Young Democrats should study the candidates

The South Carolina primary is right around the corner and what better time to examine voters’ options. On one side of the aisle, you have at least 5 candidates who would bring solid credentials to the presidency. On the other side, you have a near septuagenarian and one who is halfway to his 80s.

I find this interesting as was not the Democratic Party the party of hip, you know, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, guys that were so cool that water rolled off their backs.

My intent here is to encourage all of you Democratic supporters to do a little homework, especially younger voters who were not around when these two rose through the ranks.

On the one side is Bernie Sanders, who is not even a Democrat; he caucuses with them, but he calls himself an Independent. And I ask why would the Democratic Party not force him to declare himself a Democrat? It could be quite ironic if he were to win the nomination, an avowed socialist leading the Democratic Party.

Now with Hillary Clinton, you have a person with a much-storied history, a person who has said and done what was needed in order to achieve and keep power. For you younger readers, check out how she invested $1,000 in cattle futures and turned that into $100,000, just by reading the Wall Street Journal, if it was so easy. Google Whitewater Hillary Clinton, look into her attacks on Bill’s numerous girlfriends. Not sure how she can square the circle by saying she is a defender of women’s rights when she attacks those that threaten her ambitions.

Do a little research on the Clinton Foundation, a charity that does not even merit a score from Charity Watch, and no, the lack of score is not because they are so great, it has more to do with a lack of transparency. She is on the trail espousing how she will deal with Wall Street, the same people who paid her $225,000 per speech; not sure why she would bite the hand that has fed her.

And on the subject of these speeches, why not release a few of them, show the people that the $225,000 message is very consistent with the message she is laying out on the campaign trail.

Last week, she called in former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and dear old Gloria Steinem, both of whom scolded women who support Bernie Sanders. Madeleine even went as far as suggesting there is a place in hell reserved for ladies who do not support Hillary. I recognize this can be a historic moment, the first woman president, but surely the Democratic Party could have found a better female candidate. Not sure what the party will do if an indictment lands in Hillary’s lap.

The writer lives in Myrtle Beach.

This story was originally published February 15, 2016 at 8:36 AM with the headline "Young Democrats should study the candidates."