In car racing we have a time in each season affectionately called the "Silly Season". For it is a time when all the trading and movement for the following season takes place. Driver switch teams or get fired, teams change suppliers or engines, teams switch leaders or engineers and race schedules and venues get selected or dumped. For racers it is time we expect to see massive change and sometimes surprises.
Well it appears we are in the Silly Season in American politics. Yes we expect every 4 years that we will elect a President and it gets even sillier when we have a lame duck in the White house. (sorry no disrespect the President Obama although the title seems to fit).
This time around it is the worst Silly Season I have ever seen. Actually we might want to rename it the Ridiculous Stupid Season. Have you been paying attention to the political circus in since late last year? Of course you have you can't avoid it no matter what you do. That right there is part of the problem.
So lets look at where we are and why we should ALL be very afraid. The Republicans started out with 17 presidential candidates. Immediately that should tell us as a country we have a massive problem. Any party that can allow 17 people to run for the leadership has no control or cohesion and is a party falling apart. No one in their right mind could ever think that 17 people represent the platform of a single party. Also 17 people running means that they will have destroyed each other before the opposing party even goes against them. We saw this in 2012 and yet the Republicans repeated it. Shame on their leadership!
The Democrats on the other hand are much more organized and focused - or at least we thought so. They only had 4 to start with and everyone knew 2 were just fillers. So they seem to have more control and influence over who runs and represents their party. But then we started to get a look at Bernie Sanders. Either the Democrats are secretly changing their platform or Bernie caught them by surprise. He is a self proclaimed Socialist. Is this the new Democratic Party stance? Makes one wonder especially after 8 years of Barrack Obama?
The Republicans staged a series of debates (lower and upper card events) to whittle the field of 17. I say debates but clearly it was more like unscripted reality TV. What a circus? How embarrassing for them and the Country. I had foreign friends who were glued to their TV's for each fight night and thought it was the best TV America has produced since Archie Bunker!
The Democrats whittled their field very quickly in comparison and it became the Hilary/Bernie show. Or as some call it the Socialist and Liar. They have become increasingly nasty to one another but pale in comparison to their opponents across the aisle. Actually compared to the Trump-A-Thon they have been down right professional and borderline boring!
After what seems like years of public mudslinging and stupidity the Republican field is now down to three clowns - Trump, Cruz and Kasich.
Lets start with the Democrats. Hilary is the nominee and Bernie needs to go away. Bernie this was rigged from day one my brother and despite your valiant efforts to offer young folks free college and free healthcare, you need to go home. Yes, it was rigged because Hilary had all the Super delegates from the start. This gave her an unfair advantage and guaranteed she would win the nomination. Say what you will about the Dems they know how to control their candidates and the outcome of their primaries. For those who don't know the Republicans don't have this capability and from the looks of it they would not know what to do with it anyway. So Hilary will be the Democratic nominee barring an indictment from the FBI investigation of her emails (don't worry that will never happen its just out there so Americans think there is a justice system).
The Republicans. Where do I start? They had some very bright people who were in the initial 17. Sadly those bright ones never made it past the third round. So now we are left with three. Trump is leading in the popular vote and the delegate count by a large margin. Actually neither of the other two can get enough delegates to win the nomination - a mathematical fact! So why are they still in it? They think the Republican establishment will call for a contested convention and one of them will win the nomination through that process. Folks you can't make this stuff up!
Trump needs 1237 delegates to win the nomination outright. All the pundits say he will get very close - probably 1210-1225. So the crazies in the party are hanging on the hope that they can cause this "Contested Conference" and oust Trump. This is so ridiculous and badly thought out that I bow my head in shame. Can't they see that the Republican voters have spoken? They want crazy Trump. History should have taught them that going against the will of the people does not end well. If he gets over 1200 and the leadership tries this contested conference and he loses the republican party is dead.
Be smart Republicans get a team together and go mend fences with Trump. Show him how you can help him. By the way he needs lots of help if he has a small chance to beat Hilary. Yes, I said it Hilary is very likely to kick Trump's butt all over the country. She is smarter than him, she is more experienced in politics, she knows Washington better than him, she is more versed in national and international policy than him and she is a woman (maybe?) and will play that card. But most importantly, she has more registered voter than him. Yes the republican party is the underdog by a large margin. If all the registered voters in both parties showed up the Republicans lose automatically.
Now add to this that Trump has pissed off many large segments of the population - Latinos and women as a start. Then add his lack of specific plans or a platform plus is sweet charming demeanor and you have what looks like a slam dunk for Hilary. Or does it?
