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.
