Friday, April 29, 2016

Reflections on the April 26th, 2016 Primary Election Results

April 29, 2016


My Dear America:

It is just a couple of days following the Blowout Primary Elections in several different States. 

It was, to say the least, an important election day for both the Republican and Democratic Front Runners.  Donald Trump crushed his Republican Rivals, Ted Cruz and John Kasich in all five of the Primary States including Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island. 

Although John Kasich came in second in Connecticut, Maryland and Rhode Island, Trump's margin of victory over both Kasich and Cruz was at least a 30 point margin in all five states.

Bernie Sanders fared better in the April 26th Primaries.  He at least won the Rhode Island primary by about a 12 point margin.  Hillary Clinton's victories in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut and Delaware Were not by as large a margin of victory in all states as Trump but in Maryland she did beat Bernie Sanders by a 30 Point margin of victory.  In Delaware Hillary beat Bernie by 20 percentage points and in Pennsylvania by 12 points and Connecticut by 5 percentage points.

What do these results mean for the Republican and Democratic Parties?

It certainly seems to me as though the important Primary Elections may now have ended for both the Republicans and Democrats.  

Certainly The Republican Party is not a happy, joyous political party at the present time.  Clearly Republican party leaders do not appear to be pleased at the prospect of Donald Trump being at the head of the 2016 Republican Party Ticket. But the mean spirited, Anti Obama and Anti Obamacare Party, the party who met in January of 2009 and decided that they would do everything they could to keep President Obama from winning a second term, including shutting down the Government, clearly have reaped what they have sown.  Republicans have consistently encouraged their flock to hate Obama, to hate Democrats, to hate News Organizations other than Fox News, To hate Liberals and to tolerate stalled and ineffective government, especially with regard to Congress.

After the incredibly hateful and harmful agenda that the Republican Party has espoused for so long, the chickens have come home to roost.  Those chickens have brought with them their lead Rooster.  His name is Donald Trump.  

Trump may not be unstoppable at this point but if the Republican Party has a brokered convention which does not follow the lead of the Republican voters they are going to finish their convention as a fractured party with little hope of success in the November 2016 Election.  The truth is that no matter what happens at the Republican Party Convention, the Republican Party is going to be damaged, possibly beyond repair, at least for the upcoming election.

The Democratic Party is also a party that is headed for trouble.  I am already seeing on my Facebook page quite a number of disturbing posts by Bernie Sanders supporters indicating that they are angry and are unwilling to vote for Hillary Clinton.

It is my view that Bernie Sanders has been an exciting, honest and forthright Candidate for the Presidency of the United States.  Bernie entered the race and has continued the race with some very serious core concerns, which he has had the chance to voice over the course of the Democratic Primaries.  His concerns are the concerns of many Americans and he has articulated his concerns in numerous debates and Town Halls throughout the course of the Democratic Presidential Primary Campaign.  In my view and in the view of many people who know him, including former Speaker of the House, John Boehner, Bernie Sanders is one of the most honest politicians ever to go to Washington.  

When Bernie Sanders began his quest for the Presidency few people gave him a snowballs chance in hell to be as successful as he has been.  Bernie Sanders being in the race has clearly influenced Hillary Clinton to tilt to the left on many for the issues that Bernie has embraced over the many years he has been in Congress and over the year or so that he has been running for President.

Bernie Sanders turned the Democratic Primary Race for President into a referendum on whether or not the time had come for Americans to become involved in a New American Revolution to return to old respected values.  Bernie has not been a man who has based his politics on the preservation of the wealthy.  Just the opposite. He has based his politics on the preservation of the young, of the individual freedoms and of the political system that does not reward greed but instead rewards those individuals who are not rich enough to donate millions of dollars on their own to sponsor a candidate but are willing to make a small contribution to a political candidate that they can and do believe in.

