Like many politically active individuals across the United States, I have been watching the Democratic race with great anticipation. If it is not obvious by now, I am part of the Republican movement known as the “Never Trumpers.” Since President Trump’s first run for office, I have been staunch in never voting for him, as I believe he does not hold up the values of both conservatives in general and of the Republican party. However, I am becoming increasingly worried by the state of affairs in the Democratic party. While I do not always agree with the candidates in their ideals of health care or immigration, I find them overall to be far more palatable than the current president’s nearly incoherent and illogical thoughts. But there is one candidate on the Democratic docket that I cannot find myself agreeing with. I cannot vote for Senator Bernie Sanders, as he is a socialist. I am strictly against socialism, as it defeats the very purpose which capitalism thrives upon. To see the rise of Sanders in the Democratic party is a shocking and unnerving revelation. For a long time, it appeared that the Democrats resisted the urge to move towards extremism that the Republicans unfortunately have gone towards. But in the past four years, there has been a startling rise in socialist activities in the American political system. With the recent house election including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a socialist running in the Democratic party, there is a growing trend of socialist ideals seeping into the Democrats. With the current election being paramount to the success of the country, I highly encourage Democrats to nip this wave of socialism at the bud, and bring forth a moderate candidate to the race.
In a previous article, I wrote about the damaging effects of socialism and why it should not be adopted in the United States. While I will not go into full detail about this, I will restate that socialism has yet to have a positive impact on countries. I do not include countries such as Denmark or the Netherlands on the list, as while both countries have adopted socialist ideals, both still find capitalism a necessity for economic success. So to see the rise of socialism in the center of the capitalist world is worrying. This is not to say that some ideas from capitalism are unfeasible. I firmly believe that all citizens of the United States should have access to economically affordable healthcare. This does not mean I believe in state sanctioned healthcare, rather I believe in working towards reasonably priced private healthcare. But I cannot get on board with ideas such as free college. This creates the premise that the federal government will provide for all needs of the people. As a conservative, I believe that federal power should be strongly limited and states and local governments should be given far more power. Socialism is the very opposite of the ideals I hold dearly. So to elect Sanders gives a dangerous precedent into the federalization of power, and can have serious ramifications on state and local power.
To be honest, I am not certain of what I am going to do if Sanders is nominated by the Democrats. I find President Trump detestable, but I am also repulsed by Sanders’s agenda. I believe that if Sanders is nominated, this will put a massive amount of stress on moderate Democrats and Republicans alike. While I am not certain what moderate Democrats would do, I am confident that no Republicans will ever vote for a socialist. This could steer deterred Republicans back into the folds of President Trump. It is important that Democrats do not nominate Sanders for the race. I personally hold out hope for Senator Amy Klobuchar. She is a moderate from Minnesota that I find myself agreeing with on many different topics. I find her the most moderate out of the current candidates, I believe she would have great success with gaining the moderate Republican vote. I will end with a plea to my Democratic colleagues: I urge you to reconsider supporting Sanders. He does not hold a chance to win against President Trump. If you truly wish to oust the president with a more capable candidate, I urge you to look into candidates such as Klobuchar. The stake of the presidency falls into your hands.
Hi Mike,
If you look at the policies that Sanders wishes to put into action (i.e. Free college, Medicare for all, and special taxation of the wealthy), many of them align directly with socialist agendas over seas. Second, it is not feasible to compare Sanders to socialists in other countries, as the United States has a very different political system than many other countries. It is important to look at Sanders in context with other Democrats, and he is extremely far left in that aspect. As for fear of the term, socialism is not a feasible option in 21st century politics. We, like many other countries, are dependent on trade. Even “European Socialists” are not true socialists. Socialism has not proven to work. One can simply look at Cuba, the former USSR, and North Korea for historical evidence. For the Democrats to prevail, it cannot be a socialist who is the nominee. Hope that clarifies my points!
All my best,
Josh F.
Interesting article… bit socialist? Sanders is barely a socialist, by European standards he’s fairly normal!
Doent be scared by a label understand the policy. What do you fear, you don’t detail?