Landslide predictions always worry me because if enough people believe that then maybe they figure they don't need to vote and things become a lot closer than they normally should be. Hillary is definitely not a popular candidate and I too think its going to be close. I can't believe I'm actually going to have to vote for one of these two.
I feel the same way you do.
In my opinion, this election really comes down to war. No matter what, everything both of these candidates do is going to suck. So the question becomes do we strike first or wait to retaliate? That's what I'm deciding anyway. The rest is a wreck. Maybe the debates will change my mind. We shall see.
Respectfully, the statement that "both of these candidates are the same" is simply untrue. There are stark differences between Hillary Clinton (Democrat) and Donald Trump (Republican), and what will happen in the United States if one or the other is elected.
Neither candidate may offer *everything* you'd like in a president, but to say which one is elected will make no difference is absolutely incorrect. There are very large differences.
Here is a summary of the current Republican party platform. These are things they have publicly and repeatedly stated they will try to accomplish, if Donald Trump is elected president.
Republican Platform Goals:
Overturn Roe vs Wade: Make abortion illegal everywhere, for everyone. Force women (even those who are raped, sometimes by family members) to carry their rapist's baby to term, regardless of their age or circumstances. Disallow all exceptions save for "health of the mother".
Trump Bonus: Trump has publicly said he believes women should be "punished" for having an abortion.
Elect Very Conservative Justices to the Supreme Court: This is perhaps the largest and longest impact our next president will have - nominating Supreme Court justices. Under Trump, we will see more justices in the vein of Scalia or Thomas. Under Clinton, we will see more justices in the vein of Kagan or Sotomeyer. Judge for yourself which you will think will move this country forward, but absolutely understand that YOU help determine who is appointed to a lifetime Supreme Court position, by voting for Clinton or Trump.
Eliminate the Public Safety Net: Republicans actively campaign about ending food stamps and all other forms of government assistance to the poor. This includes the so called "child care credit" where people can ask for additional assistance if they have children. So to restate: the Republican platform insists that you MUST have a child, but once that child is born, you MUST NOT accept any money to take care of him or her. Good luck working any job as a single-mom with a newborn child.
Make Gay Marriage illegal again: Republicans and their president will work to overturn the Supreme Court decision that recently allowed marriage equality in the US. Methods suggested including amending our Constitution to state "Marriage is between one man and one woman" and/or "leaving it up to the states" (which means any state that wished too could completely ignore your legally binding marriage).
Allow governments to actively discriminate against LGBT people: See the dozens of recent state laws, including the North Carolina "Bathroom Bill". The Republican word for this is "religious freedom". What this means is to give people who believe LGBT people are perverse the "freedom" to refuse to serve these people at your business, deny them admission to your business, fire them from their jobs for being LGBT, and even deny them housing (what if the person who owns an apartment complex is against gay people? Kick them out.)
If Republicans succeed in implementing their "religious freedom" bills, they will successfully strip rights away from American citizens who are LGBT. Republicans in the House and Senate, as well as local legislatures, will be free to go as far as they like in denying LGBT rights if Trump is elected, and Trump will not stop them.
Overturn and the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Republicans in the house have already voted to do this over 20 times. Each time, Obama has vetoed the bill. Trump would not veto the bill.
Overturning the Affordable Care Act (which, by the way, has been upheld by the Supreme Court) would strip millions of Americans of the health insurance they have recently acquired since it was enacted, including many people who could not previously get insurance at all due to 'pre-existing' conditions.
Paul Ryan Bonus: Ryan has publicly said that he believes insurers should be able to put anyone with a 'pre-existing' condition in high risk insurance pools (read - super expensive) or deny them healthcare altogether.
Forcibly Round Up and Exile Illegal Immigrants: This includes those who have lived and worked here for over 10 yeras, with no criminal record, and who may also be the parents of children who may themselves be US citizens. That's right, the kids (many of whom may still be children) can stay, but their parents must go. Also, Trump apparently thinks he can make Mexico pay for a wall on our border. Mexico will not do this. Finally, a report released recently suggests that if Trump's plan was successful, he could slice 2% off the US GDP, and estimates of how much it would cost to build the wall make it impossible even if Mexico did pay for it. So there's that.
Do Absolutely Nothing About Climate Change: The official position of the Republican party is that climate change is a "hoax", despite overwhelming, worldwide, and near universal scientific consensus to the contrary. Florida is currently trying to figure out how to prevent itself from going underwater in the next ten years due to rising sea levels, and Florida workers are currently forbidden from using the word "climate change".
The Pentagon and the Navy have both asked to prepare for climate change, and been expressly forbidden to do so by the Republican senate. Should Trump be elected, will will not honor existing climate agreements, and we will do *nothing* to slow or mitigate climate change. This means our children and grandchildren could live in a vastly warmer world, with a shortage of food and resources as well as unrest across the world, and a number of previously livable areas underwater.
This is what the Republican party officially believes we should do about climate change ... take no action.
Disenfranchise Poor and Minority Voters: A number of local legislatures controlled by Republicans are actively working to disenfranchise poor and minority voters by passing bogus "voter ID laws" (obstensively to prevent voter fraud, but actually to make it harder for poor people to vote), closing down polling locations in poor areas, shortening or getting rid of early voting periods (most people who work have to use those to vote, since they can't get off work) and shortening the hours at which you can go to the polls (again, the focus is to make it harder for people who have to work during the day to vote). Under a Republican president, these policies will continue and grow.
So what does Hillary believe, and what is the democrat platform?Now, I could restate the Democratic platform on which Hillary is running in reverse to all I've typed above, but it's simpler to simply state that Hillary Clinton is opposed to ALL of these things. If Clinton is elected president, she will not work to make abortion illegal, will nominate progressive Supreme Court justices, will not make gay marriage illegal, will not endorse and allow discrimination against LGBT people, will not remove the public safety net, will not overturn the Affordable Care Act, will not endorse disenfranchising poor or minority voters, will not ignore climate change (she has stated it is very real and we must act), and will not round up and exile illegal immigrants, even those with jobs and families.
You may be in favor of the rungs of the Republican platform, and the stated policy goals of Donald Trump. If that's true, we respectfully disagree, however, you are at least clear in what you support, and are being honest about what a vote for Trump and the Republican party will do if he is elected.
Your vote is your vote: but you should at least understand what it means.
