Pride goeth before the fall

Well, most people certainly didn’t see this coming. When I signed up for this spot, I expected to simply be an equalizer against a Clinton win, making sure that the other side had a voice. Donald Trump winning the 2016 presidential election is one of the great surprises in modern political history.  I understand why he won, but it’s a complicated combination of some voters’ frustration and a desire to send a message to both parties’ political establishments that all voices were not being heard.

Let me start off by saying this had nothing to do with sexism or racism or anything like that. The Klansmen and chauvinists made up a smidgen of Trump’s support and didn’t at all tip the scales in the election or represent the base of Trump voters. Anyone who thinks that these factors contributed to his win simply does not understand why he won.

The most contributing factor to me is the liberal elites’ hubris. People over the past eight years have seen the left-leaning media and zealots thumbing their noses at the average middle class working families, not realizing that their votes count just as much. For too long, Republicans and even Independents like me have grown tired of “right wing” being an insult rather than a respected political perspective. The media is heavily to blame for spreading this the most, and especially in this 2016 election campaign, with the leaked emails proving collusion between the Clinton camp and major networks, like Huffington Post and CNN. Their haughtiness cost them the election.

But what about the people who didn’t solely want to take down the leftist machine? Those who thought Trump could truly be a change for good? Believe it or not, they have very solid points. First off is Russia. Russo-American politics have gotten very dour in the past eight years due to Obama’s heavy economic punishments over the Crimean annexation. If Clinton won and put a no-fly zone over Syria, that would be a declaration of war. Trump’s mentality is to befriend Russia and make them allies, rather than bitter enemies. Now, while many critics rightfully say that Russia has a lot of nefarious schemes going on, you cannot deny that with Trump rebuilding our military, they won’t treat us as any less than equal.

Personally, I agree with working with Russia rather than against them. War with two of the world’s biggest superpowers would be a disaster for the entire world. And I don’t have to say that if you were worried about Trump and the big red button, befriending countries rather than demonizing them, especially the country with the most atomic warheads, will discourage nuclear warfare.

That was just one example of why people voted for Trump, but there simply is not enough space in this article to cover everything. Many Americans simply want to see the country be a stronger economic leader with better trade deals leading to more good paying jobs for the middle class. I’m not going to say I’m proud to be your Republican columnist, as this has been a very divisive election, but I will do my best to help cover the transition of power over the rest of the semester, and will work much more closely with my counterpart, Matt, to help sew together the wounds this election has created. Thank you, Towerlight Staff, for allowing me this historic position.

 

 

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