Election 2016

Admittedly, I haven't been following the Democratic presidential candidates as closely as the Republicans, but I now have a better sense of the candidates after the first Democratic debate. The Democrats have two clear front runners, and the Republicans don't. I'm going to force down the Republicans with who I want to win and who I think is going to win. It's really hard to say at this point, but I will boldly claim that I have a good sense of the landscape with social media. Of course any kind of prediction is pointless because whoever wins the primaries will face extraordinary scrutiny. I should point out that I am a registered Republican, but these are my honest assessments of the candidates.

Sen. Rand Paul, KY (R)

Most of my opinions of Senator Rand Paul are based from his father, Congressman Ron Paul. Ron Paul has been the most influential person in politics in my life introducing me to the ideas of Libertarianism. Rand Paul is very much like his father, but doesn't have some of the father's baggage (which I think is BS, but irrelevant). A conservative with libertarian leanings, he is the candidate I hope wins the presidency. He advocates a more peaceful foreign policy, reducing drones and ending our support of Syrian rebels among others. He promises a more frugal government and a desire to shrink the size of the federal government and bring that power to the states. I pretty much agree with him on everything. The other great thing is that he has the voting record to back up his promises.

Mr. Donald Trump

Oh boy! Mr. Donald Trump is most likely going to win the Republican nomination. He leads in every poll and admittedly has a great stage presence. His strongest issues seem to be on stronger border enforcement and bringing jobs back to America. Interestingly, he is the only other candidate aside from Sen. Paul to advocate a more peaceful foreign policy. The problem is he has zero political experience and there's no voting record to verify his stances. Ironically, I think his lack of political experience is what make him attractive. He certainly makes the Republican debates very interesting.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, VT (D)

To be honest, if it weren't for my friends on Facebook, I would never have heard of Senator Bernie Sanders. After watching the first debate, I can certainly see his appeal. My biggest problem with him -of course- is his call for Democratic Socialism. His other big issue is free college tuition for everyone, but I'm not sure if that's for every college institution. Regardless, I wouldn't have a huge problem with somebody in the White House who seems to genuinely care for other people even if I disagree with his means. I feel that a lot of his big proposals would meet heavy resistance in Congress simply because there's no way he can do these programs without raising taxes. Of course, I'll take him any day over the person who I think is going to probably win the presidency.

Sec. of State Hillary Clinton

Let me start things off by saying that I truly despise this woman. She has a very globalist-minded agenda, but it's the acts that she committed as Secretary of State that I find atrocious. Granted, her political experience on paper makes her the most experienced and qualified candidate, but the scandals that she is involved in are truly horrendous. Benghazi, the email server, and the Clinton Foundation just to name a few. I don't trust this woman to be serving in the best interests of the country. Sadly, I think a lot of her support is based solely on identity politics. It would be very cool if we could have the first woman president, but that doesn't make her qualified to be president. With that said, she has such a powerful political machine. The fact that I haven't heard of any other democratic candidate (and I'm a pretty big political junkie) in the news makes me pretty sure that she is going to win the democratic primary at the very least.

Aside from the candidates, the primary issue that I think will define this race (and perhaps which side will win) is how to handle the Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as Obamacare). The Republicans want to repeal it and replace it with an entirely new program. Sanders wants to expand Obamacare and perhaps go for a more universal socialized healthcare. Clinton just wants to rework Obamacare and try to solve its faults without scrapping the program entirely. While I generally agree with the Republicans' solution, Sanders has an equally compelling argument. However, I would say that Clinton is offering the simplest and most pragmatic solution.

Or my fears of identity politics will dominate the race.