This pledge can be seen in different perspective through different people. Some Republicans might view this as a good thing because if Trump looses, he cannot run on his own and pull away the voters that would otherwise have voted for the Republican nominee. But on the contrast Trump along with the other GOP candidates have signed the pledge to back up whoever wins the GOP candidacy, meaning, if Ben Carson or Marco Rubio somehow manages to pull the win, the Democrats would be able to bash whichever candidates wins for being affiliated with Donald Trump in terms of the pledge. (Slate)
And why might is seem bad to be affiliated with Donald Trump for some people, you may ask?
Well, In addition to a lot of people thinking of Donald Trump as a racist old white man, there are mainly two arguments Donald Trump has made that I along with quite a few other Americans, find to be so ridiculous that they are actually funny.
First Donald Trump has argued that if he were president he would build a wall across the almost 2000 mile border between US and Mexico. In addition he would deport the 11.3 million illegal immigrants that work in the US at the moment. The reason I find this improbable to be consider and passed is because it would require a tremendous amount of money, time, and most likely military power to carry through. In addition the economy would be hurt, and this is without even mentioning the families that would be torn apart from deporting these immigrants.
Second argument Trump has made which seems ridiculous to me, but a few other GOP candidates agreeing to it in some way, is that if he won the presidency he would push for an of amendment to ban the birthright citizenship section of the fourteenth amendment. This section of the fourteenth amendment gives automatic citizenship to all babies born in US territory regardless if their parents are here legally or not. I myself do not agree with this because, being an immigrant(from Europe) myself, I find it that most immigrants, weather legal or illegal, come here so their kids can have a brighter future. Now in no way am I saying illegal immigration is a good thing and should be rewarded. I still think something has to be done about illegal immigrants coming to the US, but I do think that most people that come here to give birth to their children, do this so their kids can have a brighter future, and if any of us were put in the same situation we would do the same thing. In addition, the fourteenth amendments was put into action, in part, to protect the rights of the immigrants that were coming to the US in the mid to late 1800's. Amending it nowadays would be a bit ironic because you're taking away this right from the immigrants nowadays, that was deemed constitutional to the immigrants in the 1800s.
A few things to think about:
Would building a wall be reasonable for the US to do especially since 40% of immigrants come to the US by plane? Should we invest that much money to build a wall and deport almost 12 million immigrants?
Secondly, should we add an amendment to the constitution that amends part of the fourteenth amendments? Should the rights that immigrants have change over the decades?
Finally, How difficult would it be to try and get the bill passed for a 28th amendment amending part of the 14th amendment? Could it ever happen?
(Be free to comment a response to any of these topics or others you found interesting.)
4 comments:
Thank you Adjon for you post. As you mentioned, the Democrats are capable of "bashing" the winner of the GOP candidacy by his affiliation to Trump, and I believe this has a bigger impact than some may believe. In other words, those who vote for the Republican Party get some connections with Trump, as he would have to support the winner of the GOP candidacy. Do you think that this would prevent people from voting for the Republican Party?
Although it is evident that Trump rose in the GOP polls, I question the justifications of some of his ideas. To reference his immigration policies, I believe that building a wall between the US and Mexico is not only a waste of resources and time, it would also be inefficient. In the 21st century, many can agree that physical barriers are not effective. It is the immigration policies and border controls that are effective; thus, Trump should focus on these. With regards to the addition of another amendment, I believe that the House of Representatives and Senate will not reach a supermajority to propose it. Even logically, one can understand that the United States of America is an entire mixture, or melting pot, of different races of people who have ancestors who immigrated to the country within the last 250 years; thus, banning this foundation of American identity is contradictory to the fundamental beliefs many Americans have. I refuse to believe that a 28th amendment could be passed; however, I am worried about other immigration proposals he might have as president. Do you think that Trump can even be president, despite the fact that he is significantly farther ahead in the polls than Ben Carson? Do you have any suggestions for how to combat Trump's immigration policies or revise them?
When asked about the loyalty pledge that he signed, Trump stated, “I see no circumstances under which I would tear up that pledge.” Although Trump has signed the loyalty pledge that states that he will not run independently if he loses the Republican Party candidacy, I feel that he will have no issue finding a loophole and breaking out of this pledge if he feels it is necessary to do so. Regarding Trump’s views on building a wall to keep out illegal immigrants, I believe it would be both impractical and counterproductive. As Justin stated, it would be wiser and more effective to focus on having efficient border control and policies instead of wasting time and money on a futile method. Also, I believe that we should not add a new amendment that would dramatically change the fourteenth amendment. Trump and other GOP candidates do have a point in addressing the birthright citizenship loophole of “anchor babies,” but changing an amendment to deal with this issue would be quite complex. I do believe that the addition of a 28th amendment that would amend the 14th amendment could be plausible; however, it would take a long time to accomplish.
Justin had a very good question when asking " Do you think that Trump can even be president, despite the fact that he is significantly farther ahead in the polls than Ben Carson?" I think the answer to this question is no, Trump will not be able to win the republican candidacy for president. The reason I believe Ben Carson or whoever runs agains him will win is because the race will be between only them two. So the other 50% of republicans that aren't voting for Trump or Carson but are split among Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush etc. I believe that those people will not vote for Trump so when it comes time for electing I think Trump will only have those 30% of voters that he currently has, while Carson or whoever runs against him will pull in the other republicans that are currently not voting for either of the two candidates that end up going head to head.
As Steven said, many people agree that Trump is an "racist old white man." I believe that Trump's racism is clearly depicted in his proposal to build a wall across the US-Mexico border that Steven mentioned. On his campaign page, he claims that a "nation without borders is not a nation. There must be a wall across the southern border" (https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/immigration-reform). According to this statement, logically, he should also be advocating for a wall across the US-Canada border as well because that is also a border. Although Trump appears to display a concern about the well-being of America, I believe that his concern is much too extreme and situational to be practical if he is elected into office. I agree with Kristina and Justin that a wall is impractical in hindering the flow of illegal immigrants and that if Trump wants to enact a limitation on immigration, he will need to seriously revise his proposal. However, I believe that Trump's immigration proposal reflects a much bigger problem than just concerns with illegal immigration. His proposal reflects the racism that is commonplace across America. Do you think that someone as openly racist as Trump is fit to be president? How would it affect the international image of America? Or, more importantly, nationally, Trump would be seen as a "role model" for a new generation of children, so how do you think that would affect the opinions/views of the next generation?
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