This week I reached out to people who had responded to my first email asking people who they were voting for in lieu of Bernie Sanders. There were a variety of responses. I selected a representative for every candidate to explain in further detail why they chose that specific candidate, and to provide an article describing why their candidate would make a good president. The purpose of this exercise is to bring to light the reasoning behind people’s choices for this coming November.
America, it seems, is on the precipice of a volcano. Media sources and politicians alike have delivered fire and brimstone sermons about what’s about to happen in our near future. It is understandable that public tension is high, and that friends and family have diverged on issues which, before, would have been thought unnecessary to discuss. With these newfound views and morals comes the need to defend them severely. Irrevocable words and phrases have been muttered, shouted, written, and typed in mass quantities. How unnecessary.
A dialogue with respect and a willingness to listen and try to understand is what should be happening in the homes, classrooms, workplaces, and newsfeeds of the public. A shouting match does nothing more than prove who can shout the loudest.
When reading these perspectives, try to understand how this person views not only their candidate, but the world in its entirety. This is a unique opportunity to delve into the minds of your fellow Smitties.
Clinton
This year my Presidential vote will go to a person I distrust, dislike and don’t look forward to supporting for the next four or eight years. Why would an intelligent person do such a thing? Because although Hillary Clinton has a greedy, dishonest character she is the only candidate whose platform aligns with my values and views. Consider this editorial by Guardian columnist (and social-justice heroine) Lindy West. Over enthusiasm for Hillary aside, the article does a nice job summarizing the family values, tax reforms, climate concerns, and social justice positions that the Democratic party has embraced as its brand. And while I have no expectation that another President Clinton will fix the things that are broken in our society – after all, the first President Clinton exacerbated the wealth gap that is the root cause of most of those problems – I’m confident that a Democratic administration will yield a fair and reasonable candidate to fill the current vacancy on our Supreme Court. My choice is driven by the long-term impact of that decision alone. My choice to vote at all is driven by something deeper. The franchise to vote is a use-it-or-lose-it freedom that not every country enjoys. A silent electorate is the surest way to become stripped of this right that so many have fought to preserve.
By Shannon Oborne
The Guardian Article on Hillary Clinton
Trump
Donald Trump fully supports the second amendment, believes that individuals need to come to our country legally in order to put the needs of our country’s working people first, promises that veterans will have the best health care, and guarantees six weeks of paid maternity leave. I also support him because he is pro-life. At first, I loved Bernie Sanders (and I still like him). But, I changed my mind about voting for him when I went to a Trump rally. I can’t persuade anyone that Trump is the right choice because I don’t know that… no one does because we can’t see into the future. I just believe that he has good intentions (once you get past the media garbage) and is brilliant in the business department. He isn’t what we are used to and I think this can be good. We need something different and new. I believe that he can make America prosper.
This article talks about Trump’s visit to Louisiana for the flooding disaster. I’m not pointing fingers or anything because I know how busy the President and candidates can be…. However, Obama was on a vacation and Hillary was resting. According to the article, Rev. Bill Engelhart stated that Trump “really cares and this is his way of showing it, it’s something a president should do.” When people in Louisiana saw Trump handing out supplies to flood victims and talking to locals, they felt goodness in him. I don’t know if this was for publicity or what, ll I know is that the victims were grateful and he did more than anyone else did.
Like I said, I didn’t expect to support Trump. Wanna know something? I love Obama and usually always love Democrats and now I love Trump. I just think that views change over time and I think America needs change, a Republican. I’m not interested in arguing about politics or disliking anyone who supports Hillary, etc. I think that’s silly! All I hope for is that everyone in America can be safe and happy.
By Carolyn Stumpf
Stein
This article was published shortly after Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton for president and I began to re-think my plans for this November. Before that day I thought I was going to be voting for Senator Sanders, on the ballot or not, but since the endorsement, he has stated he will not be accepting write-ins.
Shortly after, I discovered Dr. Jill Stein, the presidential candidate for the Green Party. Like many other Sanders supporters, Dr. Stein intrigued me. So I did some research, and what I found surprised me. Many of her views are so liberal that probably few Democrats might support her if she were elected. She wants to forgive all student debt, make college tuition free, cut the military budget in half and close 700 foreign military bases, pull our soldiers out of Korea, and make the US 100 percent renewable energy by 2030 – just to name a few items of her platform. Many of her ideas I like, many others are a little far fetched. One criticism I have of Donald Trump is that he has no political experience, but this is also true for Dr. Stein. But the main reason I am drawn to Jill is the she is a major critic of America’s current two party system.
I find our nation’s presidential election process to be very flawed. For starters, this year the two parties have given us two of the most disliked candidates ever, with some of the lowest ratings. Given that a corrupt politician and a loud, politically incorrect, Twitter bully are our “only” choices. Secondly, it gives you the idea that you only have two choices, which is only one choice away from being a dictatorship. The feeling that you have to vote for one candidate because they have a few of your beliefs, just so the other candidate doesn’t win.
I am voting for Jill Stein because I want to see that change. I don’t believe she will become president, nor believe she is qualified. She has no political experience and no real friends in congress. But I am sick and tired of these two parties controlling the government going one way or the other. We shouldn’t be forced to pick the lesser of two evils just because we are told we have to. I believe this country needs to embrace a multi-party system to give individuals more of a voice of what the people really care about and not be so two sided and issues that have multiple sides.
I think Jill Stein should be president because it would be a step away from the two party system.
By James Neary
Johnson
I like Gary Johnson because his views align with mine in that he believes federal government should have a limited presence in citizens’ everyday lives. As his running mate Bill Weld says, he wants the government “Out of your pocketbook, and out of your bedroom.” Gary Johnson supports a woman’s right to choose, disagrees with capital punishment, supports a carbon tax on emissions, believes climate change is a man-made issue, and supports the legalization of marijuana. Gary Johnson believes in small government, both local and global. He sides 75 percent with Bernie Sanders on issues and as Bernie was my first choice for President, he makes the most logical sense.
By Tyler J. Fisk