Salnax on 12 April 2015
Well, I guess its time to start the cycle again. Let's see who's running so far...
Note: I sometimes get a bit... emotional about politics. I apologize in advance for anything malevolent and/or harmful I say in the Politics Discussion forum up through November 2016.
Republicans
- Ted Cruz -To be fair, his foreign policy does not seem to be in the absurd isolation/domination binary that many candidates have had in recent elections. That may not sound like a compliment, but I rarely have good things to say about Republicans involving Foreign Affairs. That said, I can't imagine myself supporting him even in a field of Republicans. Even concerning foreign affairs, he seems a bit inconsistent. For example, he criticized Obama both for aiding rebels fighting in Syria and not aiding Kurds fighting ISIS a hundred or so miles away. His environmental positions are stereotypical Texas Republican, he seems to be trying to win over the religious crowd that would want to hurt me and a lot of people I like, and generally supports a number of social stances that I can't support.
- Rand Paul - I don't trust him. It's not that Libertarianism is a bad political philosophy, though I do dislike the mark left by Ayn Rand and company. Reducing NSA powers? Great! Opposing militarization of police forces? Sounds good! Cutting taxes and spending? Not what I'd assume to be the right answer in some cases, but this can be a viable strategy regardless of political leanings. But his positions considering abortion, tax breaks, gay marriage, immigration, and so either imply or outright require more activity from the federal government. He's obviously lying about one part of the formula, which is perfectly understandable for a candidate. But since I can't figure out what he actually supports, it's hard to support him.
- Unannounced - Based on my general knowledge of major political figures at the moment, those potential candidates generally cause me to frown more often than smile. I will give Chris Christie credit for putting politics aside after Hurricane Sandy and working with Obama, despite the elections coming up. I don't like him in general (in my neck of the woods, he's not been particularly popular since the Bridge incident), but he seems like my favorite likely nominee so far. Jeb Bush is not terrible, but I love my future children too much to make them try to keep track of which Bush was which in school. I could describe my feelings about Huckabee, but this is not the NSFW forum.
Democrats
- Hillary Clinton - Ever since 2007, when I started following politics on a semi-regular basis, I have not been a big fan of Hillary Clinton. Back in the 2008 election, I was rooting for Edwards and Obama as opposed to her. Even back then, I thought she had a history of changing stances on a whim, somehow supporting a position that is popular at the time. Even by the standards of politicians. So even though I agree with her on a number of positions, I'm hardly enthusiastic.
- Unannounced - Joe Biden and Howard Dean might be able to win me over. Biden has not been too bad since 2009, and Howard Dean has popped onto my radar in the past. But Clinton has a lot of support (for reasons I don't understand), so Clinton will likely be the Democrat nominee this time.
Conclusion: Time to look at my 3rd party options.
And as a Nintendo fan, that felt weird to type.
