Since a young age I have always been interested in politics. At one point in my life I considered running for office at the local level. I turned 18 in 1988 and voted in my first election. I was so excited because, Geraldine Ferraro was Michael Dukakis’s VP nominee. I survived the Reagan years as a child of a lower middle-class family, and experienced Reagnomics AKA trickle down economics first hand. I couldn’t, and I still can’t, understand how regular people, lower and middle class, can support candidates that are not out for their best interest? My best guess is that they fall for the Hollywood Effect. Reagan seemed like a likable guy. A hard working cowboy who knew the true values of America, but sadly he was an actor with no real experience other than the public loved him. The one thing Reagan and Trump have in common is they are TV stars.
Needless to say George H. Bush won in 1988. He only lasted one term. I remember when Bill Clinton ran. I was somewhat happy, but really he was the only ticket in town that I could vote for. By his second term I became an Independent. Bill Clinton disappointed me on many levels, but by far the worst thing he did was deregulate Wall Street, and that deregulation lead to the largest economic crash since 1932. Bill Clinton was heavily funded by corporate elites and his legacy is proof in the political pudding. Hillary is the same, and though I would love to see a woman in the White House, SHE IS NOT IT! Hillary takes huge donations from Wall Street and she will be a minion to her contributors. She has already proven that with her flip-flopping and the policies she has supported.
I switched my party affiliation back to Democrat in 2008 to vote for Barrack Obama. He deeply disappointed me! He did not bring the change he promised, and worse yet, he bailed out Wall Street, and thanks to Obama, Wall Street is bigger than ever. The next crash will be far worse. I am also deeply disappointed with the Affordable Care Act. Obama gave too much influence to private insurance companies, and that is why health care in America is still unaffordable for most people. Honestly, after Obama, I lost hope. I considered not voting, but I had to vote! I feel it is my responsibility to vote as a citizen of this country, and especially because it took women 100 years to win the right to vote! Thank you Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton! Those ladies were true American pioneers and sadly they died before the first women got to vote!
Here we are again, another election on the horizon. At start of the election season, I was right along with moveon.org begging Warren to run! Run Warren Run! Elisabeth Warren is true champion of the people and she is really needed as a senator right now. I respect her decision to not run this time. I hope to see her run for president someday though! Disenchanted again…then Bernie Sander jumped in! I knew Bernie Sanders from Vermont. His progressive policies that benefit people, and not money. He voted against the Iraq War, Keystone pipeline; he’s in favor of a living wage, climate change policies, paid family leave, he supports women’s reproductive rights, he’s in favor of people and the policies that help regular people, not just the ultra rich. So I watched, a bit skeptical, could a senator from the small state of Vermont rally the support and funds needed to beat Hilary Clinton and her arsenal of corporate money? YES, he can, and he made history doing it with over 250 million people donating to his campaign in small amounts! When I see his Bernie Bus, it’s a shinning light of people power!
This is the most exciting election in my lifetime! Two unlikely candidates Sanders and Trump rising to the top! What that says, is that the people are fed up with politics as usual, and that means change is coming! Though I hope our change is with Bernie and not Trump, here’s why.
Many people argue that Bernie will bankrupt the country, we can’t afford to have the progressive policies he’s in favor off, he will give all those lazy people freebies, free school, single payer healthcare, et cetera. My arguments in this opinion piece started on FB when a commenter said, Bernie is for Freebies. First of all, Bernie is not looking for freebies, he's looking to tax the ultra wealthy, who we currently fund via tax loopholes, subsidies, and bailouts. Not to mention the billions in American taxable income in offshore accounts, that hide tax free for the wealthiest 1%, who by the way, own 60% of the wealth in this country. Brief history lesson: This country started when the people in England and Europe got tired of living via the rule of kings and the aristocracy, and left to build a new world. Remember? That good ole American Dream? I know, some people think the liberals killed it, wrong. Greed killed the American Dream, and greed bought our government with their opulent wealth. Now back to the point. Second, he's calling for an active populace to change the tides and restore balance in this country. It surprises me how many Americans blame the poor on our woeful economy, instead of the fat cats that suck this country dry with their greed. Go see, The Big Short, that's quite an eye opener!
It also surprises me that people do not see the social welfare corporate America takes from the people of this country. Why is Walmart on welfare? What you say? They're the richest family in America, with an astonishing 100 billion dollars. They have so much money that it would take hundreds of years to count it all by hand. Okay you say, they earned it, this is America, the land of opportunity. Well, then why do we give them subsides? Why do we pay via Medicare and food stamps to Walmart employees, because their wages are so low that they need welfare. Tell me again how Bernie is looking for freebies?
I know you think you could be rich like them too. We could all be rich like them if we tried hard and wanted it. But the reality is that the average American works harder than ever just to keep food on the table, never mind getting rich. It's near impossible today. Besides, most folks don't care about excessive wealth, they just want good paying jobs, retirement, healthy food and the ability to save for the future. The playing field is no longer a place of opportunity with equal chance for all to have the American Dream. The average worker makes $700 less a month than they did back in the 70s, yet our country is richer than ever. Unfortunately the regular tax paying public is poorer than ever. Bernie Sanders is experienced, and he does not talk like a typical politicians. He says our government is corrupt. How many politicians say that? The two front runners, Sanders and Trump, (I don’t care what the main stream media is saying, Hilary is not the front runner, it’s just not true.) step outside of typical Washington rhetoric.
People seem to like Trump, because he says it like it is, but does he really? Yes, the system is corrupt, I agree with that, but. What is Trump's experience? Well, he was born rich and got richer. He shoots from the hip with no clue how to run a country. Yes, he runs a business, but that does not qualify him for president. Why do people think he will look out for the average Joe? Trump is clueless to what life is like for us average folks. He will promote policies that help him gain more at the sacrifice of the rest of us. Not to mention he's decisive and his rhetoric is hateful, racist, and misogynistic. I cannot believe that Tump is Ivy League educated. He expresses himself with a very low vocabulary. He repeats himself over and over again with no real answers to what he'll actually do in the White house. All I can gleam from his speeches are, ‘I am going to win, win, win. I am going to build walls and prison camps.’ I don't want to live in an America surrounded by a wall, with Muslim people marginalized and possibly locked in interment camps. Of all the wonderful things Franklin D. Roosevelt did for this country, interment camps was not one of them! I cannot believe Donald Trump would use this as an excuse, that FDR did it, so it's a good idea. Obviously Trump needs a history lesson. Our country has since apologized for doing such a horrible thing. It is a scar on our liberty and values. Yet this man says that's how he'll handle terrorism. Terrorism is not synonymous with Muslim, it's very ignorant and plain racist to believe so.
There have been some pretty terrible acts of terror committed by Christians here in our country, Oklahoma City bombing to name just one. Actually domestic violence perpetrated by white men far outweighs the amount of ISIS attacks that happen. So the question that begs to be asked, should we put all white Christians in interment camps? No. We shouldn't lock up any person unless they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Period. That's America, innocent until proven guilty. America is melting pot of diversity, an innovative country that has the potential be a leader in world that is not full of violence, a world where all people matter, a world where justice prevails and violence no longer dominates foreign affairs. We can make a better world together. America is screaming for change. The public has had enough. It is time for politics as usual to end, and that is why I am voting for Bernie Sanders! He will be a people’s president, and he is calling on all of us to be part of a political revolution, and work with him as we become a nation for the people by the people! #FEELTHEBERN
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