Capitol Report
By State Representative, Leon D. Young
Leon D. Young
Last week, while watching the respective GOP and Democratic debates, I was once again reminded of the cavernous divide existing in this country, aided and abetted in large measure by the polarization between the two political parties.
Millions of Americans had a front row seat in watching the Republican version of mixed martial arts and Mortal Combat last Thursday night.
It was a frightful spectacle to behold on national television.
Now that the GOP presidential field has been whittled down to four combatants and feeling enormous pressure to take Donald Trump down, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz have gone into political attack mode, with Trump responding in kind.
To say this GOP debate was a complete disgrace would be an understatement. At one point, Trump and Rubio even went as far as to make a vague reference to male genitalia.
The Democratic presidential discussions, on the other hand, have been a far different undertaking.
Both Secretary Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders are to be commended for running issue-oriented campaigns focusing solely on the myriad of problems facing the nation.
At their most recent debate, in Flint (Michigan), Sanders and Clinton engaged in a lively, substantive debate, clearly demonstrating their grasp and knowledge of various subject areas.
Admittedly, the political discourse between the two Democratic challengers has gotten a bit edgier as of late.
However, the exchanges have in no way devolved into the meaningless naming calling sessions that is now the norm for the GOP.
In fact, things have gotten so dysfunctional within the ranks of the Republican Party that its last two presidential nominees, Mitt Romney and John McCain, have gone on record in rebuking the party’s current front-runner, Donald Trump, warning that his election could put the United States and its democratic system in peril.
That’s a very serious repudiation in the general sense.
But when the most recent standard-bearer of your own party makes the assertion, it takes on even greater weight.
It remains to be seen who will garner the respective nominations in the end.
While the Democrats debate on real policy issues, Republicans are obsessed with finger pointing and infighting.
The differences couldn’t be starker and the well being of our Republic literally hangs in the balance.