As America enters 2019 and the number of candidates throwing their hat in the ring for the 2020 Presidential Election rises, perhaps the most popular question being raised is can the Democrats find a candidate strong enough to unseat President Trump?
This is not the question we should be asking going into the 2020 election. The American people have become more concerned with which party will win over the other rather than, which candidate is best to lead the nation.
Over the past few decades, the American voters have become increasingly polarizing people and concern themselves more with the success of the political party they associate themselves with, rather than educating themselves on candidates up for elections and the policies they would be advocating for.
The United States has become a polarized nation as its citizens identify less with the candidates up for office and more with the parties ruling US politics. Party affiliation is fanning the flames of the political polarization that is dividing America. That is why focus should be shifted off the Democratic and Republican parties and onto the individual candidates and their policies, as we approach the 2020 election.
“No matter who, I vote blue!” is a quote I have come across on social media all too many times in the past few months. It embodies one of the most serious issues with the political mindset of voters in the United States. It neglects the fact that not all Democratic candidates are the same and promotes blindly voting for an individual based on nothing more than their party affiliation.
While this quote pertains specifically to liberal voters, by no means do the issues behind it exclude conservative voters as well. Voters on both ends of the political spectrum are guilty of the lack of self-education of candidates and voting based on which party they have been nominated by. At one time, there existed liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats. However, in today’s political sphere, the gap between liberals and conservatives has become wider than ever and it has led to the development of an unhealthy competitive nature between the two ideologies, driving US politics in opposite directions.
The gridlock we see in American politics today is a direct result of the two-party system that has taken over our government. From December 2018 to January 2019, the United States saw the longest government shutdown in history. The shutdown, brought on after President Trump’s attempt to secure funding for his border wall, an almost radically conservative solution to immigration and border security, was met with opposition by the Democrats in the federal government, and no agreements to be made.
The polarization of politics and an unwillingness for parties to sway in the United States has led to a gross lack of productivity within our government. The best solution to the gridlock is the victory of a moderate candidate in the 2020 election, who is concerned less with the agenda of a political party and more with seeing progress being made in our nation.
With the coming election, I urge voters to spend less time advocating for the success of the party they find themselves affiliated with and more time learning what issues matter most to them and which candidate will best serve their needs, and the needs of the country. The depolarization of US politics is crucial to seeing real change being made in all aspects of our country and can only be achieved with a moderate candidate and voters who understand policy better than party.
By Luke Gobel, Contributing Writer
gobellz17@bonaventure.edu
