To say I’m an infrequent diarist is a gross understatement. This is just my third in six years. That being said, when I am so moved, I feel compelled to add my two cents to the conversation. I wrote my first diary prior to the 2010 elections. It didn’t take much to be prescient about the outcome of that election if Dems and Indies didn’t make the effort to get to the polls. Having witnessed the train wreck that has been the last four years with Obama battling the immovable intransigence of the Republican controlled congress, I feel again compelled to speak out about the upcoming presidential election.
I am, without reservation, a Bernie Sanders man. In my internal battle of pragmatism versus idealism, idealism wins out every time. As a senior citizen, Bernie speaks to me. He refuses to engage in ad hominem attacks and sticks to the issues that he believes do the most damage to the average citizen. Income inequality, lack of universal health coverage, out of control Wall Street, lack of investment in infrastructure, lack of wage parity for women, and restrictions on birth control and abortions are just some of the issues fueling his passionate rhetoric. While I abhor the rationale of the SCOTUS ruling on the Second Amendment regarding gun rights (a well-regulated militia etc.) I cannot fault Bernie on his rural state stance on gun control. He does carry, however, a D rating from the NRA.
Bill O'Reilly stated that if Bernie wins the presidency, he'll move out of the US. That's all the incentive I need (LOL).
In all seriousness, the next president will, in all likelihood, be nominating, at a minimum, one, if not two or more Supreme Court justices. We need to turn the senate. This will only happen if there is a huge turnout of voters. I find myself in the same place as I was six years ago but this time, I have high hopes. Bernie energizes the populace and if he wins the nomination I have every expectation that he will destroy in the debates whomever the GOP nominates. Go Bernie!
