Beyond the Rhetoric
By Harry C. Alford
This has become one of the strangest campaign seasons I have ever seen. First there is Donald Trump who most seasoned critics figured would be a laughable candidate who would not stay in the race too long. But oh how they were wrong. Mr. Trump is leading in the polls and he just might win the nomination. That is very concerning to the “establishment Republicans.” They are having meetings behind closed doors throughout the nation. How could this former Democrat become so popular with the American citizenship?
It is really very simple. Trump is saying what the people want to hear. He resonates with the common American. There is no political dialogue in his discussion. There is no wiggle room with his response to questions. People are responding with their feet. The turnouts at the elections so far have been overwhelming on the republican side. The higher the turnout, the more votes for Trump. In essence, people are tired of the typical politicians. They are tired of broken promises; scandals that have no conclusion – no prosecutions, no accountability. We have seen the Veterans Administration filled with scandals and yet no one is held accountable. The IRS is filled with scandals and no one has been held accountable despite all of the evidence. Our troops are being betrayed by their government. Trump is saying that he is going to clean it all up and that mantra may get him to the White House.
Then there is something very strange with the Democrat primaries. We have Hillary Clinton whose baggage is filled with apparent scandals. This person stole silverware from the White House when her husband’s presidential term was up. She appears to have no shame and can cleverly dodge around controversy in plain sight. Her main competition is Senator Bernie Sanders who isn’t a member of the Democratic Party. He is a registered Independent and a Socialist. That seems to be an oxymoron. However, it is happening! An admitted socialist who is pretty close to a communist is striving to get into the White House. To me this is rather scary. I don’t see an alternative for the American democrats.
There is another thing that is very odd. Ms. Clinton is under a criminal investigation (she is in denial and calls it a “security review”). She appears to be cool and calm as the email investigation gets larger and larger. They have over 100 FBI agents investigating her while she runs for the President of the United States. There has never been such a candidate in the history of this nation. She may be indicted and nominated for the presidency at the same time. Her following doesn’t care about the investigation. Do they actually believe she is worthy of the presidency? Evidently they do! She is leading in the democratic race
Bernie Sanders may be giving her the win. He will not discuss the security issues with her email and at home server. It would be a big crossroads if she gets indicted. She is so shameless that I believe she would try to continue on with the election as the court process is taking place. There may be an out for her in this mess. President Obama has the right to give her a full pardon if she is found guilty. It seems that such a decision would ruin his legacy and the American people would drop Hillary from the candidate rankings. Another option would be to order Attorney General Loretta Lynch to stand down. How do you handle someone who has broken national security hundreds of times? Doing what she did just one time would get all other Americans a little time in jail. Can she walk away clean? Will this macabre have a happy ending?
With the rejection of Hillary Clinton the other Republican candidates may see a big opportunity. If Senators Rubio and Cruz would cooperate with each other perhaps they could take Trump down. Imagine two Cub- ans becoming President and Vice President on the same ticket. Candidate Governor John Kasich may also suddenly rise.
Right now Senator Rubio has a big problem. When he and Senator Cruz tried to trip up Trump in the last couple of debates it appeared that he was having a meltdown. He appeared to be a person who was going delirious. He has continued this assault on Trump and it appears to negatively reflect on his chances of leading in the race. He has fallen back to third place behind Trump and Cruz and John Kasich is starting to grow.
This season is indeed unique to all others. I am excited and depressed at the same time. Is this actually the best we can do for leadership? My prayer is that America will select a person who is capable and committed to the betterment of our nation.
Mr. Alford is the President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce®. Website: www. nationalbcc.org Email: [email protected] .