David Michael Miller
I know this guy. He’s a liberal but only a nominal Democrat, even though he once held a nonpartisan elected office where he identified as one.
This guy didn’t think his vote would mean much when the Wisconsin primary came around on April 5. He’s a Bernie Sanders guy, but paradoxically he was prepared to vote for Hillary Clinton if the nomination was in doubt. That was because, while he agreed with Sanders on most of the issues and just liked him more than Clinton, he thought that Clinton was much more electable in November.
So, with the nomination pretty much sewn up by Clinton, this guy now feels free to vote for Bernie out of principle. He feels that Sanders has done a public service just by running and, in so doing, stretching the envelope. Sanders has shown that you can self-identify as a socialist and still be a viable candidate. Sanders has said out loud many of things liberals have been told by establishment Democrats that they may not speak of — single-payer health insurance, expanding Social Security, really getting tough with Wall Street. My friend doesn’t put much stock in the argument that Sanders has pushed Clinton to the left, however. He figures that her elastic positions will quickly snap back once the nomination is fully secured.
But after this Tuesday’s set of primaries, this guy is thinking the previously unthinkable: He’s considering voting in the Republican primary for John Kasich.
As best as I can piece it together, here’s what’s going through his head. Any vote in the Democratic primary will be purely symbolic. Clinton has it locked up, and Sanders has already made any point that he was going to make.
But the Republicans still have some hope of derailing Donald Trump, the worst demagogue to ever get this close to the presidency. Ted Cruz is no alternative because he’s Trump plus several IQ points. My friend isn’t so sure if he’d rather live under an incompetent, full-blown fascist or a smart, wily fascist.
John Kasich, on the other hand, while very conservative, is still swimming in the mainstream of American politics. He’s said that Trump’s plan to deport 11 million undocumented residents is crazy. As a congressman he pushed back against wasteful military spending. As a governor he took the Medicaid expansion under Obamacare. And he’s generally run a decent campaign focused on issues.
So, my friend wonders if a vote for John Kasich in April and for Hillary Clinton in November wouldn’t be the best thing he could do for his country right now. He thinks that Democrats who actually want to run against Trump or Cruz are putting their party ahead of their country. Yes, Kasich would be harder for Clinton to beat, but do they really want to risk the presidency falling into the hands of the likes of Donald Trump or Ted Cruz?
Anybody who thinks either of those candidates — especially Trump — isn’t electable has not been paying attention. Hillary Clinton might be the worst possible nominee for the times — the quintessential establishment candidate in a year where there is no greater liability than to be part of the elite and a rather unlikable person to boot. She has a 53% disapproval rating.
So, I sympathize with this guy. It’s almost like he’s me. This guy has a lot of thinking to do between now and April 5.
