I'm surprised at myself, how I've been mostly apolitical lately. I suppose there are a lot of reasons for that. Four years ago, it was easy to be against Romney because he was so non-specific about virtually everything in terms of policy, and while Obama may have failed to really lead on anything important, he was at least a known quantity with very spelled out positions on most issues. It's been a mixed bag of improvement under Obama, but most numbers work in his favor, according to the various fact-checking sites, and that's assuming you can even attribute the improvement to any president. (Remember how the Republicans all vowed to lower gas prices? They don't have control over that, and maybe that's why Obama rightfully isn't credited for sub-$2 prices.)
Now, I imagine I will still lean left, but only because of the trainwreck that is the GOP. It's easier to deny the existence of Donald Trump than it is to acknowledge him in any way. That a blatant fascist, racist, misogynist moron with no specific position on anything can dominate a party is a sad reflection of the party and the process. He has no respect for the Constitution. I mean, his opponents aren't much better, but what kind of fucked up world do we live in where the governor of Ohio is the most moderate and experienced person to govern? The GOP field has managed to bring fear-based politics to an entirely new level.
As for the Democrats, I'm not a fan of Clinton or Sanders, but while both also dwell in the politics of fear (fear of failure and corporations), at least they don't hate anyone. At the end of the day, morally, I would have to side with them just on the basic principles of human respect. What's really unfortunate is that Sanders wasn't more moderate, because I think if he was, he might be president. His position on taxation wouldn't affect me, but I think his solutions to education, and to a lesser degree healthcare, are fiscally reckless. And in the end, maybe it wouldn't have mattered, because there's no way in hell he could get anything he wanted to do through Congress anyway. Sure, the same could be said of Trump, but at the very least you don't have a bigot with launch codes in the Oval.
It's such a shitty situation that it's mentally easier to deny it exists. I'll still vote of course, but no one will be even remotely in category of my ideal candidate. I can't imagine I'm the only one who would describe the ideal that way.
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