Usually when it comes to politics I do not mind discussing it.
Yes, talking about politics whether it is among disagreeing parties or the best of friends can lead to arguments due to a difference of opinion. But essentially engaging in conversation that relates to politics is good since it begins the process (well, I hope it does for most) of becoming informed which leads to a pursuit of becoming educated about those within the political world who either represent you or who you want to represent you and your interests.
However, lately I have opted out of engaging in any conversation that deals with politics. To be more exact, I have stayed silent when it comes to the campaigning of the 2016 elections in-which candidates battle it out to see who becomes our next president.
Why have I chosen not to get involved in any discussion regarding this election season?
Well, the overabundance of irrationality and accepted bigotry that has somewhat become center stage for one party in-particular has made me disinterested and opting out.
I won’t name the party, but I will say lately this party has me seeing red.
However, at a recent dinner with some friends the conversation fell onto the campaign which ultimately led to my lift of no-political-talk embargo.
About a week ago, the Pew Research Center released a report that stated how Latinos in the country are expected to reach an electorate record high in the upcoming November 2016 Elections with more than 27 million people expected to become eligible to vote. This estimation is theorized that Latinos could outnumber any other racial group like Black & White Americans in the country.
So already having this piece of information in mind, a friend asked use all how we would feel if: “Ted Cruz becomes our next President of the United States?”
Now, this has been troubling me for various reasons but lately it has been because of the strong possibility this could happen. Cruz is currently as popular among Republicans as Trump and if he manages to sway Latinos…well, yeah.
As a community Latinos can be a powerhouse within this country, which they are already displaying, so if Latinos do come together and see Ted Cruz as the best option to become our 45th President of the United States I can’t help but see that as being the second worst idea next to Donald Trump becoming our President.
Now, before this seems like I am simply bashing one political party in the name of the other—I am not, both political parties have their pros and their cons—I would be writing the same way if Cruz ran for the Democratic nomination.
So, why is it frightening to think that the Senator of Texas Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz could be our next President?
There are quite a few reasons, but I’ll state the big ones for now.
First, since making his announcement at Liberty University—one of the largest evangelical Christian universities in the country—Cruz has become what some political analysts refer to as the “Christian” candidate. With this title placed (and possibly gladly accepted) on him, Cruz has had a somewhat bump in party support over lovable candidates like Trump & Jeb Bush.
Now being religious isn’t why I think Cruz would make for a bad president.
What does cause me concern about Cruz becoming president is the continued placement of religion within our government. It has been a long saying in this country that there should be a separate in church and state, and while it has been ignored to an extent there are certain political figures who not only ignore this kind of mantra but try to impose their religious views into state handlings.
And Cruz is now the poster boy for this particular group of people and if president would gladly lead the charge for them against Women & Gay Americans.
Like many Conservative right, Cruz is an adamant oppenet against Planned Parenthood because of the hot button issue of abortion. His religious standings on the issue—means nothing to me, but his political one I have an issue with.
“For far too long, Planned Parenthood has hidden behind the well-crafted charade that that it exists to protect women’s health. In reality, it is in the business of killing unborn children on an industrial scale…I intend to lead the fight in the United States Senate to defund Planned Parenthood,” said Cruz, back in August 2015.
One of the biggest misconception that Planned Parenthood has faced is that it is just a murder house. Yes, Planned Parenthood does performing abortions but abortions aside they do so much more. Planned Parenthood has, in its years of service, been one of the leading forces in providing health education for young women and has also provided aid to mothers who are expecting children.
In-relation to religion, Cruz’s stance on Gay Marriage is also troubling. Religious views aside, Cruz as a politician does not see that the right to marry is a civil one and should not be overlooked with religious lens.
Back in June when the US Supreme Court legalized Gay Marriage, Cruz released the following statement:
““Today, the Court doubled down with a 5-4 opinion that undermines not just the definition of marriage, but the very foundations of our representative form of government…that is unacceptable. On the substantive front, I have already introduced a constitutional amendment to preserve the authority of elected state legislatures to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman…The decisions that have deformed our constitutional order and have debased our culture are but symptoms of the disease of liberal judicial activism that has infected our judiciary. A remedy is needed that will restore health to the sick man in our constitutional system.”
Reacting to the recognizing of commonwealth marriage between two legal and consenting human beings as an implication to our constitution being deformed and infected by our culture which is suffering from a disease started by liberals isn’t something a rational person would say but someone blinded by zealous indoctrination would…I will leave it at that.
A president who is swayed more by his religious affiliation rather than observing the social understanding of the world outside of his/her personal comfort zone should not want to become president of an entire country. That is the un-American thing to do: force people to accept what you believe because your faith dictates it as opposed to what is socially and politically right.
Second, Cruz’s stance on the criminal justice system and the recent climate between Law enforcement and civilians (particularly Black & Latino Americans).
Since 2012, this country has been in a heated debate regarding the heighten atmosphere of racial discrimination that members of the Black community feel when they come into contact with either Law enforcement or non-Black members of an affluent community.
With the fatal deaths of Travyon Martin & Eric Garner triggering the now infamous Black Lives Matter movement, there has been a questionable response from certain political figures.
While some applaud what is occurring with the Black Lives Matter movement, there are some who condemn the movement as being one that’s not filled with protestors but merely rioters who have an unjust disrespect and hatred for Police Officers and the true blame should fall on President Obama. Something that Cruz has alluded to.
“I think the violence we’re seeing directed at law enforcement is a direct manifestation of the harsh rhetoric and the vilification of police officers, of law enforcement that sadly has come all the way from the top,” Cruz said, back on September 1, 2015.
Cruz added to this sentiment in November when he held a Senate judiciary committee hearing he called, “The War on Police.”
In this hearing, Cruz blamed the Obama administration for creating a culture in America where “the men and women of law enforcement feel under siege.”
Again, not true and greatly misinformed.
For decades, this country has yet to find a solution to ending the racial injustice that Black & Latino Americans feel. In the past the very attempt to discuss race is considering pushing the button but now since that button has been pushed and things are nearing nuclear, there is no turning back and race is being talked about. But not as planned.
For some reason President Obama and his administration has been crowned as the ones at fault for the current racial tension that is felt across this country. But the blaming of one President for an ongoing issue that has been growing for quite some time prior to his taking office isn’t smart—it’s just lazy and following a rhetoric that pleases a mass of people you need in order to support you.
Cruz as president is a bad choice because it will only set this country backwards. Cruz is a candidate who upholds backwards thinking because a progressive government that meets the ever-changing world of the people its suppose to work for is possibly frightening to him and those who support him.
Overall, Latinos selecting Cruz as president because he is Latino and happens to be the son of Cuban immigrants is not the sole reason Cruz should be given the Latino vote. If you support Cruz—support him for his political or social views—then that is the reason why you vote for him. Not because he is Latino.
If you wanted to vote for a Latino President Marco Rubio of Florida was your best bet (I will explain why next week), but that’ll probably happen down the road.