The Bernie Sanders Presidential Campaign is not over by a long shot.  It is not dead after the April 26th Presidential Primaries.  Sanders performance in these five recent Primary States has been disappointing to those of us who have believed that Bernie Sanders could do the impossible and beat Hillary Clinton in the conventional Primary System.  Clearly Bernie has done better over the course of the Democratic Party Primary Elections than anyone, including Bernie, thought he could or would do.  Bernie Sanders caught on with young people as well as with many other Democrats through his message of changing the political system from within.  He did his best but although his candidacy is far from dead it appears to be on life support at the present time.

Certainly many Bernie Sanders workers and voters are disappointed at the results of the April 26th, 2016 Primary races.  I am disappointed also.  But I would ask those Bernie Sanders supporters who are ready to take out their frustrations on the Democratic Party to think about the foolishness of taking that path.  Although Bernie Sanders has not said it yet, I am sure that when all is said and done, and if he is not the final Candidate for President on the Democratic Ticket, that Bernie Sanders will do the right thing.  Although he also will be disappointed that he wasn't able to reach the finish line successfully he will recognize that in the end he will need to swallow his pride and recommend to his fellow revolutionaries that either not voting for Hillary Clinton or, worse yet, voting for Donald Trump or any other Republican candidate that manages to steal the election from him, will result in an America that will look and seem more like Hitler's Germany or Putin's Russia than the America we have long loved and respected.  

Like Hitler's Germany's Death Camps for Jews, Donald Trump has already chosen the people he will blame for his almost certain failures.  Mexicans, Muslims, Latinos and Blacks may not end up in death camps but they may end up like the virtual slaves that Trump industries has created in Dubai by taking individual worker's passports from them and keeping them in debt so that they can't realistically return to their home countries.  And in Dubai if the Trump slaves try to escape they may be gunned down.This is the kind of man who is poised to run for President of the United States on the Republican Ticket. God Help Us.

The Truth for me is that I was a Hillary Supporter before I was a Bernie Supporter.  I was very impressed by Hillary's book, "Hard Choices"which was given to me by two of my daughters.  I was impressed by the hard work Hillary had put in as Secretary of State and New York Senator.  I voted for her in the 2008 Pennsylvania Primary Race and before Bernie announced his Candidacy I was prepared to vote for Hillary again this Primary Season.  As I watched the parade of reckless candidates gather together on the Republican side of the Presidential Primary Race I was extremely relieved when Hillary finally threw her hat into the ring on the Democratic side of the Race for the Presidency.   

In the end though I voted for Bernie Sanders this time around in the Pennsylvania Primary.

The truth is that I do not blame Hillary for winning the Democratic Presidential Primary. She was and is the most qualified candidate among those running for President on either the Republican or Democratic side.  Other people can do what they want but I will not waste my vote by sitting out the Presidential Election because I am unhappy if Bernie doesn't get the Nomination.  I will be proudly voting for Hillary Clinton in November of 2016.

As the political talk gradually becomes about Vice Presidents I would like to make a suggestion to Hillary and Bernie, regardless of who wins the Nomination for President on the Democratic side.  If Hillary wins I think she would be wise to follow the Obama playbook and the "Team of Rivals" concept and pick Bernie Sanders as her Vice President.  Yes, the battle has been bloody and battering at times during the Primaries on both sides.  Hillary and Bernie have fought hard for the nomination of their party.  But regardless of how much they have fought and disagreed with  each other they still have many views and concerns in common.  

One other suggestion for Hillary is the possibility of her appointing Bill Clinton to be her Vice President.  I don't know if a former President can legally serve as a Vice President following his 8 years as President, but Hillary and Bill could be an interesting and winning combination, as could Hillary and Bernie.  

If Hillary is the Nominee or if Bernie is the Nominee, an excellent choice for either one of them for Vice President would be Elizabeth Warren.

But the battle for the White House still continues, and as interesting and frightening as it has been I believe that  the candidates have many more surprises in store for the American Voters.


Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher