Republican's Revoltin' Development

“What a revoltin’ development this is!”  That 1950’s catch phrase from the television show, The Life of Riley, appropriately sums up this Republican presidential primary race.  I came to that conclusion Wednesday after witnessing 16 candidates present a pathetic future for our government.  Even though there are an unprecedented 16 candidates to choose from, the reality is the Republicans have slim pickin’s for a nominee. 

I spent four hours of my life watching this show with bated breath to hear specific plans and policies for our country.  Instead, I got a double dose of doom and gloom and heard every way imaginable to work the name Hillary Clinton into a sentence. 

The minimum qualification for President should be that he/she is a statesman.  A statesman is defined by having skill and vision in managing public affairs.  You know a statesman when you see one.  Folks, I didn’t see nary a statesman on that stage that night.  It’s a sad commentary on where we are in this country and where we are going. 

Donald Trump is currently the number one choice for President by Republicans.  Evangelicals represent the base of the Republican Party.  Sixty-six percent of Trump supporters believe that President Obama, an avowed Christian, is a Muslim.  In my book, that means that most of Trump’s supporters are bigots or racists…take your pick.  Trump is a danger to our country and he is not a statesman!

The number two choice of Republicans to be leader of the free world now is Dr. Ben Carson.  People say they like him because he’s soft-spoken.  Soft-spoken!  That man will put you to sleep.  I watched in amazement as the supposedly great pediatric neurosurgeon first stated correctly that there was no science data to prove that vaccine causes autism in children.  When asked by the moderator if he would tell Donald Trump he was wrong in saying autism was caused by vaccine, he totally fell apart and agreed with Trump’s recently modified position on vaccinations.   Obviously, Carson is so fearful of the bully Trump, he totally turned into a complete wuss, denied science, and caused millions to think there is something sinister about vaccinations.  Ben Carson is not Presidential material and he’s not a statesman.

Number three is Jeb.  He’s the big Bush.  Jeb is the closest thing to a statesman that the Republicans have.  However, he has bigger problems with his credibility.  Here is a man that is married to a Mexican immigrant.  His children are half Mexican.  They obviously speak the Spanish language in their home.  Yet, he doesn’t call Trump out on his inhumane immigration policy for fear he will alienate the anti-Mexican base of the Republican Party.  This reticence by Jeb is disrespectful to his family and to the American people.  That is not an act of a statesman!

Your guess is as good as mine as to who will emerge as the eventual Republican nominee.  It’s sad and shocking that it will come down to the lesser of evils, rather than the best of the best.

I’m here to assure you good Republicans not to despair over this revolting development in your party.  Both major candidates on the Democratic side of the ticket are sane, sensible, and statesman-like.  Except for one, and she is “stateswoman-like.”

Speaking of Hillary, you may have missed the official announcement by the Department of Justice that Hillary violated no laws or policies by conducting her communications via personal email while serving as Secretary of State.  I guess they didn’t have time to mention that in the three-hour debate marathon.

It’s going to be exciting this week with the Pope visiting Washington.  I am looking forward to being on “Pope Watch” and I can’t wait to see if the Pope’s reception when he addresses the joint session of Congress equals that of Netanyahu’s earlier this year. The timing of the Pope’s visit is an answered prayer for Trump.  After the whooping he took last week, he needs the time out of the limelight to recoup.  Surely he won’t try to upstage the Pope.  Surely!