We have counted Trump out at least 10 times in the last year and yet he keeps coming back and winning. (kind of like a cockroach) How no one knows. I think it is frightening and if I were Hilary I would not assume victory. Trump has tapped into a deep anger in America and "we the people" are standing up. Actually his campaign should be a reminder for all politicians that America is saying loud and clear - we hate all of you and the way you are doing business. Trump is smart and will attack Hilary in all her vulnerable areas - and she has lots. He is mean and has no moral compass so he will go to the mat. This ain't Mitt Romney.
Trump is an outsider and she is an insider. The American people are not liking insiders much these days. If he picks up some moderates and a few independents from Bernie and gets his share of the remaining Cruz and Kasich Republicans he could squeak out a win.
Amazingly America this is not the bad news. No Sir. Here is the bad news - if either Hilary or Trump are our next President we are . in trouble. Big trouble!
In trouble with both for different reasons. Sadly either will give us a lot to deal with and we should be prepared. Here is how I see the scorecard:
Trump
He will tear apart the establishment in Washington - good
He will piss off many of our allies - bad
He will enrage our enemies and drive them to attack - bad
He will improve the economy and create jobs - good
He will try to fix Obamacare - good
He will alienate the entire liberal side of our country - bad
He will embarrass America often -bad
He will surround himself with bright people - good
He will strengthen our military & American pride - good
He will change corporate taxation - who knows?
He will not fix that stupid hairdo - bad
He will shrink the Federal Government - good
He will consolidate power to his inner circle - bad
Hilary
She will expand Obamacare - bad
She will weaken the economy and private sector jobs - bad
She will expand the government & unions - bad
She will be a good diplomat & avert war - good
She will create many new social programs -bad
Bill will embarrass America again -bad
She will not strengthen the military - bad
She will advance the rights of all minorities - good
She will increase taxes across the board - bad
She will continue to lie the American people - bad
She will consolidate power to his inner circle - bad
Look at the score cards you can see why this is really BAD news for America. In short neither one of them will be a great President. We will have major issue with both and America will suffer with either. So once again we as voters are left with choosing the lesser of two evils. What a horrid commentary on the politics of the greatest nation on earth. We should be ashamed and very disappointed in both parties. We certainly could have done better. So now folks will probably just vote along party lines because they are depressed and really don't care.
For what it is worth if forced I will chose Trump because at least he has a chance to change things for the good whereas we know exactly what Hilary will do. Yes, he is crazy, outspoken and mean but he is smarter than he looks and will protect us and make us prosper. Good luck America!
Well it appears we are in the Silly Season in American politics. Yes we expect every 4 years that we will elect a President and it gets even sillier when we have a lame duck in the White house. (sorry no disrespect the President Obama although the title seems to fit).
This time around it is the worst Silly Season I have ever seen. Actually we might want to rename it the Ridiculous Stupid Season. Have you been paying attention to the political circus in since late last year? Of course you have you can't avoid it no matter what you do. That right there is part of the problem.
So lets look at where we are and why we should ALL be very afraid. The Republicans started out with 17 presidential candidates. Immediately that should tell us as a country we have a massive problem. Any party that can allow 17 people to run for the leadership has no control or cohesion and is a party falling apart. No one in their right mind could ever think that 17 people represent the platform of a single party. Also 17 people running means that they will have destroyed each other before the opposing party even goes against them. We saw this in 2012 and yet the Republicans repeated it. Shame on their leadership!
The Democrats on the other hand are much more organized and focused - or at least we thought so. They only had 4 to start with and everyone knew 2 were just fillers. So they seem to have more control and influence over who runs and represents their party. But then we started to get a look at Bernie Sanders. Either the Democrats are secretly changing their platform or Bernie caught them by surprise. He is a self proclaimed Socialist. Is this the new Democratic Party stance? Makes one wonder especially after 8 years of Barrack Obama?
The Republicans staged a series of debates (lower and upper card events) to whittle the field of 17. I say debates but clearly it was more like unscripted reality TV. What a circus? How embarrassing for them and the Country. I had foreign friends who were glued to their TV's for each fight night and thought it was the best TV America has produced since Archie Bunker!
The Democrats whittled their field very quickly in comparison and it became the Hilary/Bernie show. Or as some call it the Socialist and Liar. They have become increasingly nasty to one another but pale in comparison to their opponents across the aisle. Actually compared to the Trump-A-Thon they have been down right professional and borderline boring!
After what seems like years of public mudslinging and stupidity the Republican field is now down to three clowns - Trump, Cruz and Kasich.
