Column: Wasserman Schultz is a Clinton proxy
Apr. 3, 2016While she may at one point have been a “real Democrat,” Debbie Wasserman Schultz has increasingly grown out of touch with the people.
While she may at one point have been a “real Democrat,” Debbie Wasserman Schultz has increasingly grown out of touch with the people.
The Republican Party has failed to stop Trump.
It’s been a wild ride this week, dear readers. Between the Florida primary and mayoral elections, there has been plenty to keep the Alligator newsroom busy and bustling. But now, it’s time for everyone’s favorite part of the week: a time to reflect on the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly. Thanks for tuning in, readers, to this week’s edition of…
Progress entails moving forward on the trajectory of history and struggling for greater liberties and, ultimately, a better quality of life. At the very least, we can imagine with more relevance the notion of greater freedom, what Hegel meant when he wrote, “The History of the world is none other than the progress of the consciousness of Freedom.”
This election season, there is too much at stake to simply sit at home and not let your voice be heard.
Since Donald Trump has been ever-present in the headlines lately, and because most Republicans don’t know whether to endorse him or run in the opposite direction, it is clearly time to discuss Trump’s greatest weakness: his inability to answer questions in a way that shows he has a firm grasp of the issues at hand.
Donald Trump started his campaign being viewed as a joke. No one thought a businessman with no governing experience would ever get this close to winning the nomination. Now, it’s no longer improbable that he will win the nomination. When it comes to delegates, Trump is clearly in the lead after bringing in about 250 delegates on Super Tuesday. If he wins the nomination, he has a strong possibility of becoming president. It’s time to consider what type of president he might be.
Watching the debates at this stage in the presidential primaries is a masochistic endeavor. The spectacles of both parties are simply unbearable.
Supporters of Hillary Clinton are getting their own space.
What a time to be alive, indeed: Although most weekends are marked by a pronounced lack of newsworthy stories, last Saturday, both the Republican South Carolina primary and the Democratic Nevada primary produced more than a few headlines worthy of the nation’s attention. On the Democratic side of the aisle, Hillary Clinton scored her first decisive primary victory over Bernie Sanders in Nevada, reminding those “feeling the Bern” that no matter how hot the fire, an individualistic flame can still be put out by the overwhelming coldness of an icy political titan. Meanwhile in South Carolina, Saturday saw trust fund baby and rotting racist orange peel Donald Trump handily win the primary with 32.5 percent of the vote.
I don’t like Donald Trump. It’s pretty easy not to; the guy is a xenophobic, classist egomaniac. The only thing more obscene than the things he says is the height of his wispy, golden mane — which I’m convinced grows in direct proportion to the amount of attention he receives. Yet what scares me the most about Trump isn’t his call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S., nor is it his proposed $8 billion wall along the border of Mexico: It’s his sensationalism and what it means for the future of American politics.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Donald Trump may seem extremely different in their views, but they are noticeably similar in their public appeal. Bernie is a democratic socialist who favors the European socialist way of running government, which involves government-imposed wealth equality via hefty taxes. Trump lies on the opposite end of the spectrum, believing in the magical powers of capitalism and pure competition. That’s right — a democratic socialist and the single-most capitalistic name in history could be duking it out this November. We may be in for quite the show.
I’ve deliberately abstained from writing about the 2016 election. In both the Alligator and elsewhere, we are so constantly bombarded with election coverage and “hot takes” that I think the last thing the world needs is another college kid’s narrow perspective. However, I feel the need to describe my experience last Friday at the University of South Florida Sun Dome.
America’s Founding Fathers have proven to be among the most influential people to have ever walked Earth. Several of the ideas and philosophical concepts that helped build this country more than 200 years ago remain applicable today. However, as visionary as they might have been, not all parts of their original design stand the test of time. Like the Founding Fathers, the Electoral College needs to become a part of America’s history, not its reality.
If you, our fine readers, are anything like us in the Alligator office, you probably found yourselves glued to your computers and/or TV screens Monday night, eagerly anticipating/dreading the results of the Iowa caucus. As we all now know, evangelical and all-around bad human being Ted Cruz won for the Republicans with 27.6 percent of the vote and eight delegates, garbage-person and self-proclaimed “winner” Donald Trump came in second, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio had a surprise boost in support and finished third.
A Donald Trump presidency would be a nightmare-come true for the entire entertainment world. Does this seem like too bold of a statement? Maybe. Did Trump initially seem too bold of a presidential candidate for this overly sensitive country? Sure. The crazy thing, despite Hollywood’s incessant preventative efforts, is that it could totally happen.
Many maintain that Sen. Bernie Sanders has low odds of becoming the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, much less winning a general election. In spite of this, his platform and voting records are, by a considerable margin, the most thought-out and useful for women of any presidential candidate; many of his proposals are already in place in other developed democracies. The best example of this is paid family leave: Sanders has a clear way of paying for it, while Hillary Clinton’s plan is vague and doesn’t clearly outline who would foot the bill. It would be hard for Clinton to compete on policy alone. Thus far, her main edge over Sanders has stemmed from her name recognition and influence within the Democratic Party. A former advisor to President Obama, David Axelrod, even called the initial harsh penalties lobbied against Sanders for having access to Clinton’s voter data as “putting finger on scale” for Clinton.
Donald Trump is not the disease — he is the symptom.
Now that it’s actually 2016, the presidential race just got a whole bunch scarier.
Ever since the announcement of his campaign last summer, Donald Trump has been an unstoppable force in politics. Although most of his speeches are just ramblings about whatever controversial topic he feels like discussing that day, with nary a hint of a coherent policy in sight, many of his supporters like that he “speaks his mind.” Trump has had the privilege of high poll numbers and media attention despite his lack of experience in public service. But Trump’s campaign now faces a challenge that has felled many presidential campaigns in the past: the Iowa caucus.