It is imperative that American citizens research political parties and candidates before aligning with them. As we have learned when studying politics, political research gives one a better understanding of what policies benefits them. There could be many political and social reasons why one would favor a particular candidate. Understanding where a candidate falls on the political spectrum can help voters get a broad idea of what policies they support. However it is still important to look at the individual rather than their party as a whole. In a voter analysis for The Guardian a Trump voter writes “I cried when I left the polling location because I don’t like Trump at all. I was deeply saddened to vote for him. His personality, his mannerisms and his inexperience repulse me. I wish there had been another conservative choice.” The reason behind this voter’s decision was their desire for “conservative laws”, specifically the right to bear arms even though the voter stated in another part of the article that they do not personally carry a gun. However, some political commentators like Todd Starnes of Fox News believe that Trump is not a true conservative and some members of the republican party such as Mitt Romney, have publicly denounced Trump. The same Trump voter questioned also writes, “I am trusting in the checks and balances of our country to prevent him and his poor-judgment from damaging the country too much. Hopefully Trump will not affect my daily life.” Even though the voter has faith in the checks and balances of government it is important to realize that the American people are the ones who create those checks and balances. If the voter had done more research maybe they would feel more confident about which of Trump’s policies would affect them directly, rather than just hoping they would not. When taking online political spectrum tests involving political issues, one often ranks how important an issue is to oneself. Some issues obviously mean more to some than to others. The voter explains that they can deal with a “somewhat low four years” but they can not deal with a supreme court that swings “liberal.” At the end of their statement the voter concludes,“I am deeply saddened by these options and I am not proud of our president in the least.” While our government system tries to provide the American voter with many political options, it seems many of the Trump voters in The Guardian article feel caught between a rock and a hard place. Another Trump voter questioned by the article calls Hillary Clinton a “phantom” because “you can’t know what’s real about her” but also calls Trump “a slimy scumbag.” The voter also writes, “I couldn’t decide who to vote for until the day before voting. It was one the hardest decisions I have ever made.” Unlike mathematics, politics is not something with a set formulaic answer. In politics there are different “correct” answers for each different political viewpoint. Even though politics is rarely easy, hopefully the research we are doing will help us make political decisions we will not regret.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/04/22/starnes-donald-trump-is-not-conservative.html
21st Century Citizenship 