Lets start with the Democrats. Hilary is the nominee and Bernie needs to go away. Bernie this was rigged from day one my brother and despite your valiant efforts to offer young folks free college and free healthcare, you need to go home. Yes, it was rigged because Hilary had all the Super delegates from the start. This gave her an unfair advantage and guaranteed she would win the nomination. Say what you will about the Dems they know how to control their candidates and the outcome of their primaries. For those who don't know the Republicans don't have this capability and from the looks of it they would not know what to do with it anyway. So Hilary will be the Democratic nominee barring an indictment from the FBI investigation of her emails (don't worry that will never happen its just out there so Americans think there is a justice system).
The Republicans. Where do I start? They had some very bright people who were in the initial 17. Sadly those bright ones never made it past the third round. So now we are left with three. Trump is leading in the popular vote and the delegate count by a large margin. Actually neither of the other two can get enough delegates to win the nomination - a mathematical fact! So why are they still in it? They think the Republican establishment will call for a contested convention and one of them will win the nomination through that process. Folks you can't make this stuff up!
Trump needs 1237 delegates to win the nomination outright. All the pundits say he will get very close - probably 1210-1225. So the crazies in the party are hanging on the hope that they can cause this "Contested Conference" and oust Trump. This is so ridiculous and badly thought out that I bow my head in shame. Can't they see that the Republican voters have spoken? They want crazy Trump. History should have taught them that going against the will of the people does not end well. If he gets over 1200 and the leadership tries this contested conference and he loses the republican party is dead.
Be smart Republicans get a team together and go mend fences with Trump. Show him how you can help him. By the way he needs lots of help if he has a small chance to beat Hilary. Yes, I said it Hilary is very likely to kick Trump's butt all over the country. She is smarter than him, she is more experienced in politics, she knows Washington better than him, she is more versed in national and international policy than him and she is a woman (maybe?) and will play that card. But most importantly, she has more registered voter than him. Yes the republican party is the underdog by a large margin. If all the registered voters in both parties showed up the Republicans lose automatically.
Now add to this that Trump has pissed off many large segments of the population - Latinos and women as a start. Then add his lack of specific plans or a platform plus is sweet charming demeanor and you have what looks like a slam dunk for Hilary. Or does it?
We have counted Trump out at least 10 times in the last year and yet he keeps coming back and winning. (kind of like a cockroach) How no one knows. I think it is frightening and if I were Hilary I would not assume victory. Trump has tapped into a deep anger in America and "we the people" are standing up. Actually his campaign should be a reminder for all politicians that America is saying loud and clear - we hate all of you and the way you are doing business. Trump is smart and will attack Hilary in all her vulnerable areas - and she has lots. He is mean and has no moral compass so he will go to the mat. This ain't Mitt Romney.
Trump is an outsider and she is an insider. The American people are not liking insiders much these days. If he picks up some moderates and a few independents from Bernie and gets his share of the remaining Cruz and Kasich Republicans he could squeak out a win.
Amazingly America this is not the bad news. No Sir. Here is the bad news - if either Hilary or Trump are our next President we are . in trouble. Big trouble!
In trouble with both for different reasons. Sadly either will give us a lot to deal with and we should be prepared. Here is how I see the scorecard:
Trump
He will tear apart the establishment in Washington - good
He will piss off many of our allies - bad
He will enrage our enemies and drive them to attack - bad
He will improve the economy and create jobs - good
He will try to fix Obamacare - good
He will alienate the entire liberal side of our country - bad
He will embarrass America often -bad
He will surround himself with bright people - good
He will strengthen our military & American pride - good
He will change corporate taxation - who knows?
He will not fix that stupid hairdo - bad
He will shrink the Federal Government - good
He will consolidate power to his inner circle - bad
Hilary
She will expand Obamacare - bad
She will weaken the economy and private sector jobs - bad
She will expand the government & unions - bad
She will be a good diplomat & avert war - good
She will create many new social programs -bad
Bill will embarrass America again -bad
She will not strengthen the military - bad
She will advance the rights of all minorities - good
She will increase taxes across the board - bad
She will continue to lie the American people - bad
She will consolidate power to his inner circle - bad
Look at the score cards you can see why this is really BAD news for America. In short neither one of them will be a great President. We will have major issue with both and America will suffer with either. So once again we as voters are left with choosing the lesser of two evils. What a horrid commentary on the politics of the greatest nation on earth. We should be ashamed and very disappointed in both parties. We certainly could have done better. So now folks will probably just vote along party lines because they are depressed and really don't care.
For what it is worth if forced I will chose Trump because at least he has a chance to change things for the good whereas we know exactly what Hilary will do. Yes, he is crazy, outspoken and mean but he is smarter than he looks and will protect us and make us prosper. Good luck America!