For the last week, I’ve been thinking about what I saw in the Republican debates. I’ve read analyses from every possible source, and I think what bothers me the most is that no one is saying the painfully obvious: If any one of those people that we saw on the stage last Wednesday night wins the presidency, then we, as a country, are completely screwed.
I’m incredibly concerned about the fact that not one single Republican that took the stage that night was able to offer a single, cohesive, coherent policy plan. ON ANY ISSUE. The only thing that came close were their insane ideas to build a wall along the Southern border and to bomb the Middle East into oblivion. But those are the same backwards ideas that the Republican Party has been offering up for 35 years.
Let me paint you a scary picture of what America would look like under the various candidates:
Imagine the international embarrassment of a President Trump or President Christie insulting the appearance of a foreign leader at the U.N.
Imagine the mass layoffs and job outsourcing from President Fiorina.
Imagine a new United States that is a complete theocracy, ruled by a President Santorum, or President Jindal, or President Huckabee, where every non-Christian is forced to be indoctrinated in Christian beliefs. Where same-sex couples are treated worse than animals, and rights are stripped away.
Imagine President Bush or President Kasich completely re-writing the Voting Rights Act, making it impossible for African Americans or Hispanics to cast a ballot in any election.
Imagine the endless wars and the possible reinstatement of the military draft under President Graham.
Imagine the death and destruction from climate change that we’d suffer under President Rubio.
Imagine the destruction that President Walker would do to America’s workers; stripping away all union power and removing workplace safety and wage regulations.
Imagine the economic disaster that would result from the flat tax policies of President Carson or President Paul, as flat tax policies add a disproportionate tax burden on working class families.
This is not hypothetical – these are all examples of what would happen if these people enacted the policies that they did while in office or while running businesses, or that they’ve outright proposed. This is what America will look like if a Republican wins in 2016.
And that’s why every vote will matter next year. This isn’t an election where we can sit on the sidelines and assume that a Democrat is going to win. The Senate is at stake, the House is at stake, the White House is at stake, and The Supreme Court is at stake – this election WILL shape the next generation of power in Washington, and that’s why ever single voter needs to make it a point to get out there and vote.
