Other than Ted Cruz, I have never seen such a group of uninformed, biased GOP candidates who disparage any opinion different from their own.
It is 2016, which means it's presidential election time.
I'm ready, since I have done my research, watched enough debates to never need to see another one, and reviewed the records of the candidates.
Let's start with the GOP. Other than Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, I have never seen such a group of politically unintelligent, uninformed, biased candidates who disparage any opinion different from their own. Like the cheese in "The Farmer in the Dell," Cruz stands alone. He is all the aforementioned, except he is an intelligent guy.
Cruz's disdain for immigration reforms is puzzling because, although he purportedly meets the constitutional definition of a "native-born" American, he was born in Canada. We've heard nothing from yet from him regarding any plan send all Canadians near the North Coast back across the border if here illegally.
Last week, Sarah Palin formally endorsed Donald Trump. I knew Trump was whacko, spewing hate against immigrants, but marrying at least two of them. But even Trump should realize an endorsement from Palin is akin to the Grim Reaper knocking at the door.
Palin has not been on a winning team since she walked off the job as governor of Alaska. Now picture Trump and Palin traveling all over America together, except for when she must return to Alaska to support her son in court. Track Palin was arrested Jan. 18 on charges of domestic assault, interfering with a domestic violence report and misconduct with a firearm.
This woman crazily absolved her son from having any personal responsibility for his alleged criminal actions, for not supporting returning troops. Any surprise there? Citing post-traumatic stress disorder, Palin stated that her son returned "different" after a year of volunteer military service in Iraq.
Now, just imagine if Dr. Ben Carson had a son who was accused of beating up his girlfriend and drunkenly waving around a gun. Then, in this imaginary scenario, let's say Carson also had a never-married daughter who had two children by two different men. Many in this "new" GOP would hold up the candidate as all that is wrong with America, and they'd likely demand that he leave the country.
Speaking of Carson, some were unhappy with my criticism of him months ago. I wrote last summer that he was a puppet for a GOP that needed to have a "black face" in the campaign, and that the party would soon abandon him. I also wrote that he was saying some very stupid things. Guess what? He said so many stupid things he isn't even a blip on the GOP radar screen anymore. But I won't say that I told you so.
On the Democratic side are Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. I like Clinton and respect her body of work that is open for review. I think she could be a good president, and I would not be disappointed if she wins the nomination. But I do not think I will vote for her -- and it has nothing to do with her gender. I just do not believe in, and find it extremely difficult to support, political dynasties.
The Kennedys held powerful government posts for decades, and the Bush family has more recently dominated American politics. The eight years of Bill Clinton's presidency were some of the best economic times of this nation, but contrary to popular belief, you cannot go back to the future.
Hillary Clinton has had an excellent political career and has served the nation well. But I like Sanders, even though I do not agree with him on every single issue. For instance, he's often voted against gun controls as a U.S. senator from Vermont. His honest explanation was that his state is largely rural with many hunters, and his job as a senator was to represent the interests of his constituents. Whether I agree with him or not, I like his honest response.
I like Sanders' willingness to fight for the middle class and his desire to close the income gap. He wants everyone to have access to health care and wants to reduce prescription drug prices --which is good, because I'm going to need both. His proposals for Wall Street reform, personal income tax reform, ending tax havens for multi-national corporations, taking profits out of government student loans and getting big money out of politics all sound good to me.
Milton W. Hinton Jr. is director of equal opportunity for the Gloucester County government. He is past president of the Gloucester County Branch NAACP. His column states his personal views, not those of any organization or agency. Email: mwhjr678@gmail.com.