Political Update for 2016

The presidential election of 2016 is beginning.  There are a long list of potential Republican candidates including Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Chris Christie, and Marco Rubio.  On the Democratic side, there is Hillary Clinton.

They are all war hawks, with the possible exception of Rand Paul.  But even here, we can’t be sure.  Rand Paul is nothing close to his father, especially when it comes to foreign policy.

I expect someone to come out and challenge Hillary Clinton in getting the nomination.  It may be Elizabeth Warren, but I doubt the party will nominate someone that is perceived as being far to the left.

According to polls, now that Mitt Romney has dropped out of the race, Jeb Bush is the frontrunner.  But just as Hillary Clinton has baggage, Jeb Bush also has baggage in the form of his brother.

From a libertarian standpoint, it seems that Bush or Clinton would be the biggest disasters, but you never can tell.  It would be interesting if there was a Bush vs. Clinton matchup in 2016.

How much more of an in-your-face message would the American people need?  Other than Obama, we have had nothing but a Bush or a Clinton since 1989.  We already had a Bush vs. Clinton matchup in 1992.  Would there be any doubt left that we are ruled by oligarchs?  Would there be any doubt that the whole system is rigged?

In a country of over 300 million people, don’t you think the two major parties could find a nominee that doesn’t have the last name of Bush or Clinton?

My hope is that Jesse Ventura runs.  My one fear would be if Ventura runs and Rand Paul gets the Republican nomination.  They would split the anti-establishment vote.  The Democrat – presumably Hillary – would probably get in with around 40% of the popular vote, much like her husband did in 1992.

I puzzle a lot of libertarians with this, but I have a preference of Ventura over Rand Paul (not Ron Paul).  I actually think Rand Paul is a bit more sound economically.  Ventura is certainly no student of Austrian school economics.  To be sure though, he is far more free market than any of the other establishment candidates.

The reason I tend to favor Ventura over Paul is because he doesn’t play ball with the establishment.  He tells the truth and he doesn’t back down.  He doesn’t feel the need to pander.  I would trust him more in standing up to the establishment and in dismantling the U.S. empire overseas.  That is the best we could hope for out of a president at this point.

I think the next president is going to be in for some rough times.  There will be major economic problems and budget problems.  It is too hard to predict what foreign problems will exist, but probably all of the ones that exist now.  As things shape up more, we will get a better idea of what we might be in for in the future.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *