Just like so many of our governmental and societal customs, Super Tuesday is another gimmick that takes something which should be simple and turns into something complicated that most people have little understanding about. Taxes and laws also, have become convoluted to the point that many people feel completely powerless when they are dealing with them.
I get so tired of hearing about Democrats, Republicans, right, left, conservative, liberal, red states, blue states, caucuses, primaries, and all of those things designed to create separation and animosity. Every voter should be allowed to vote in primaries, regardless of the state he lives in or the party he supports. Politics is a subject that most people steer away from because these conversations so often end with people taking offence at what another person said. Whether or not we agree with another, it is in our willingness to hear another view point that allows us to reach a middle ground. Debates have descended into nothing more than mudslinging and discrediting opponents. Why don’t these candidates tell us about the changes and solutions that they intend to work on, rather than making promises? There are too many variables that will present themselves during their term in office, to make big promises; and if that person does not fulfill his or her promise, they lose credibility. As voters, don’t we simply want to know that whomever we elect, will do the very best she or he can?
I have always voted as an Independent because I believe it is most important to elect the person who can fill the position with the most integrity and grace. I listened to some of the Democratic debates early on, but I have become increasingly frustrated because it seems that the really good candidates have dropped out. Biden only brags about the things he has done in the past. Sanders has good ideas, but his age concerns me because I think the problems we are facing require new and innovative solutions, that may only come through someone who has not been tainted by the ignorance of the past. Warren is often emotional and confrontational in the debates so I wonder; can she keep her passion under control if she is elected? Bloomberg is too much like Trump – using his own money to further his own interest and not truly caring about the people. Tulsi Gabbard impresses me because she seems to be centered in her own being. She has been a soldier in Iraq, she is level headed, and she has not neglected the spiritual aspect of her life. It is probable that like Marianne Williamson, Tom Steyer, and Andrew Lang, she too, will drop out sooner than later, but I am hoping she will stand her ground. The only thing super about this day is the hope that one of them will beat Trump.
