I have been nauseous all weekend. No, I don’t have the flu or food poisoning but I’m probably developing ulcers between the amount irrational arguments I’ve seen in the past few months and genuine concern for the direction our country is going in regardless of who might be elected.
It’s been a wild 600+ days in politics, especially in the last month, to say the least. Before you go in and vote, here is a brief synopsis of the election in case you’ve been fortunate enough to live under a rock the past year and a half.
Trump calls for a ban of all Muslims into the United States- In December 2015, Trump called for a ban of all Muslims into the United States in wake of terrorist attacks from the radical islamist group, ISIS.
The tax return debacle- Fast forward to May of 2016, Trump refuses to release tax returns and starts calling out other millionaires such as, Warren Buffet. As of November 6, Trump tax returns.
The email saga- Clinton becomes the first secretary of state to use a private email server to conduct business.
Lawsuit city- In early June, it was reported by USA Today that Trump has been in the middle of 3,500 lawsuits.
First female nominee- Days later, it’s announced that Clinton is the first woman to be a major party nominee for president. Alongside this historical feat, Clinton is the first candidate to have stood by her spouse as a chief executive. First Lad, perhaps?
Interview with the FBI- Shortly after becoming the first female nominee, the FBI interviews Clinton about the emails on her private server after the scandal became public in March 2015.
No charges, but careless actions- The FBI finds that Clinton need not face charges, but should not practice this type of carelessness, again.
Re-negotiation of the United States- Trump suggests negotiating down the U.S. debt with the country’s creditors. Shortly thereafter, economists suggested that re-negotiating the debt would pose a threat to investors’ confidence.
Trump accepts the Republican presidential nomination- In late July, the Republican National Convention is underway. Trump officially becomes the republican nominee for president.
Mocking the disabled- right after accepting his nomination from the Republican party, Trump proceeded to mock a disabled reporter who suffers from a congenital joint condition at his South Carolina rally.
Clinton accepts the Democratic nomination- Exactly one week later, Clinton is the first female candidate to accept a major party nomination.
Mocking the mother of a deceased Muslim- American soldier- on the final day of July, Trump mocked the family of Captain Kahn, a deceased U.S. Muslim soldier by mocking Khan’s mother and said that she probably wasn’t allowed to speak.
The first presidential debate and subsequent debates of 2016- Approximately two months later, the first debate is underway tackling topics of racism, sexism, and avoidance of tax returns. Let it be known, that the debates thereafter, addressed the same topics with Trump evading moderator questions and picking fights.
Pence and Kaine square-off- Two weeks later, the vice presidential debate commences and still Trump’s unreleased tax returns are a hot topic.
‘Locker Room Banter’-72-hours down the road, recorded audio tapes are released of Donald Trump bragging about “grabbing women by the pussy” because, “ you can do whatever you want when you’re a celebrity.” This development sparked a conversation about sexual assault and consent while simultaneously resulting in several Republicans pulling their support for the candidate.
FBI probes new investigations into the private server- On October 28, investigations were re-launched into Hillary’s email server amidst investigations into Anthony Weiner’s sexting allegations.
Now, we are just hours from what will prove to be another historic election. Regardless of how small your vote may feel in the grand scheme of things, be sure to gather the most information you can before hitting the voting booths.