OPINION: Democrat candidates still existent despite continued Republican attention
Graphic by Sammy Dewey
Christian Segers, Staff Writer
Although Republican presidential candidates have remained predominantly at the forefront of voters’ minds following the rise of Donald Trump and Ben Carson, the remaining Democrat’s appear poised to steal back a portion of the national spotlight.
At the inception of the voting cycle, it became increasingly apparent that the Hillary Clinton campaign would command the vast majority of Democrat support. Early poll numbers indicated an easy ascension to the party’s front-runner status. However, pending allegations stemming from Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State, threatened to unravel any presidential aspirations of the candidate.
During the first round of Clinton-directed onslaughts ensuing primarily from the Republican party, Bernie Sanders, the independent affiliated senator from Vermont, seized the opportunity to leap into the fray. Sanders quickly recovered much of the ground Clinton appeared to be losing and consequently slid into the runner-up position behind Clinton.
On the issues, Sanders is a self-proclaimed socialist, who has attracted a large following of college students in particular, due to his plan to make college free for all undergraduates. It remains to be seen whether this selling point will affect scholarships given by institutions and whether or not private institutions, such as North Greenville University, are part of this proposed measure. Unfortunately, the money has to come from somewhere and if students think that they won’t pay dearly for the proposed handout, they are sorely mistaken.
Joe Denton, a junior criminal justice major at North Greenville University, said, “If college students really want to help pay for their tuition then they should earn it. It’s that simple.”
Additionally, Sanders believes in the redistribution of wealth amongst the upper and middle classes. This ideology follows suit with Clinton’s plan to decrease the mass wealth the American upper tier accumulates on an annual basis.
Despite numerous accusations, a hearing and an ongoing investigation into both her prior knowledge of the Benghazi embassy safety concerns and the use of a private, unauthorized server to send and receive thousands of e-mails, Clinton has remained on top of virtually every nationally recognized pollster. Clinton owes a considerable deal of her staying power to the “brand recognition” her name carries.
Her husband, former president Bill Clinton, has remained popular among a vast majority of Democrats, and whether good or bad, Clinton’s residency as Secretary of State has helped portray her as an experienced leader, in addition to her service as senator to the state of New York.
According to Huffington Post’s pollster, which is comprised of multiple national polls and updated consistently, Clinton commands the majority of prospective Democrat voters at 56.5 percent, while Sanders holds 32.2 percent of the vote. The only other candidate in real contention is Martin O’Malley, who manages to procure 2.9 percent.
As the rivalry between Clinton and Sanders continues to heat up, it will be interesting to see which former senator punches their ticket to the Democrat nomination towards the end of 2015.
The views and opinions expressed in this editorial are solely those of the original author(s) These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of The Vision website or North Greenville University.
