Republicans- I am going to start out with the Republicans as they are the ones I identify with. I am a Jew from New York City. I wrote that to let it be known that most people I have known during my life (from friend’s family to my teachers) have been on the Left. I have been defending the Republican Party and the Tea Party (not a popular thing to do in NYC) in NYC and abroad (Israel, Europe) for years, but I can no longer do that. The Tea Party was a lie. Donald Trump’s popularity proves that much of what the Left had to say about the Tea Party was true. All the talk of small government and constitutional values was a cover; what these people really wanted was a populist-based nationalism and the Conservative/Libertarian ideology was just their temporary home to push that platform.
Donald Trump is not a Conservative in any way. He believes in big government and thinks that his personal greatness outweighs the constitution. He flip-flopped on almost every issue (including refugees) and provides no explanation for his change of heart. His pandering is so blatant that he even told a crowd at Liberty University “That’s what you guys want to hear." It is understandable for somebody who is not very political to support Trump since he makes it very clear where he stands (for the moment) and isn’t afraid to say things that are unpopular which many believe. I admit that I enjoyed watching (not supporting) him at first, because it was a breath of fresh air in our oppressive, PC society. With that said, anybody who claims to be a conservative has no business voting for this man. He is against everything you claim to stand for and believes in an America based on himself and his own personal greatness, but NOT the constitution. All this would not be as bad if there were no alternatives, but we have several.
Ted Cruz is a consistent conservative across the board. He repeatedly stood up for what he believes in, often alone, and at great personal cost throughout his entire career. It takes a special type of person to stand alone and be universally hated by all of his colleagues from both parties. Yet, he still has the character to stand strong. I would say if you are a Conservative or even a Libertarian, then Cruz is the best choice based on his proven track record to stand for Conservative principles. His electability is another conversation. I also want to mention Dr. Ben Carson and Marco Rubio.
Dr. Ben Carson is just as anti PC and has been so before Donald Trump. Ever since his Prayer Breakfast speech which spurred his political career he has bashed PC, said whatever he wanted and never backed down. This notion that Trump is the only one “speaking his mind” is false. I do not think he is right for the job as President, but he is just as outspoken (without being obnoxious), and if you ask me had an even more impressive non-political career as Trump. While Trump is spoken about as a kind of “anti-politician," I would say that title belongs to Dr. Ben Carson.
That leaves us with Marco Rubio. He is not as “ideologically pure” as Ted Cruz, yet I would still consider him a strong Conservative. Many have issues with him coming from his pro NSA and amnesty policies. While I understand that many Republicans find this problematic, I still don't understand why they would rather vote for a man like Trump who believes in huge government so long as it is based on him. Trump likes to consider himself a deal maker who can work with Democrats, but I must disagree. Trump is a highly divisive figure who slanders and destroys anyone who dares oppose him. Rubio, while being very Conservative, has a certain practical approach to politics that will allow him to reach across the aisle and get things done better than Trump.
This is why he has found favor in the eyes of the “establishment”. I have heard him being compared to Floyd Mayweather because he is very hard “to lay a glove on," but he is also not likely to take a risk and throw the knockout punch. While he may not be as ideological as Cruz or as unconventional as Carson or Trump, I think he would remain true to Conservative principles and fare pretty well in a general election.
To summarize, I believe everything Trump is loved for: being Conservative, unconventional, anti-PC and a "deal-maker" is false. There is a better candidate than him for each of these things. As I said I have spent years defending the Republicans and Tea Party, but they have proved to be reactionary, uninformed, non-principled, and some of the time even downright stupid. I really wish this was not the case, but I see no other way to describe it.
"Democrats”- Yes, I put the word, Democrats, in quotes because I am not sure there is such a thing as a Democrat anymore. At least, not in this presidential race. Long gone are the days of Democrats like John Glenn and Scoop Jackson. The Cold Warriors who were vehemently anti-Communist with a strong belief in American exceptionalism and the values that come along with it. They were the non-Leftist Democrats. Evidence that they no longer exist can be seen in Jim Webb’s attempted presidential run. He is a man with proven leadership abilities, bipartisan and an impressive knowledge on foreign policy, yet he still couldn’t manage to get 1% of the vote. There is no longer a place for these men amongst the Democrats. To be honest, I am not sure I ever knew those Democrats.
I have met such Democrats in real life speaking with old Italian and Jewish men, but witnessed barely any in the political scene. The Obama years have not been good to these men. Many of the old Jewish men were always suspicious of his policies concerning Israel. The red line debacle in Syria was bad, but the Iran deal was a breaking point. They realized they no longer have a home in the Democratic Party. On that note, I will speak about Bernie Sanders.
Bernie Sanders is what I will call Obama 2.0. While Obama had to pretend to be more moderate than he truly is, Sanders parades his far Left credentials around with pride. He is certainly not a Democrat, and up until this election cycle, the Democrats would have viewed him as an utter embarrassment who preaches ideals foreign to what the party believes. I feel Obama's slow, calculated (even brilliant) crawl to the Left through his two terms has made a candidate like Sanders possible. He, like Trump, has captured the frustrations of a certain demographic of people and became their champion. Like many Trump supporters, they felt their vision of the American dream has been robbed from them, robbed being the key word. On this, I must give the Left credit. At least they are voting for a real Leftist as opposed to a populist like Donald Trump.
