Much to the dismay of many Americans, Donald Trump has been a leading Republican candidate for several months now. However, it appears he may soon be fully surpassed in the polls by underdog Ben Carson. Historically, it has become clear that "America loves an underdog, someone who will shake up the system and prove that family connections, fancy schooling and a famous name don't guarantee a win" (Milligan). With Sanders and Carson as two of the frontrunners, it's clear that this claim is not too far off. However, it leaves room for question: Will America actually vote to put one of these alternative candidates in office?
It seems as though Americans may well be serious about their desires for an unconventional leader. In a recent poll conducted by Quinnipiac University of Iowan Republicans, Carson took the lead, pushing Trump into the second place spot. As a swing state, Iowa will be an essential conquest for any candidate hoping to really solidify their dominance in the polls. One reason why Trump is struggling in Iowa is rooted in the state's religious nature; evangelical voters, who Trump has had a hard time winning over, are among the most politically active in the state (Haberman).
Still, just one poll is not totally indicative of a trend. After all, just over a month ago, Trump was ahead of Carson in the polls by 6%. With Carson now ahead by 8%, who knows what next month could bring? All that we know for sure is that the candidates' respective demographics are fairly different. Donald Trump appeals to Americans who want to vote for "who would be best in handling the economy," while Ben Carson appeals to "those who consider social issues to be the most important issue" (Haberman).
However, for someone who claims to be committed to national social issues, Ben Carson certainly does cause an awful lot of controversy. He recently made a spectacle of himself by making some "unconstitutional comments that a Muslim should not be President" (Blackburn). In a country that values religious freedom, Carson's comments about Islam should absolutely be brought to the forefront. In addition, Carson openly criticized President Obama's current policies, even calling Obamacare the worst thing to happen to America "since slavery" (Bobic). Not to mention the time he compared homosexuality to beastiality and pedophilia! In typical fashion, I digress. I am just interested to see how my classmates react to such a wildly opinionated individual taking the lead in the polls.
I leave you with several questions:
1. Do you think that the American people are serious about voting an underdog into office? This does not need to be about Carson. Sanders, Trump, etc. all apply.
2. Do you feel that making attacks on our current president is a respectful way to assert one's own policies and ideas?
3. Do you think that Trump will come back into the lead? Who else do you predict will rise in the polls coming up?
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/10/22/ben-carson-edges-ahead-of-donald-trump-in-latest-iowa-poll/
Source: http://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2015/08/28/2016-may-be-the-year-of-the-underdog-with-trump-sanders-and-carson
Source: http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/2016-presidential-swing-state-polls/release-detail?ReleaseID=2262
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yasmina-blackburn/he-may-be-a-brain-surgeon_b_8227662.html
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/03/ben-carson-president-2016_n_6481534.html?ir=Politics&utm_campaign=050315&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-politics&utm_content=FullStory&ncid=newsltushpmg00000003
5 comments:
I don’t think the American people are serious about voting an underdog into office. Carson and Sanders have some good ideas, but also bring some controversy to the table. Carson’s comments that a Muslim should not be President and Sander’s democratic socialism have not been widely accepted just yet. There is still one more year until the elections take place and I believe that by then, the population will notice, as they already have begun to notice, that Carson and Trump doesn’t have as much experience in the political field as, say, Bush or O’Malley. I highly doubt that Trump will come back into the lead. People have begun to see that especially during the debates Trump avoids most of the questions, resorts to attacking other candidates, and is quite rash in his manner—he isn’t ready to be the president of the United States. Many, including myself, were relieved that during the Democratic debate, the candidates were sticking to political issues and not attacking one another for an upper hand. For example, Bernie Sanders received a lot of attention that night for backing Clinton when the email scandal was brought up once again. After the debate there was a surge in the popularity of Bernie Sanders. A new CNN/ORC poll released Monday showed that Sanders had the biggest leap among any candidate in the 2016 field. In the poll, Sanders received 29% support nationally, 5% more than a similar CNN poll released a month ago. Though he remains behind Hillary Clinton, his quick increase popularity cannot be ignored.
http://www.businessinsider.com/polls-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-new-hampshire-2015-10
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/10/22/ben-carson-edges-ahead-of-donald-trump-in-latest-iowa-poll/
I believe completely that Americans are ready for, not just an underdog, but someone outside of the establishment who is ready to make significant changes. Whether they will actually be able to change anything or not is up in the air. It is upsetting, personally, to see so many fringe candidates are preferred over more moderate ones. Candidates are more likely to create controversy and say radical anything just to win fringe left or fringe right voters who are passionate primary goers, and then become less radical in the general election. However, with candidates like Carson or Bernie, I don't see their attitudes deviating much between now and next November, for better or for worst. Saying actually racist things about the current president is obviously distasteful and disgraceful, but it is the type of behavior fringe voters love to see. No wonder people like Carson shoot up in the polls, there is no room for a centrist in the primaries. I don't think there is much room for growing in the primary polls. It is unlikely that "Jeb!," the favorite candidate at the beginning of the race, will be able to win the primary. It is also unlikely, much to the dismay of Vermonters everywhere, that Bernie can topple Clinton's enormous lead. But a lot can happen till February, and you never know if Trump just won't be radical enough for republican voters. That would be a pity, I was just starting to get use to him.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/21/politics/democratic-republican-polls-2016-election/
I think that it’s not so much the idea of an underdog as it is the change in ideas and policies that Carson is offering that Trump isn’t. Obviously the American people are serious in the polls, but we know that public opinion polls aren’t always the most accurate but they still provide a fair amount of knowledge and a good representation of what the public’s opinion are on a certain issue. I think that Carson is entitled to his own opinion, however there are other ways to go about stating them. By putting the current President’s policies down, he is accomplishing nothing more than a comparison how much his own policies differ. It isn’t the correct way to go about supporting his policies and ideas but it doesn’t necessary mean it was disrespectful so much as it was a political statement and an entitlement of his opinion. According to the New York Times, Ben Carson has the second place, with 19.2%, in the Iowa polls while Trump is still holding first place at 22.4%. I think that despite the Iowa Polls, nationally Trump is still trumping the polls.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/us/elections/presidential-candidates-dashboard.html
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