This political season seems to have more plot twists than a Shonda Rhimes show during its season finale. With Donald Trump currently leading, it is crunch time for the other candidates to pick up the slack, and that is exactly what they are planning to do with their new alliance going forward into the next primaries.
By now, hopefully, at least half of the United States finally knows presidential candidate John Kasich’s name in light of a new bombshell he and Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaigns have announced. This un-dynamic duo has revealed a new plan that has them dividing and conquering the remaining states in hopes of forcing a contested convention by sweeping up the remaining delegates Trump needs to become the nominee. Cruz has focused his campaign efforts toward Indiana, which will be voting next week, while Kasich is campaigning in Oregon and New Mexico.
When a candidate such as Kasich, who says that the Republican Party is just his vehicle not his maker, teams up with a candidate such as Cruz, who might as well have entered the earth from the birth canal of the GOP, you know the situation has become dire.
With Trump having such a huge lead, it is hard for even the strongest supporter to remain hopeful that either Kasich or Cruz will win. In fact, even if Kasich and Cruz combined their total amount of delegates today, they would only have 707 compared to Trump’s 845.
With the odds against this new team stacked higher than the wall Trump wants to build, it is statistically unlikely that these three states will account for a major loss for Trump. In fact, if this Hail Mary effort succeeds, Trump will still be on track to finish with a little less than 50 shy of the vote. Fifty — that’s it.
How did we get here? As a Republican, I am actually embarrassed to stand with a group of people who are painting the party as racists who only believe in the rights of Christian white men. That is not why I registered for the red over the blue.
I registered as a Republican because I believe in my ability to work for a living along with the rest of Americans and work to create an environment where all can achieve under a free market system. I also registered because I believe in certain requirements that must be placed on systems such as welfare and the importance of those being drug tested before receiving money from the government, just as you would do for many jobs.
I believe in being prepared to provide safety during conflicts to every single person in this country and ensure that they can wake up with a roof over their head the next day.
However, though I may be a registered Republican, there are certain platforms I could never support. I believe politics should stay out of the bedroom and out of our pockets. Regardless of my faith, I don’t think it is fair to allow my beliefs to decide who can get married.
We can’t allow ourselves to be party blinded and support candidates who don’t align with our own moral compasses.
I recently had a friend say to me, “I know Trump wasn’t our first choice, but we need to get behind him if we want to see a Republican back in office.”
To me, this is the scariest mentality I have seen in many Republican voters.
When it comes down to it, the importance of a Republican president being back in office will never outweigh the importance of having a clear-headed leader back in office that has the well-being of all Americans and their rights at heart.
We are here in college because we are seeking a higher education for ourselves. Don’t allow yourself to stoop to the mentality of supporting a candidate that could take away your voice because you were being party blinded.
