Insiders Beware

Our political landscape has been shook up this year, make no mistake. Driven by the publics disdain for politics as usual, two candidates are emerging that are making the insiders of the respective parties have to pay attention to them. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. Whether you agree or disagree with them, they have managed to make waves and have us talking points we might not normally be discussing if the field was filled with traditional candidates. Bernie Sanders for example while having been a lifelong politician, is not a traditional insider in that his view are further left than most and he leans, very hard, towards socialism. A fact he does not hide or run away from but is proud of. He doesn't come off as polished and practiced, but rather honest and straight forward. A bit of a fresh air if you ask me in a front runner. He doesn't shy from Clinton's criticism but defends it as strongly as he can without getting dirty. I'm pretty sure the Democratic insiders are scratching their heads trying to figure out how to get their rock star Hillary past this guy. From what I'm seeing online, however, the people are liking Bernie more and more. On the Republican side it's going to be a little more boisterous I think. Multiple candidates are vying for the nomination, with the biggest political outsider in the whole shebang leading right now, Donald Trump. His brash straightforward way of speaking has people both enamored and rankled. He says what many are thinking even if the way he says it is a bit crass. But that's Donald Trump. He's slick in that respect. He might piss you off how he talks about a subject, the wall being one of those subjects, but he gets you talking, and he gets you talking about him and what's going on. He has us all talking about him in one respect or another so say what you want, he has opened dialogue. Let's face it, he has us discussing subjects that need serious addressing. I don't agree with all of his views on how to do things, but I do agree on what he has said about needing to fix these problems. The GOP will never in my opinion, stand by and let the primaries and caucuses play out without some serious maneuvering behind the scenes. They can't, Trump is not beholden to them and a candidate who needs them as little as Trump does is dangerous to them. As with Sanders, Trump doesn't need the large donors or PACs to get to the people. The Republican machine I feel is going to try and rally behind Cruz, not openly at first but as the field thins it will become more apparent. They will do anything to keep Trump off the books. The Democrats will be less forceful but still try and maneuver Hillary into position. You see the two parties are used to placing party before country, a practice I maintain is nearly treason in my book. They have a lot to lose if they have to allow someone who won't bow to them become their candidate for President. Hopefully the people will voice with their votes what I see them voicing everyday and fight the establishment by putting in outsiders. Let!s make this election one for the people. Make 2017 The Year of the Outsider.