I have seen some crazy Presidential elections before -- anybody remember Ross Perot? -- but this year, we have seriously fallen into the "Crazytown" wormhole.
With a Republican primary completely full of duds, Donald Trump has risen to the top with his own brand of crazy that few of us could have ever imagined existed when we were watching him fire celebrities left and right on "Celebrity Apprentice."
What is even crazier is those being polled seem to be going for it, and the crazier his promises and comments get, the more they support him.
Real Clear Politics takes a number of polls creating what it calls the "RCP Average." Right now its numbers show Trump leading in Iowa with 33.2 percent, while Sen. Ted Cruz has 27.5 percent. Trump also leads in New Hampshire with 33 percent, where Cruz has 13.5 percent. Nationwide, Trump leads the Republicans with 36.2 percent, while Cruz has 19.3 percent.
Everywhere Trump leads, Cruz comes in second, and in most places Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., comes in third. At this point it seems Trump and Cruz are the only two serious candidates in the race. However, the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries in February could change that if things come out differently than what the polls show now.
As a Republican, the choices available to me are very disappointing. I could never vote for Trump, as he has displayed unabashed racism and policy ideas that show absolutely no understanding of the scope or role of the White House in the overall function of the U.S. government.
Similarly, Cruz, who was born in Canada and is the child of a Cuban immigrant, rails against "illegal immigration." He is the dictionary definition of a hypocrite. Between the racist and the hypocrite, I don't see how I can support the GOP candidate this year.
The Democrats have their own flavor of crazy in their race as well. Depending on your own level of tolerance, or your political leanings, you might find either Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton more palatable
I could never vote for Clinton. After knowing about what happened at Benghazi, voting for her would be unconscionable. If you forget all of the controversial questions about Benghazi, -- just ask yourself these two: Why was U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens allowed to travel to Benghazi, which was one of the most dangerous places on Earth in 2012, in the first place? And why was he allowed to stay there, in a temporary embassy, where people could basically just walk in, with only a two-man security team?
When Clinton was at the State Department it cost lives. I certainly don't want that lack of leadership in the White House.
Sanders is actually a fairly attractive candidate, not because of his socialist politics, but because he is genuine. He believes what he is saying, he has a relatively low net worth and is in the race for the right reasons. Unfortunately, I don't think his ideas are very practical.
The polls on the Democratic side are a little confusing. If you look at national polling, it looks like Clinton is a runaway winner. She is leading Sanders 52 percent to 37.4 percent. However, if you look at the polling in the primaries, Sanders leads Clinton in New Hampshire 53.3 percent to 38.6 percent. In Iowa, Clinton and Sanders are in a statistical tie with Clinton at 46 percent and Sanders at 45.4 percent. If Sanders were to win both states, the momentum shift would be epic.
Presidential election years are generally exciting. They used to be the most exciting years for me. I would watch every GOP debate intently and keep up with all the campaigns as they rose and fell in the polls. Normally, I had a dog in the fight.
Too often lately, I feel they are all too disconnected, particularly on a national level. We have gotten so used to "the lesser of two evils" that we forget what we are doing. It's disgusting. That shouldn't have to be our choice.
So this year, we will flock to the polls, hold our nose, put on some latex gloves and pick up that piece of paper. We will circle an oval next to a name that doesn't make us quite as queasy as the next one and we will consider our civic duty accomplished. However, regardless of which one of these "Crazytown" candidates we elect, we really will be setting ourselves back, not moving forward.
Mike Dingman is a fifth generation Alaskan born and raised in Anchorage. He is a former UAA student body president and has worked, studied and volunteered in Alaska politics since the late 1990s. Email, michaeldingman@gmail.com.
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