I don't know, but running for President seems like it should mean something more than publicity and memes, but whatever.
So how is it that we've gotten so far in the campaigns when to be honest, every candidate is rather loony? It has to be the way they talk. So, I'm going to look at four candidates and a tactic that each one of them uses. In this blog, I'm going to be looking at Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and Ted Cruz.
Ok, we've got Ted Cruz. I don't really know a lot about him and that's the point. He doesn't use anything to further his status in the election except that he's already a senator. I don't think he realizes that just being a senator will not cause you to win the election. Especially if you're the Zodiac Killer.
I rest my case.
Next is Trump. (I'm just going to do Republicans and then do the two Democrats to make it easier.) So, what can I say about Trump? Personally, I think he's a pile of garbage, and so do many Americans. So why is he doing so freaking well in the polls? Despite not being a politician, Trump knows how to use rhetoric to his advantage (he is, after all, a business man). Trump, as we discussed in class, has a very clever way of giving speeches. He first off describes how bad America has gotten, and how badly it is affecting his life. This makes people think, hey, if he has it bad, even though he's super wealthy, even if someone like him is suffering, then I definitely am! He also makes broad, general statements that everyone can agree with-veterans should be taken care of, and there should be more jobs. However, he then follows up these statements by blaming these problems on immigrants, but never really addressing how to actually fix the problem. His claim is to Make It Strong Again, but it really seems, that with his racist points of views, lack of experience, and lack of solutions to important problems, that voting him in as our President will make us weaker than we ever we before.
Okay so now we're on to the Democrats. I'm going to start with Hillary Clinton because more people seem to know who she is (though Bernie is getting some publicity). Now, I identify more with the Democrat party, so naturally I agree more with the ideas that the Democratic candidates put forward. (As much as I don't like Trump, I do agree that we need to take care of veterans. They are dealing with mental illness and high suicide rates. But a person shouldn't care about veterans because they're Republicans. They should care because that's an actual human thing to do.) Clinton wants to fix the economy for the middle and working class, and also improve education. She wants to do this by raising the minimum wage so that Americans can better afford higher education, like college. While I do like that Clinton proposes solutions to very desperate problems today, I can't take her seriously. I feel that she's trying too hard to make the young voters like her by talking about memes and Beyonce. Yeah, it's great to bring in young voters, especially because the youth vote is so expanse. But the high school and college students are looking for someone to fight for the debt they are facing, the discrimination they face in society.
(While I do not completely agree with Hillary, and don't like her methods to get voters, I will not stand for sexist comments. You may not want her as President because of her views, but it better not be just because she's a woman. However, just because she is a woman, and it would be great to have a woman president, that does not mean she's the right choice for the American people at the moment.)
And finally there's Bernie Sanders. I personally like Bernie Sanders-I agree with a lot of views and I like his suggestions on how to fix things. He focuses more on the problems on hand than talking about Beyonce or blaming one racial group for destroying the Earth. He proposes closing the huge gap of wealth with people by taxing the wealthier more, and supporting the forgotten voices in society, which is pretty great. Will he be able to accomplish his dreams of free public university? I'm not sure, because Congress at the moment is full of people who don't exactly agree with him. However, his use of pathos draws me. By describing the situation of college students, families that have lost young sons, daughters, and children, and his general sympathy for immigrants is causing many people to support Bernie.
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