Saturday’s caucuses and primaries likely signaled the end of Marco Rubio and John Kasich as legitimate contenders for the Republican presidential nomination. It appears that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz will ‘fight it out’ over the next several months.

So, what is the Republican Party left with?

Neither man is a true Republican. Both are without principles and lack the ideals of former GOP leaders.

I don’t know what label we could attach to Trump. He is racist, bigoted, and a misogynist. Policies proposed by Trump do not fit into any particular political philosophy. He openly states that he will work across the aisle with Democrats, although he continues to belittle every accomplishment of President Obama. Trump says that he has ‘big plans,’ but hasn’t revealed how he would accomplish those proposals.

Cruz is about as far from a true Republican as any man could get. He is not even a conservative; he is so extreme that he has become a reactionary. He openly admits that he would repeal and destroy all gains made for the working class in the last 60 years.

The truth is, Cruz has no idea about what he is doing. A classic example was at a town hall meeting in Iowa when one man listened to Cruz claim that he would repeal “Obamacare.” After his speech ended, he asked the presidential wannabee ‘what would he replace it with?’ Cruz had no answer; he simply left the room.

Cruz has two goals; pass legislation to help the one-percent increase their profits, and make Christianity our national religion, although the Constitution directly forbids it.

What began last summer is a big joke is no longer funny. Republican voters are being forced to choose between two candidates who have no morals, and no interest in improving the lives of the majority.

Under either man, the middle class would continue to shrink; income inequality and therefore poverty would increase. Millions of Americans would once again be without healthcare, but why should Trump or Cruz be concerned? Trump is wealthy, and Cruz has the best healthcare possible thanks to taxpayers.

The blame rests squarely on the shoulders of Republican voters. They blindly elected men and women who had an “R” next to their names and never questioned their qualifications and intentions once they were in office. Supporting TEA Party extremism resulted in gridlock; our government is broken.

Sadly, many Republicans have already promised to vote for the party’s nominee, regardless of who that might be. Even John McCain, who has denounced Trump frequently, says that he would vote for him if he was the Republican offering. What happened to “Country First?”

This election year is proof that political parties destroy government. We should be electing the best candidate and ignore the letter next to his or her name. Independents should control the outcome of elections; not the parties.

The hypocrisy is sad, and no longer laughable. Neither Trump nor Cruz is a Republican, but one of them will likely be running for the presidency under that banner.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

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