The Two Sides of Hillary

by Michael Hellinger

It’s the middle of April and the 2016 Presidential Campaign continues with the primaries. A big worry on many minds is that, for some reason this year, there aren’t any “good, reliable” candidates to choose from, among them Hillary Rodham Clinton.

A little background: Clinton, born on Oct. 26, 1947, in Chicago, was raised along with her two younger brothers by her father and mother, Hugh Ellsworth Rodham and Dorothy Emma Howell.  Clinton’s father managed a successful small textile business and her mother was a homemaker. Clinton was raised in a conservative household. Her mother wanted Hillary to have a small career while her father did not want her to be limited by her gender.

Clinton is a civil rights activist for women. She will draw a majority of female voters looking to have a woman in the oval office who knows what it is like trying to be successful in a society that is more favorable to men.

No denying she has been through quite a lot of stress. With having to deal with all the pain and embarrassment during the scandal in husband Bill’s administration and her previous failure to win the presidential election, it’s a wonder she has the volition to actually win this.

Clinton has a reputation for helping out the impoverished and vulnerable people of this country.  After she graduated from Wellesley College, she went to law school at one of the most prestigious schools in the world, Yale. During her time at Yale, she spent time working at the Yale Child Study center. Even before starting her political career, she showed deep interest and concern for the well being of children. She even took on few cases of child abuse at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

After she graduated from Yale, Clinton could have become a corporate lawyer at some wealthy corporation, but she started off at the Children’s Defense Fund in Cambridge. Clinton has always put forth the well being of others before her own personal gain. On paper Hillary Rodham Clinton seems like a caring candidate that people can trust.

If you look at Clinton’s past, however, she has quite a few indiscretions. For one, she is a liar. One of her most famous lies is that on a trip in Bosnia in 1996 she came under sniper fire. Her claim that this event happened was later found to be false. This claim was clarified by the famous comedian/actor Sinbad, who  was on the trip with Clinton to Bosnia at the time.

How can the American people trust someone who has lied in the past with something so significant as the position of commander-in-chief.

Clinton’s upbringing in a middle-class family that worked hard to make a living and her claims about being a kindred spirit of the modern middle-class people is another attempt to appeal to the American people by stretching the truth. Her lifestyle now is a far cry from middle class; she was married to a previous president of the United States, she flies all around the world in her own personal private jet, she could afford to enroll her daughter in private school, and she makes upward of $200,000 for every speaking event she engages in.

You can make a lot arguments about whether Clinton will make a good president. You could say that she is a committed human civil rights activist who cares about other people more than her own personal advancement or that she is unreliable and we cannot trust her with something as important as leading our country.

In the end Hillary Rodham Clinton is a politician; and something that you can always trust with a politician is that they will say or do anything, just so long as they get to keep their power.

The Storm Crossing America

by Hunter Mulloy

For the past two years our country has been facing a storm that no one has ever seen before: Donald Trump. As President Obama’s last year in office comes to an end, fire has erupted to fill a position that controls a nation. This election will determine which direction this country will go, either towards a Democratic-Socialist government or a strong conservative government. Either way, this country will change, for better or worse.

Before digging too much on the topic, we must first ask ourselves, “Who is Donald Trump?” Trump is a multi-billionaire from New York. He is currently running for the Republican nomination for president. During his campaign, Trump has said several remarks that some have called “racist” and others claim he’s just “saying what’s on his mind.”

Trump has divided the nation, but instead of dividing it between Republicans and Democrats, it’s more between those who are pro-Trump and anti-Trump. Trump has rallied some Republicans and Democrats to his side with speeches about immigration and making America great again, but he has also driven away Republicans and Democrats.

Trinity is a great example of the Trump split. Several well-known Republicans at Trinity have openly stated they are against Trump.  One conservative said, “Here is the problem. He doesn’t say anything, he only says comments. He has no policies, that’s the problem.” She called Trump a “narcissist and a megalomaniac” without any vocabulary to back him up.

Trump has been using a unique style for his campaign. Some call it offensive and others call it not caring what the media thinks.

One person said, “What I don’t like about his campaign is that his demeanor is that of a five-year-old. I also don’t like his campaign because he is insisting people use force.”

She compared Trump to Genghis Khan and Hannibal Lector. When asked if Trump had a chance of winning the nomination, she said, “Sadly, yes. He has positioned himself when the American people are fed up with politics. He has positioned himself when people are angry with people shoving political correctness down their throats. He’s using that to get ahead.” Does he deserve to win? This person said quickly, “Oh, God, no!”

A person who is a Democrat said of Trump’s policies: “I don’t agree with his immigration, trade, and terrorism policies. I don’t like the way he tries to play on people’s fears, the way he prompts violence, and putting groups of people against each other.”

This person compared Trump to Mussolini and George Wallace. Of Trump’s chances of winning, he said, “Unfortunately yes, he does have a chance of winning, but if he does, it would be the greatest mistake we ever make.”

Another anti-Trump person said of the Republican candidate:  “He never says anything about his policies; he only says we are going to win. He never explains it. Trump is a bully; I dislike bullies. Trump is appealing to the things that divide us: our fears, anger, and our prejudices.”

Does Trump have a chance to get the nomination?  He said, “He does have a good chance of winning the nomination, but I also like him to lose the presidency. But unfortunately, yes, he does have a chance at that too.” Should he win? He said, “No! He’s a fascist!”

A junior who is a young Republican claimed to be neutral. Of Trump he said, “He is a businessman, not a politician.” This junior said of Trump’s ideas: “The Wall — it’s just childish and it’s just not meant to be.” Despite this, the junior said, “He’s going to get the nomination because he knows how to get what he wants. If it goes down to Clinton and Trump, I’ll go with Trump, but if it goes down to Bernie (Sanders) and Trump, Bernie is my choice.”

A senior and proud Republican said Trump is “the very definition of an American success.”

This senior likes Trump’s policy on immigration, but he doesn’t like the idea of shipping people back to Mexico unless they committed a violent crime.  A fellow senior described Trump’s approach: “He revolts the common practice of doctoring his beliefs for mass media.”

Comparing Trump to Napoleon Bonaparte, one senior said, “Trump can win this election because he pulls out moderate and working-class Democrats as well as a decent size of independents. I do think the New York billionaire would be a much better choice for president (than Clinton) on several fronts, the main front being economic.”

This reporter’s political view is progressive conservatism. I believe in some reform, but still have a foundation base in conservative ideals such as immigration, foreign policy, free market and no gun-control. For me, Trump is the only one that comes close to the middle. Trump is a citizen politician. He didn’t want to be in politics, but rather he decided to stand up for the people being taken advantage of by radical reform and be their voice. This reporter stands with Trump on his beliefs about immigration and his other policies, except the banning of all Muslims.

Trump should be compared to Bismarck because of their iron fists and patriotism, an element that I find lacking in this country these days. Trump deserves to win because we, as a country, need people like him running this country or we are doomed to fall.

Trinity is a school filled with different opinions, but we don’t let those differences rule our lives and ruin friendships. On the matter of Trump, he really is a storm sweeping across this nation, lighting fires of protest, rallies, debate, and maybe relighting the old flames of patriotism. This really is the year of politics.