I first heard of pivots when I managed my college basketball team over 50 years ago.
Now, pivot is the hottest word in the political lexicon. Which candidate is pivoting which way today?
Did Clinton pivot to the left again? Did Trump pivot yet even again? The pundits and media talking heads have totally overused the pivot in discussing the presidential election and the campaigning associated with this national event.
It appears that perhaps the biggest pivot in November may be the pivot to the right by the Republican Party. This pivot to the right has moved the Republican Party away from the traditional heritage of this venerable political institution.
Then there is the recent pivot of Donald Trump, who finally admitted that the current president of the United States was born in the United States. Just another pivot in a season of political pivots. Hillary Clinton has pivoted on many issues and continues to pivot on issue after issue. She even had to engage in several pivots to explain a simple physical issue that attacks many Americans annually. It seems that the pivots should stop. It is time to concentrate on issues and policies, not lies, innuendos, and personal attacks. The future of America depends on the vision and leadership of the two candidates for president. The future of this nation depends on whom the electorate selects.
The prevalent issues in this election are immense and ripe with peril. This nation and the world are in turmoil. At home, economics and jobs remain the prime concern of American voters; however, the threat of terrorism looms ominously over this nation. This threat has been allowed to endure for too long. Fighting has been in starts and fits. Early victories were extinguished by premature withdrawals. Confusing and ill-conceived policies have allowed ISIS and allied terrorist organizations to thrive and extend their range of terror around the world. The new president must more aggressively address this threat.
Perhaps there is a necessity for a pivot in the fight against Islamic terrorism. Allowing this threat to continue only causes expenditure of blood, treasure, and terror. The recent events of three terror acts in one day in the United States is simply unacceptable. With each act of terror, the menace of the Islamic State affects the lives and routines of all Americans. And is yet another victory for the most brazen, violent, inhumane savages since the Nazis. The pivot here must be more intense, effective, and successful. Enough is enough.
Obviously, it is difficult for many Americans to decide which candidate to vote for in the 2016 presidential election. But vote we must. The stakes are too high to stay at home. It is essential to remember this election will affect the trajectory of the U.S. for the next four to eight years. For many Americans, the current administration has not met the goal of changes in policy and programs promised to the voters of America. This fact has been exacerbated by the gridlock occurring in Washington, D.C. Perhaps a pivot to a more cooperative, compromising legislative branch of government is needed. This situation may well be determined in the elections for Senate and House of Representatives. However trends do not argue well for this possibility.
Unfortunately for America, a pivot by both presidential candidates is desirable on the issues of trade and jobs. The campaign promises of stopping the outsourcing and disappearance of manufacturing jobs is not based in reality. Manufacturing giants such as Bethlehem Steel will not reappear in the United States. We are well into the 21st century where technology and globalism are the actual reality.
Undecided voters will remain significantly undecided up until election time. This is approximately 20 percent of voters…if they actually vote. If this trend actually becomes a fact, America’s democracy will be challenged.
I am reminded of a quote from a speech of the late Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine: “I speak as a Republican. I speak as a woman. I speak as a United States Senator. I speak as an American…I don’t want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny—Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear.”
Mr. Trump, you have approximately 50 days to prove to Republicans and Independents that the quote by Senator Smith is not the reality of your campaign.
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