Republicans:
The elephant has descended to the singularity of a wig. With John Kasich and Ted Cruz dropping out, the sole candidate for the Republican Party is now Donald Trump. After a devastating defeat in Indiana, Cruz recognised that resistance is futile and the power of “the Donald” could not be stopped. Kasich also removed his candidacy after receiving the harsh advice, “You’re not advancing this cause, and you’re looking like an idiot,” courtesy of long-time ally Don Thibaut. With an uncontested GOP Convention on the horizon, Donald Trump has become the future of the party. Trump has also recently announced that he will run a “traditional presidential campaign”, meaning that he will accept donations in order to run an estimated one-billion-dollar campaign (Parnes and Cirilli, 2015). This is a shift from his “self-funded” campaign. Although claiming to be “self-funded,” we now know that Donald Trump had been receiving donations from private interest groups throughout his primary campaign. It is unclear whether or not Donald Trump sees the irony. The most pressing question now facing Trump’s campaign is who will be his vice-president.
In addition, Donald’s recent comments regarding the newly elected mayor of London have made headlines. Trump had asserted a general ban on Muslims entering America however with Sadiq Kahn’s election he stated that an exception could be made for him. This comment among his other racist and Islamophobic comments have not endeared the British to Trump’s cause. Even acting Prime Minister David Cameron joined in the universal condemnation of Trump. Donald Trump’s foreign policy has baffled many analysts as perhaps the only nation to support his policies has been Israel. Although Trump supports drastic action against Daesh, he wishes to pull out from NATO. This would weaken the best defensive pact against Russia. This comes at a time where Russia has seen aggressive action in Ukraine and Georgia. It also leaves America lacking in foreign alliances.
Democrats:
With Bernie Sanders consistently losing more than he wins, it seems that the only way that Bernie could win the race would be to have an overwhelming majority of super delegates. Regardless of populist sentiments, the super delegates are firmly entrenched in the Clinton platform with 45 super delegates in favour of Clinton for every Bernie super delegate. In this regard, barring a late miracle, the Democrat candidate will be Hilary Clinton.
Perhaps the most interesting development from this presidential campaign is the shift in the American political system. Not too long ago it would have been impossible for a populist and socialist Jew to ever be on national television. The American political spectrum was shifted firmly to the right with the development of neo-conservatism is response to the Soviet Bear. Sanders himself has recognized that this was not always the case. FDR is considered more left wing than even Sanders. It is also apparent that this shift does not seem to be an anomaly as Sanders has a significant following from the millennial generation.
Dates:
Sat, Jun 4 Virgin Islands Caucus (D)
Sun, Jun 5 Puerto Rico Primary (D)
Tue, Jun 7 California (P) Mixed
Tue, Jun 7 Montana (WTA)
Tue, Jun 7 New Jersey (WTA) Mixed
Tue, Jun 7 New Mexico (P)
Tue, Jun 7 North Dakota Caucus (D)
Tue, Jun 7 South Dakota (WTA)
Tue, Jun 14 District of Columbia (D)
July 18–21, 2016: Republican National Convention
July 25–28, 2016: Democratic National Convention
By: Tyler Kettler