That is not to say that Bernie Sanders isn’t a populist. He most certainly is one, but unlike Trump, at least he believes what he's saying. Somewhere I read that “Bernie Sanders has been doing his thing for decades, but his voters weren’t born yet” in reference to his popularity amongst “millennials”. I feel this notion is completely false. My generation is far from the first generation of college-age kids and adults in their early twenties to believe in Socialism and other far Left ideals. This is to be expected. The difference is twofold.
The first difference is what is considered a kid. Once upon a time, college ended and adulthood soon followed. People in their mid- twenties were getting married and having kids. These days, the post-college years where people are “finding themselves”, keeping up with the newest trends, and living that post-college lifestyle extends well into the 30’s; even amongst professionals. People used to have their college idealism sacked by reality during their mid-20s and certainly before their 30s. As a result, our time period has a much larger demographic of “young” idealists.
The second difference is when we were born in history. We missed the Cold War and the battle against Communism. That is to say that my generation never witnessed the intellectual demise of Socialism. Many of the older generations fail to understand that Socialism is a fresh new idea to "Millennials." They view it as a way to build (without working) a brighter future, instead of something that made a dark, evil past. The combination of the factors mentioned above gives Bernie Sanders a large, vocal, idealistic, and motivated demographic which stands loyally behind him. While I do not predict he will win this election, I do believe the damage he is doing to the Democratic Party is irreversible.
The far Left “cat” is out of the bag, and there is no putting it back. The Democratic party now has no significant differences between a Socialist party and the “Millennial” generation will keep fighting until they get what they want. As young kids grow to be of voting age, I predict they will share similar politics as the millennials before them. Any Democratic candidate will be forced to appeal to the far Left, and sooner or later one will succeed. If Hilary is elected, she will be viewed as a sellout and despised by the Sanders voters because her more "moderate" policies will be construed for adding “fuel to the fire," and making the Democratic establishment less popular with young people than it already is. This is the new reality of the Democratic Party. This is the new reality of America.
I do not have much to say about Hilary Clinton. She is not a Democrat, just as Kevin Spacey in “House of Cards” is not a Democrat. She has no ideology. She just wants power by any means. If she had been “discovered” by Republicans and married one of them instead, her pants suits would look like the American flag. It is as if “Cruella Deville” was running for president. Her strength is the fact that she is conventional. She has votes from those who are not Left enough to vote for Bernie Sanders on one hand, and those who would never vote for Republicans on the other. She is facing a serious challenge in Bernie Sanders, one she never saw coming. Yet, if I had to predict, she will be the next president of the United States. I also predict she will be the last of the “establishment” Democrats. Bernie Sanders is the new reality of the Democratic Party. I don’t have more to say about her. My House of Cards reference sums up exactly what I think.
Civil War - I do not see how America can stay together as a country. I see a society completely divided on racial, political, and cultural lines so deeply that there is no turning back. When I say "civil war," I do not mean a shooting war, but a situation where America breaks apart from itself and stops being the “United States”. To demonstrate why, I will making an analogy using "Texas" to represent Middle America and "New York" to represent the cities.
The only thing people in New York and people in Texas have in common is the English language. Texas is getting fed up of New York trying to impose on their way of life. Religious white people who are anti-abortion, believe traditional views of marriage, and love guns have seen their whole existence become "politically incorrect." They feel discriminated against by the media, Hollywood, academia, and the Democratic Party. They are tired of it. They are fed up with being called racist by people who know nothing about them. They are fed up with being blamed for gun violence that they did not commit. Most of all, they are fed up with seeing their country turned into some “chicken shit” Politically Correct dictatorship controlled by people who never served in the military or worked a day in their life.
They are done being “New York’s” scapegoat. New York has shown them that no matter what they do they will be portrayed as violent, racist, and backwards. They know that New York wants to come for their guns. Most in New York will not say it out loud, but it is what they want. If New York pushes too hard with gun legislation, we can have a situation where states refuse to obey Federal law. I do not think Texas Police or National Guard are really going to go on gun roundups. Guns may not be the catalyst, but I see this as very likely to happen. Once that happens, who knows where it will end?
New York has no intention of staying out of Texas’ business. They see them as everything wrong with the country, and the world. According to them, Texas is holding back progress on a whole host of social and economic issues. Their aggressive foreign policy makes America a country hated throughout the world. Their racism and ignorance oppresses racial and social minorities. Meanwhile, their perverted love of guns is turning the country into a war-zone where mass shootings are becoming as common as heart disease and car crashes. New York will continue to push Texas because New York does not know or understand Texas. What's more dangerous is that they don't know that they can push Texas too far.
Race is another fault line. “Black America” has a completely different narrative of America that "white America" does not understand. They don’t understand the narrative and they do not understand how deep it goes. The white people who try, or even pretend to understand them do so in a condescending way that black people always see through. The Left also doesn’t realize this yet. They do not realize that black people are not children that need their help, but a proud people who feels a historical injustice that neither money nor “white guilt pandering” can change. Martin Luther King got a head start, but in the end Malcolm X won in the idealogical battlefield. I am a Jewish nationalist, so I understand it much better, but your typical white leftist who has no pride in his people or history will never understand how the masses in Black America feel. Black Lives Matter represents an organization that white leftists can’t control. It has taken on a life of its own. Any violent confrontation involving the police or some sort of racially motivated mass shooting can lead to a racial explosion in America.
America is facing social challenges of historical proportions. The social fabric that held the country together for so long is coming apart at the seams. Each group feels oppressed by the other and there is no common ground to be had. Both political parties which served essential political institutions for generations seem to be in self-destruct mode. If the people of America cannot get together to solve these problems the United States will cease to exist as we know it today.