Chad Lundquist/Nevada Appeal
After strong showings on Super Tuesday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a liberal Democrat, and multibillionaire businessman Donald Trump, an alleged Republican, are virtually certain to be their respective parties’ presidential candidates later this year. I regard that matchup as an electoral nightmare, and I’ll tell you why.
For starters, a large number of Democrat voters don’t trust Mrs. Clinton and more than half of Republicans say they can’t or won’t vote for Trump. Mrs. Clinton, a self-proclaimed women’s rights champion, is married to a serial womanizer, disbarred and impeached ex-President Bill Clinton. When several women accused Clinton of groping them, Mrs. Clinton trashed the victims and stood by her man, just like Tammy Wynette.
And moreover, Mrs. Clinton’s handling of classified information on her personal email is being investigated by the FBI on her personal email. If I had done that during my Foreign Service career, I would have been kicked out of the service. If the non-political FBI recommends criminal charges against Mrs. Clinton and President Obama’s political Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, refuses to indict her, we have a scandal that makes Watergate look like child’s play. All of this could happen before the Nov. 8 General Election.
Liberal New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote that “Hillary is like a veteran actor who doesn’t audition well. Bill could tell her not to shout her way through rallies . . .” Ms. Dowd labeled Hillary as the Democrats’ “establishment” candidate in contrast to her rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 74-year-old Socialist. Mrs. Clinton won seven of 11 state primaries or caucuses on Super Tuesday and leads Sanders 1,034 delegates to 408 with 2,383 needed for nomination.
As for Trump, he’s a rude, crude, egomaniacal bully. He’s also rich, sort of like a grownup Dennis the Menace. I still don’t think he can insult his way to the presidency, but maybe I’m wrong. It’s possible I’ve overestimated the intelligence of the celebrity-obsessed American electorate. If that’s the case, I’m glad the Kardashians aren’t running for office this year.
Trump won seven states on Super Tuesday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz carried his home state and three others while Florida Sen. Marco Rubio finally won a state, Minnesota. Trump now has 316 of the 1,237 delegates needed for the nomination, Cruz has 226 and Rubio 106. “Establishment” Republicans like Mitt Romney are trying to figure out how to derail the Trump Express, but that now seems unlikely.
On the campaign trail the GOP candidates sound like second-graders arguing over Girl Scout cookies. Trump calls Cruz “a liar” and Rubio a “choker,” which The Donald spelled “chocker” on his Twitter feed. Fortunately for Trump, spelling doesn’t count in presidential politics. In response, Cruz says Trump is a false conservative with “New York values” while Rubio calls The Donald “a con man.” Nice. Just wait until Trump unloads a politically incorrect verbal assault on Hillary.
Many leading Republicans think a Trump candidacy destroys the party as we know it, which isn’t all bad in my opinion. Fellow political columnist Jon Ralston last week wrote “the Trump effect will resonate in Nevada” with disastrous consequences for GOP office-seekers. Ralston opined a Trump candidacy could “translate into carnage for Republican incumbents” including U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, who’s running to succeed Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a high-powered Democrat. In other words, Trump could propel former Nevada Attorney Gen. Catherine Cortez-Masto into the Senate. Think about it.
So I think Trump’s candidacy is a nightmare for moderate Republicans and independent voters like me. Sorry if I offended anyone . . . but not really.
Guy W. Farmer, of Carson City, is an independent voter.