Capitol Report
By State Representative, Leon D. Young
Leon D. Young
Wow!!! Did you see Hillary Clinton’s impressive performance at the first debate? She really cleaned Donald Trump’s clock.
Having the opportunity to see both candidates side-by-side, as if you really needed to do so, there should be little question as to which candidate is most qualified to be the next president.
Now, let’s fast forward to reality. It was just a little over month ago that Hillary Clinton, and her campaign, enjoyed a commanding, double-digit lead in the national polls.
In most quarters, political pundits and talking heads privately toyed with the notion that things were pretty air tight and this might be a cakewalk for Hillary Clinton. But that was then and this is now.
In recent weeks, there has been a dramatic change of political fortunes for the two major party presidential nominees. Hillary’s once considered invincible margin has all but vanished, while Trump’s campaign has gathered momentum and now finds itself in a statistical dead heat according to several national and battleground polls.
What has led to the shift in political tides? Why does Clinton now find herself in a political dogfight?
It would be naïve, and totally inaccurate, to say that there is only one reason why Clinton is neck-and neck with Trump.
However, one would also be remiss if one didn’t mention one of the most obvious reasons: her failure, or inability, to harness the formidable Democratic coalition that President Obama created in capturing the White House in 2008 and 2012, which relied heavily on young voters (or millennials).
It’s no secret that during the Democratic primary season Senator Bernie Sanders succeeded in winning the hearts, minds and unbridled enthusiasm of millions of young voters.
However, once Sanders lost his nomination bid and it was subsequently revealed that high-level operatives within the Democratic National Committee were working behind the scenes to promote Hillary’s candidacy, millennials were completely disillusioned with the process. And, many pledged that they would never support Clinton as a result.
With that being said, third party hopefuls, Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party) and Jill Stein (Green Party), have both been the benefactors of this millennial defection.
Consequently, the race has tightened to such a degree that Trump and his campaign team allege that they have a viable path to obtaining the requisite number of electoral votes (270) and winning the White House.
With little over a month to go before the general election on November 8, it remains to be seen what these young voters will ultimately do?
The stakes are enormous with all three branches of the federal government being up for grabs. If for no other reason than ensuring the future makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, this should be more than reason enough to spur these millennials to take decisive action.
Hillary Clinton may not be the perfect choice, but clearly, she is the better choice. It’s time for all millennials to come home and do the right thing in preventing Donald Trump from becoming the next president. Here’s the reality: Voting for a third party candidate or opting to stay at home — is a vote for Trump. It’s just that simple.