If you have been watching the Republican debates and are finding yourself increasingly frustrated, you are not alone. This is a feeling that I believe both Liberals and Conservatives alike can relate to. If you are on the more liberal side of the spectrum, your frustration most likely stems from your difference in opinion; however, if you are a young conservative, like myself, things are a little bit more complicated.
If you haven't yet noticed, there are quite a few divisions within the Republican Party. Members have been associating themselves with many different kinds of conservatism. Some party members' morals stem from religion, and others are more secular in their views. Then there are the libertarians, and the Neo-conservatives who seem to completely contradict each other in foreign policy issues. These contradictions can go on and on, but when looking towards a future nominee, what may be the most important thing is to decide which type of candidate will be able to bring together some of these fractions and gain the most support. These divisions within the party are not only important when looking at who should be the nominee, but also when looking at who you feel is right to represent your views, and represent the party as a whole. This is a very difficult task. However, I hope to give my take on the top four candidates (those who currently hold the top four positions in the poll). And who, in my opinion, is the best person to truly unify this party that has been so divided.
1. Trump
For the past few months, the individual who has been doing this the most successfully (and I say successfully lightly) is Donald Trump. Love him or hate him, everyone has an opinion about him, and that opinion is very likely a strong one. Although he is in a way, bringing different types of conservatives together and has been able to generate the most support out of the candidates, he is an extremely polarizing figure. This may be something that has helped his campaign thus far, but the fact that he is so polarizing will make it nearly impossible to beat the democratic nominee in the real battle.
Not only is it worrisome that Trump is so polarizing, the reasons that he is viewed this way are also worrisome. Firstly, like his running mates Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, Donald Trump has had no experience in serious government work. Many conservatives like this because it separates him from the Washington machine. He has been running on the view that he would be a different type of president (which I don't think anyone would dispute), and that he would not take bribes or fall to corruption like many people believe all politicians have. Along with this, people feel that he will simply tell it as it is, that he would never lie to the American public, and that he would do what is right for the people rather than what would help his political career.
Although these are all valid points that many conservatives agree with, I am very opposed to a Trump nomination. This is largely because of high lack of experience in government. Governance is very different from campaigning. In fact, these two jobs require completely different skill sets. Although Trump may be succeeding in getting support for his campaign, this is no way to reflect how he will perform as a president. This is especially alarming because Trump has had no governance experience in the past so it is impossible to measure how his skills would transfer to this type of work. Along with this, Trump’s policy plans have been uninformative to say the least. Saying you are going to get Mexico to build a wall along the border is not a policy plan, it is a dream. If there was a concrete plan laid out as to how this would come to be, it would be taken more seriously; however by simply stating that it will happen but not how to do it is idealistic rather than practical. For these reasons, but not limited to these reasons (I could go on forever but there’s still many more candidates to go), Donald Trump should not, in my opinion. be the Republican nominee. Although it is clear that he has been able to bring together the largest number of republican support thus far, his polarizing nature, as well as his lack of government work, and lack of policy plans, makes him an impractical nominee.
2. Carson
With that being said, Trump has been seeing some drops in the polls lately. This is largely due to the rise of his fellow Washington outsider, Ben Carson. Like Trump, Carson has never worked in serious government work. However, this is probably one of the only ways in which the two are alike. Their personalities are complete opposites (this might be one of the reasons so many people who dislike Trump have been supporting Carson). Along with this, their line of work is very different; Ben Carson is one of the most talented surgeons in the country, while Donald Trump is a real estate developer and reality television star. Although different, both of these individuals have been very successful in their careers. Although he is very successful, when looking at whether or not he should become the nominee, we must ask ourselves some key questions: has his experience being a surgeon prepared him or qualify to be the most powerful leader in the world? To be the commander in chief of the most powerful military in the world? In my opinion, the answer to these questions is no.
During the third Republican debate, when asked a question regarding his biggest weakness, Carson stated his “biggest weakness would be not really seeing myself [himself] in that position until hundreds of thousands of people begin to tell me that I needed to do [it]." This statement was not one of the standouts of the debate according to the media; however, it is something I personally picked up on. While it is true that many candidates had weak answers to this question, I believe declaring to the American people that you didn’t see yourself as president until others supported you was not any help to Carson's campaign. At the end of the day, I don’t see Carson being a viable nominee for the same reason I do not see Trump as one. Although Carson has seemed to be able to articulate his plans slightly better than Trump, he still lacks the governmental experience that I believe is imperative to be a viable nominee against a Democratic nominee who will have this experience.
3. Bush
Unlike Carson and Trump, Jeb Bush does have governmental experience. He was a two term Governor in the state of Florida, and also was Florida’s secretary of commerce in the late 80s. This work experience shows that Jeb has the ability to transfer his skills for campaigning into governance. This is something that neither Trump nor Carson has been able to show.
