The Democratic race has seen, perhaps, one of the most unique candidates of all time, Bernie Sanders. His “political revolution” has resonated with millions of Americans who share his vision of a society that works for everyone, not just a few. Hillary Clinton is running on a progressive platform that calls for much less radical change. Her presidency would essentially be a third term of Obama. The significant thing about both of these candidates is that, if forced to run against Donald Trump or Ted Cruz, they would take the general election.  

Donald Trump and his antics have been seen by millions on any of the popular media outlets. His racist and xenophobic ways clearly do not dissuade a lot of people in the Republican Party and while that is troubling, his appeal is certainly understandable. While people like his rejection of “political correctness,” you still need to be correct about your politics and he is not.  

His policy propositions are few and far between.  He mostly just says things will be “great” if he is president.  I guess we will just have to take his word for it.

The other GOP front runner, Ted Cruz, is much more eloquent than Trump.  He quotes the Bible correctly and is clearly a well read guy. Let us consider, though, what a “President Cruz” would look like. Our president would be a puppet of the NRA as well as an adamant climate change denier. Let us not forget his deep seeded opposition to gay marriage.  He even referred to it as “fundamentally illegitimate, lawless and unconstitutional.”  Any hope we have of gaining ground in the fight to combat gun violence would be effectively reversed and eliminated by President Cruz. Also, a survey of Ted Cruz’s college friends and Senate colleagues would be an unfortunate testament to who he is on a personal level.

The point is not that Donald Trump’s campaign has been a media frenzy and a hoax. It doesn’t matter that Ted Cruz is a religious fanatic and would be a disaster as a Commander and Chief.  Neither one of these men will beat Hilary Clinton or Bernie Sanders in a general election.  Mitt Romney could not beat against Barack Obama in 2008 for similar reasons.  Donald Trump and Ted Cruz simply do not and will not appeal to a wide enough voter base to win the general election.  

We shouldn’t be wasting time debating whether or not we should stop letting Muslim people into our country.  This is all just noise, keeping us from considering the real issues facing America.  Most people in the country want a candidate who is going to make the system work for them. A Trump or Cruz administration is not looking out for the best interests of the country.  

Republicans need to consider candidates who have strong values, like John Kasich and Jeb Bush. These men have a proven track record of effectively governing in their respective states.  Jeb Bush believes strongly in a path to citizenship while Cruz and Trump want to ship immigrants out one by one or build the next Great Wall of China.  

John Kasich balanced the budget in Ohio and is a firm believer in our need to address the threats of climate change. These are the traditional moderate Republicans that Americans can believe in.  Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are polling quite well, but neither are fit to serve as president of the United States. They have made the GOP talk about each other instead of the issues and what they could do to fix them. If one of them wins the nomination, it will be a landslide for the Democrats.