Donald Trump supporters have a reason to be angry... and so should all Americans!
March 3rd, 2016 will live in infamy as the day The Republican Party establishment openly sought to disenfranchise citizens who have cast their votes.
Mitt Romney the 2012 Republican Presidential candidate working in tandem with the traditional Republican leadership (or what little is left of them) openly attacked his party's leading contender in the 2016 presidential primary. This is unprecedented. View the complete transcript here.
Of course through the years Republicans have attempted all sorts of ways to suppress votes. But as a Baby Boomer I've never seen such a blatant attempt to corrupt the system and disregard the will of the people.
I'm not naive, nor is the American public. We know the shenanigans on the part of all political parties. In fact it was not that long ago that the primaries were controlled by political hacks on both sides of the aisle.
Let me be upfront and say that I'm a progressive, Bernie Sanders supporter and what was perpetrated probably helps my party. Yet I am appalled by the biased attack on Donald Trump and his followers.
If ever there was a case for understandable voter rage today certainly ranks right up at the top.
Due to the Republican party's incredible mismanagement since the advent of The Tea Party it has slowly become a disorganized discordant group of individuals leaning from conservative to Libertarian, to moderate to far right wing and lots in-between.
The upshot is that many party elders are terrified that Donald Trump may win the Republican primary. One can certainly make a case for why they feel as they do. But that is not the point.
Democracy was threatened today. It doesn't matter how you lean politically. To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr., once you allow prejudice to exist anywhere you open the door for it to exist everywhere.
Today unconscionable political meddling was engaged. Once it starts, where does it end?
The elders of a political party are dissatisfied with the direction in which their presidential primary election is headed. They don't like the leading candidate. They don't want him to represent their party in the 2016 presidential election.
They have the right to be unhappy. They don't have the right to try and rig the system to defeat the candidate.
As Americans we vote for the individual we want to see leading our country. This isn't a dictatorship. As citizens we are entitled to be represented by the person of our choosing.
When the leadership of any party bands together to try and defeat the will of the people they are turning the key and opening a door to anarchy.
I don't support most of Donald Trump's views. I don't agree with some of the positions of other candidates on both sides of the aisle.
I do expect that when I vote the system will not be rigged.
Lots of Trump supporters feel it is. Today confirms their views and they have a right to be angry.
As a Bernie Sanders supporter I believe the action taken today by the Republican party is wrong. If the Democratic elders were to pull the same stunt as the Republicans I would feel the same way.
Perhaps that's why despite incredibly different political philosophies there exists an overlap between some Trump and Sanders supporters. They are both fighting the establishment. Politics makes strange bedfellows.
I believe Donald Trump missed a great opportunity today. For hours the mainstream media promised he would respond to Mitt Romney. He did.
Unfortunately he made a personal attack rather than addressing the overriding issue that the Republican Party was undermining the system. How great it would have been if he had taken the high road.
In fact, he probably would have picked up even more independent and frustrated voters. That is his loss and attests to his viability as a candidate.
The primary season is just underway and he doesn't hold enough votes to be declared the winner. So what we now have is a big series of games that will play out.
Republican Super PACs forming to ensure "anyone but Trump." I find this an indictment of our system.
On the other side of the aisle, the Democratic establishment may feel emboldened to play games with their candidate of choice.
It's the 21st Century. What's happening is inexcusable. I encourage all citizens, particularly Millennials to fight against the perversion of our democracy and how we elect our leaders.
The future of this great nation is at stake. Whoever you support, make noise. Let your party know that you won't accept manipulation and misrepresentation.
If you don't take a stand now, you may well regret it down the road.
Despite Donald Trump's claim that we need to make America great again, I believe we are great. And never more so than when we fight to keep the integrity of our democracy.
The Take-Away:
It doesn't matter who you support. Speak up and make sure that all voters are represented fairly and no one is deprived of the right to choose the candidate of their choice.
Photo/123rf.com/Carsten Reisinger/Alexandr Kyzyma