The presidential election is coming up quickly and has been a major focus for edit outlets over the past months. Presumably, the race is down to Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump. Clinton and Trump supporters have been all up in arms, shouting about why the other candidate is unqualified (maybe you should try explain why your candidate is qualified first... Just a hint). Yet, there aren't that many real Clinton or Trump supporters. This election is not so much about who you're for as it is who you're against.
The idea of this upcoming presidential election being about voting against people first started coming up when politics would be discussed casually. "Who are you voting for?" Jimmy would ask John, to which the reply would be, "I don't know, just not Trump (or Clinton, or Sanders, or Bush, etc)." Someone would be bashing Clinton, but when you asked them who they're voting for, they'd say something like, "Anyone but Clinton." Sure, on TV you would see lots of supporters at a Clinton or Sanders rally, or you would see flocks of people clamoring to shake hands with Trump or Rubio.
I never met any of these rabid supporters in real life. I've only run into the people voting against Trump or Clinton, but never for one or the other. Walk into a room and ask, "Will those of you who support Hillary Clinton please raise your hands?" A few people here and there might raise their hands. Next ask, "Who here is a Donald Trump supporter?" A couple hands might go up. Now reverse the question: "Who dislikes Clinton/Trump?" Reuters released in a report that nearly half of voters would vote for Trump or Clinton in order to stop the other candidate. I think the poll below from ABC speaks for itself.
Granted, as the election has gotten narrower and narrower, people have stopped pulling the "Anybody but....." card and started naming actual candidates. But how much of that is because they now have less options? If you always said, "Anybody but Trump," now you're a Clinton supporter, and vice versa. Why do you support one candidate or the other? Some people will give really thought out answers. Others will give half-decent arguments that wouldn't really convince anyone for a second. But I'm willing to bet most everyone will bash the other candidate in their argument.
What is happening with voters during this current campaign is called "negative partisanship." Basically, you vote for whoever you hate less, or against whoever you just can't stand. Who cares if Clinton might have made some questionable, possibly illegal decisions in the past? At least voting for her will keep Trump from winning. Sounds great, right? Sounds more like we might be in some major trouble coming up.
Some people have suggested trying to get a third party candidate in the White House in order to provide relief from the growing trend of negative partisanship. That, however, won't work unless a lot of people get behind it. Republicans won't vote for a third party candidate because they believe that this will allow the Democratic candidate to win- oh, the horror of losing! Democrats won't vote for a third party candidate because they don't want to waste their votes and allow a Republican into the White House; how would the nation ever survive?
So how do we solve this growing political mess? I don't have all the answers, even though I am a college student. Maybe one step would be to spend a little less time destroying your opponent and a bit more time defending yourself. I can tell you every reason why Clinton or Trump are not in any way qualified or accomplished enough to be president. I have no idea why either one of them are qualified. If all you listen to is the slander (which is 99% of what is out there), then the choices between the candidates seems to be the lesser of two evils.
That's how people are voting: they are choosing the lesser of two evils. Maybe it's time for somebody to step up and be a candidate that a majority of people like because of their values, morals, and beliefs- not because people hate the other candidate more. Unfortunately, I think that candidate will have to wait till the 2020 election at the earliest. For now, it's time to decide who is the lesser of two evils.
