Race and Politics in America

Submitted by Raul Marks (United States), May 15, 2016 at 15:50

As an independent, I have long avoided labels like "liberal" or "conservative" and do not identify with either the Democratic or Republican parties. I espouse many of the social values of the Republicans with most of the other ideas of the Democrats.

In my opinion, societies and times tend to get more liberal as time progresses. Thus, both parties need to embrace ever-increasing levels of progressive platforms. For example we are now 30 odd years beyond the era of Reaganism. Republicans pride themselves on being "Reagan conservatives" but that ship sailed 30 years ago. At that time, America was 80-85% white...today 30% of the population is non-white, and realities on the ground change. 30 years ago, an overwhelming majority of Americans were opposed to marriage equality, today even many conservatives cannot reconcile marriage inequality with their fundemental views.

What is most troubling in my opinion about Donald Trump is not that he's won, but how he's won. He has not had any substantial policy announcements, except to say that things will be "good, so very very good". He has campaigned mostly on hatred, bigotry, xenophobia, and prejudice and garnered 40% of the Republican base on racism alone. Now that he is the presumptive nominee, that support will likely swell to 60% or more.

We have long heard that Republicans/conservatives are not racists but when 40% of them support a Trump campaign based almost solely on racists, it is hard to argue against that.

But the Republicans aren't the only ones who will have to move leftward in order to remain relevant in contemporary US politics. Hillary Clinton started off sounding like a moderate Republican with her coddling of Wall Street, her speech at AIPAC, which was far more robust than Trump's "I'll be neutral with Israel and Palestine" platform. But the unprecedented success of Bernie Sanders will inevitably push Hillary and the Democrats further to the left. Bernie's supporters may all be teenie-boppers, but in 20 years they will be the face of the American left, in a country that will be on its way to being close to to 50% minorities.

This election cycle is a watershed moment in US politics and will change the landscape possibly for the next century.

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