoots Ray-Ray; less certain is when Officer Bob fatally harms Jamal. That does not mean my brothers and sisters who are not African-American matter less; it means that our issues need to be brought to the forefront albeit forcefully to inconvenience the privileged classes into seeing our point of view. That also means equality for our LGBTQ brothers in addition to our Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Asian, etc. sisters. In short, if the American Constitution states all people are equal, it should mean all people are equal. Period.

Infrastructure and the environment:  Our inner cities, roads, and bridges are crumbling all around us and we have tough decisions to make. The last time around, whole communities were fractured and further divided (see Interstate 630 in Little Rock:  south of the freeway, the city looks destitute; on the north side of , vestiges of middle-class life still exist as those homeowners move west to Chenal and beyond, but for how much longer?) How do we pay for new bridges and highways if we all worship at the altar of low taxes and cheap fuel? What, if where, can we sacrifice for the next generation of commuters? A few years ago, I was okay with the idea of converting certain highways into toll roads; however, states do become reliant on that revenue stream and eventually becomes a crutch too great to nix. See Florida and New Jersey as the wrong ways to use toll roads.

You’ve heard the fallacy that brothers do not care about the environment:  That cannot be further from the truth. It’s difficult to reduce, reuse, and recycle when we’re trying to survive day-to-day but it does not mean any less.  When the jobs are in the suburbs and Raheem has to flip his license plate to put $2 of gas in a box Chevy to get him there because public transit is unavailable, it means he has to spend a larger part of his take-home pay to work for an employer who may or may not want him on the payroll. Also, we’re conscious of the fact that living in the concrete jungle is more harmful than being in the country surrounded by trees and plants that thrive on carbon dioxide intake BUT SOME PEOPLE DON’T WANT US THERE. Our present concerns include the purity of our water supply; the extended effects of fracking; and locally, where the new landfill will be located. More than a racial happenstance, the disadvantaged do not have a voice in where the landfills and prisons end up which often are placed “across the tracks” or “the wrong side of town”. What kind of world are we leaving for our children and future generations if we’re so hell bent on profit from fossil fuels? What about exposing them to innovative solutions not limited to recycling those nickel and lithium batteries (yes, Prius and Tesla drivers, I’m looking squarely at you and your smug demeanors toward a cleaner Earth)? Why does food-to-table organic living cost so much more than it actually should and is relatively unavailable in food deserts?

The economy:  That’s a no-brainer. I expect to work intelligently to provide for my family and compensated as such; it would be unfair for my wife and daughter if I had to work 80+ hours weekly for eight bucks an hour and somehow miraculously pay for our monthly expenses on time, save for both college and retirement, and not petition for a fair wage. As prices have gone up, my dollars have stagnated, and it takes more of them to purchase much-needed items and services. Low taxes are not everything. Reinvestment in the people will take the American economy further than a few owners stockpiling all of the cash to build a balance sheet appealing to a few investors.

I laughed at Mitt Romney’s suggestion that “we built that” for two reasons:  1) my ancestors built this nation on their backs via blood, sweat, and tears and have not even received a benevolent thank-you; and 2) when those not of a privileged class hustle for a seat at the table, we are often accused of “wanting free stuff”. Well, if you weren’t born with a silver spoon and spent the bulk of your life on third base with a clean uniform, then you would see the inequalities of this system. It’s free market until someone finds an angle to serve the masses in a more affordable manner; the jobs situation is scarce because it is easy to blame the brown men and women for taking the gigs we were too lazy to work; and our schools are too busy teaching us to be employees, not creators. How else can we be the best if complacency rues the day?

Looking at the field for both the Democrats and Republicans, it may be a case of holding my nose next November when I vote. Below are the candidates, parties, and my own thoughts:

Democrats

As much as I want to like Hillary Clinton, she hasn’t really endeared herself to being fully transparent and is the master of the expedient political decision if it helps her ratings. Of course, having the past twenty-three years in the glare of the public eye does not fully help her cause since we already have a formulated opinion of her abilities. I’d probably have to hold my nose in the general election and vote for her because of the next few candidates and I generally am nonplussed with them.

Bernie Sanders seems like the trendy pick to me – and one from a bygone era. How can I feel the Bern if I am still struggling to get by day after day? His populist message does resonate to a number of friends, many of whom are still in their twenties and early thirties and have some faith in the promise of a great nation. He’s definitely under consideration although the conservative media will have a field day with the “socialist liberal” candidate.

Martin O’Malley is interesting because he is the former governor of Maryland – and prior to that, the mayor of Baltimore. While I do respect his moderate stance on gun rights and how the state ranks in education and employment categories, the troubling thing for me is how Charm City was run:  beyond Camden Yards, West Baltimore, and the suburbs, crime is rampant and the economy has tanked. Of course, corruption within City Hall and the police department do not support his claims of being a reformer particularly with the late Freddie Gray brought to the open. His perceived callousness toward Black Lives Matter is another strike; when he had the opportunity to make a difference, he chose to reward the more affluent than to help the least of us.

Lincoln Chaffee (former Rhode Island governor) and Jim Webb (former Virginia Senator) should have hung it up by now.

