After The First Democratic Debate

After watching the first democratic presidential debate on CNN it left me with one primary insight. For the first time in a long time, the GOP has a strong chance of actually winning the White House. Say what you will about the top contenders on the stage in the GOP primary race, but I think their message is stronger, is more resonant with the American people, and I think that the American people are tired with the failed policies of our current president, the democratic party leadership, and are ready once more to try something different for at least the next four years.

In a way, for all of the pull and tug of the democratic party to put Hilary Clinton front and center in the race, I think this has actually worked to greatly harm their chances. Hilary was a darling with The People for a time. That much is clear. But that love affair, if you want to call it that, is waning in the face of more scandal, and a much clearer picture of where president Barack Obama has left us—in muddy waters in nearly every single thing he has touched. So what you have in the field of runners are what I can only classify as terribly weak contenders. If there are any real hopefuls out there, they have largely stood in the shadows feeling as though they have no chance against Clinton, so why bother?

And by the way, what the hell is Lincoln Chaffee even doing in the race?

I have been a republican. I have been an independent. And now I am a proud democrat. What? So basically what you are telling the American people is you don't know a thing about where you stand, who you are, what you want to be, and if one thing is clear, if you can't make up your mind about what you want to be called, how the heck can we trust that you can make your mind up on any of the important issues you might face as the president?

Give me a break, dude.

As for Bernie Sanders, let's face it. He is simply cow-towing to a largely growing population of people who want something for nothing. But, what he and others in his party fail to understand when they try like hell to demonize the rich, is that a large part of the reason the poor have grown, the middle class have shrunk, and the rich have blossomed is due to the very policies they wish to advance and promote which have failed. The economy is in the dumps and people are feeling the pinch because the democratic party since Obama took office has not been able to take on the task of fixing the problem with the right approach. Rather than acknowledge that, the democratic party does what it always does. It points the finger at the republicans and of course, believe it or not, it's still Bush's fault.

If you wanted to use a word to describe what Bernie Sanders is proposing it could be bankruptcy. Why bankruptcy? Because it's what people resort to when all else is failed. Fuck it. I'm done. Time to tell everyone else to go fuck themselves too since I can't get it together on my own. Rather than dig deep into things like the state of jobs in America, the low labor participation rate, and the reasons why welfare recipients are more likely to sustain collecting benefits rather than go out and get a job and go it alone, the democrats—and Bernie specifically—just want to artificially lift the bottom rungs of the ladder because it happens to be the easiest answer for them. Capitalism is just an evil beast that much be destroyed.

Yet amazingly, the truth of the matter is, that had the United States not made it's economy largely capitalistic, we would never have become the nation that we are. Capitalism brought America to power, and the lack of it will bring the country to its knees. Is that what we really want? Is that what the democrats really want?

All in all I would call the debate interesting. Enlightening? Yes. But only because it confirms for me, and hopefully for a good many others that we cannot continue on the path we are on, and therefore we must look to someone on the other side to right the country, and get us back on a path forward. Not a single one of these candidates is worth a damn. Not a single one of these candidates is offering us anything solid in answers as to how we acknowledge what has not worked, and how we do something different to make it work going forward.

It is still a long road ahead to the White House. So long as the American people are tuned in and paying attention we have a shot at actually getting the hope and change we were historically promised nearly eight years ago. If their not, or if they are still in bankruptcy mode, we are doomed.