Although this is true, there are many reasons conservatives feel Jeb Bush is not a viable nominee. Much of this dissent derives from the fact that Jeb is in fact a Bush. Being part of the Bush legacy is both part of his downfall and part of his success. It gives him many connections to some of the most intelligent conservatives and adds to the political capitol he has created for himself. However, many people feel this is too much of a legacy. Some conservatives feel we have seen too much of the Bush’s, and need to turn a new leaf in the party. Due to this, Bush has to balance his campaign. He must highlight his experience in governance and his political connections while making sure to not associate himself too much with his family's legacy.
I agree with many of Bush’s policy goals and think that unlike Trump, he has a fairly comprehensive plan for Immigration and does a good job at explaining how he will make his policy goals a reality. Although this is true, I don’t see Jeb being able to pull together the fractions of the Republican Party as is needed. Currently he is fourth in the polls with only 7 percent of the parties support. Compared to the top candidate in the polls, he is seen as too passive and is seen as a part of the political machine whereas two of the other top candidates are political outsiders (although Trump does have ties to politicians, including fairly strong ties to the Clintons).
I believe the Bush legacy will continue to negatively effect the possibility of a Jeb Bush nomination. Because of this, it is in my opinion highly unlikely that Jeb will be the party's nominee. Along with this, I do not foresee Bush being able to bring together the different fractions of the Republican parties. This largely has to do with the Bush legacy. The Bush's have in the past been more hawkish regarding foreign policy, and many of their advisors have consistently been Neo-conservatives. I think it is unlikely that Bush would get support from the more libertarian fraction of the party. He also doe not seem to be as forceful as some of the other candidates, which I believe will make him lose support from all sectors of conservatism.
4. Rubio
This leaves us with Marco Rubio. There is also Cruz, Fiorina, Paul, Kasich, Christie, Pataki, Huckabee, Jindal, Graham, and Santorum, but with four other candidates having more support than them, I believe it is unlikely for them to become the republican candidate. Rubio is currently third in the polls, but I foresee his numbers rising as the other three candidates’ weaknesses become more apparent.
Unlike Trump and Carson, Rubio does have governmental experience. He started off as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, moved on to become the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and is now currently a United States Senator for the state of Florida. This rise through the rankings of the legislative branch of government, both on the state and federal levels, show that Rubio has been able to well represent his constituents and has the type of experience that we need in the White House.
Unlike Bush, Rubio does not have a legacy to support him. He was born to two Cuban-Americans who had working class jobs and had to struggle to make ends meet. This couldn't be further from the family situation Bush was born into. Along with this, unlike Bush, Rubio did not have a family that was well politically connected, or politically inclined. He was not able to make connections as easily as Jeb, whose brother and father both held the office of POTUS. Rubio does not have the benefits of Jeb's legacy, but he also does not have the downsides that this legacy comes with.
Recently, the most talked about issue on the campaign trail for all candidates seems to be immigration. On this issue, Rubio fits in with the more moderate conservatives. Unlike Trump who seems to be getting away with not having any true policy to back his statements regarding immigration, Rubio has a plan and also has had real experience in dealing with this issue when he worked on immigration legislation in the Senate. Candidates such as Trump, Carson, and Fiorina have no such experience. Like many other candidates, Rubio focuses on the issue of sanctuary cities, and has a strong stance against allowing illegal immigrants who have committed crimes to stay in the United States. I believe Rubio will be able to bring many conservatives together on the issue of immigration as time progresses. As Trump continues to show that he does not have a plan on how to implement his policy goals, he will lose support on this issue and people will be looking for a candidate that has moderate views on this issue. This is because the majority of republicans do not align with extremists in the party; rather, they are fairly moderate.
Other key issues are taxes and the United States's role in world affairs. On the issue of the taxes, Marco Rubio is fairly moderate and aligns with the majority of Republicans; he plans to lower taxes and incentives savings as well as simplify the tax code. When it comes to the United States's role in world affairs, Rubio feels it is important for the United States to lead by example: that it is truly a good power with moral values, and that America must continue to prosper when it comes to the military and foreign policy influence in general. Although Rubio's vision for American foreign policy does not align with some of the more isolationist conservatives, I believe it does represent that views of the average Republican.
I believe Marco Rubio should, and will become, the frontrunner in the race to become the Republican presidential candidate. This is largely due to the fact that, unlike the top two candidates right now, Rubio has actual experience in governmental work. It is clear that he has the ability to represent his constituents and knows how to work in serious governance. Along with this, I believe Rubio is the best person to bring the fractions of the Republican party together. Unlike Bush, he does not have a family legacy looming over his campaign and he does align with the majority of Republicans' views on the major issues facing the nation.
No matter your political leanings, it is important to stay connected to the issues that are currently facing our nation, especially since these issues will begin to increasingly effect our generation as we get older. It is important to keep an open discussion about who you think would best represent your views in the upcoming election. Along with this, I have included the links to each of the candidates I have discussed's websites below. Educate yourself on the issues and encourage your friends to do the same. Lastly, I would like to reiterate that this piece was meant to be biased. It was my take on how I (a young conservative who is very interested in politics) views the top four candidates, and why I believe Marco Rubio is currently the strongest candidate. Many of you reading this will disagree with me and that is a good thing!