Republicans

I was a fan of Ben Carson until he opened his mouth. It seems to me he is trying too hard to be the black best friend to white people who do not want him around, and with the hard-right rhetoric he spews; it shows an Eff You to the people who helped him make it from inner-city Detroit. Maybe it’s the political novice label he proudly wears, but this will be remembered come general election.

Donald Trump sees this as free publicity and a big-ass money grab. A master of persuasion, he should be fully aware that being bombastic does no favors in the daily drudge of legislation with zero-sum boasts of winners and losers. He’s the candidate that if he wins, I will sell my house and move my wife and daughter to Ghana – or Canada, more likely. His Make America Great Again! slogan hearkens to an era of white supremacy and if you’ve not noticed how he generalizes black and brown people, then you should. I don’t see how any of his campaign tactics would work well in a general election, but we did elect Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush to two terms each. Apparently, a man with a fistful of dollars is more of a success than his own character and actual forward thinking. I feel like he’d be the POTUS to bankrupt this nation, but we’ve been morally broke for a long time.

Carly Fiorina has the same problem as Ben Carson to me:  too busy running to be the “binders” candidate. Being the woman in the field is not enough:  what are your plans beyond Sunday morning talking points for the economy? Moreover, how can I trust her to lead this nation when HP was run aground?

Jeb Bush is the legacy candidate. Why should I ride with a guy who was born on third base with a silver spoon when his brother in large part is the reason why the USA is disrespected worldwide? Check out Eff Yo’ Hookup from my blog to go further in depth about his recent tone-deaf statements about the rest of us. Once the mainstream pick for POTUS, he’s lost his way trying to appeal to an older, whiter base that believes everything Fox News (owned by Australian Rupert Murdoch) tells them. In addition, he’s responsible for Stand Your Ground – the law that allowed George Zimmerman to get away with killing Trayvon Martin.

Ted Cruz is the tough-talking Texan with no substance and the paragon of hypocrisy. If you remember how he (among others, Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio are included in this group) voted against funding aid for the Jersey Shore after Superstorm Sandy only to beg the government they so avowedly stand against for relief with its own storms. He also should’ve realized that Canadian citizens cannot run for POTUS for how he pestered President Obama for his own birth certificate which he produced in long form as a Hawaiian resident, but for many of his supporters, since Cruz isn’t black, that’s okay.

Marco Rubio may be the most sensible Republican candidate remaining. He’s definitely an impatient young gun who cannot come to work after doing everything in his power to get a position. However, he is a beast at foreign policy having worked on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as a pragmatic thinker and once he can grasp the fact that Cuba will be a reliable trade partner in the years to come, he may be the dark horse to win next November.

I honestly have no love for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. Having lived in the state for nearly his entire ten years as the state’s CEO, he is little more than a snooty redneck who hides behind his brand of fake religion to appeal to the uninformed. His time in American politics has come and gone with the best chance being in 2008. Besides, he also destroyed his email servers upon leaving the Governor’s Mansion in Quapaw and has the audacity to criticize Hillary Clinton over her personal server as Secretary of State.

Ohio Governor John Kasich does have a bit of a pragmatic streak as he accepted government dollars for the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act, but in this environment, that pushes him into also-ran status. It is also impossible for me to support a candidate whose actions do not align with policy.

Bobby Jindal is what happens when you turn your state (Louisiana) into a testing ground for extreme conservatism. As Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is learning from the serious shortfall the Jayhawk State is suffering from due to tax breaks for the wealthiest of citizens such as the Koch brothers, Jindal chose to worship at antitax advocate Grover Norquist’s feet at the risk of reversing years of advances and continuing the Pelican State’s reputation as a haven for corruption. In addition, when he turned down money for PPACA, many residents who have struggled for basic necessities such as health insurance are being saddled with another crushing load the state could have easily picked up. A Brown University graduate should be smarter than that, yet he not only slashed dollars earmarked for colleges and universities save LSU, but also brought up merging Grambling State and Southern universities as one HBCU with little regard for the schools’ rivalry. How can I trust this guy to lead our nation when he makes the dumbest decisions and pissed away any goodwill from rebuilding New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina?

Rick Santorum is a one-trick pony. Like Huckabee, his time has come and gone.

Rand Paul makes a compelling case for the general candidacy yet his record – and having his father Ron Paul campaigning for him – are working against him. While his attempted outreach into black America is to be applauded in his commentary about Ferguson, he fell on his face at Howard University when he was pressed with specifics. I have to give him points for showing up, but the Ayn Rand ideology just isn’t going to cut the mustard in 2016 and beyond; libertarianism only benefits those who already have the capital and access to success and labels everyone else as losers.

Lindsey Graham is perhaps the one person who could dominate foreign policy debates. Unfortunately, being the POTUS requires more than being Israel’s best friend and a professed war hawk; America needs a complete leader who knows something about fiscal and domestic policy instead of the party comedian.

George Pataki and Jim Gilmore:  Game over.

Chris Christie could have been greater as New Jersey governor, taking over a very pro-Democratic state albeit a crooked state. Unfortunately for him, primary voters will remember his embrace of President Obama after receiving Superstorm Sandy aid as a treasonous move and in the general election, he has the appeal of a mobster. How can I expect him to run the nation when like Jindal, Brownback, and Oklahoma’s Mary Fallin, he cannot balance the state’s books?

In truth, this is way too early to think about next year’s election and none of the candidates have proven themselves worthy of my vote.