Kentucky's 2015 Gubernatorial Race: A Preview of Next Year's Presidential Race?

Kentucky’s 2015 Gubernatorial Race: A Preview of Next Year’s Presidential Race?  In November, Kentucky elected a surprise candidate as their next Governor.  Kentucky Democrats did not like him.  Many, many Kentucky Republicans (especially Mitch McConnell) did not like him.  And yet, Matt Bevin won a fairly comfortable contest over a very flawed Democrat opponent.  Leading up to the election, many of the Kentucky voters that I know and speak with on a regular basis expressed strong distaste for the candidates from both parties.  Even the Republican’s celebration over the win (grossly mispredicted by the state’s largest newspaper, The Curious Journal) was strangely subdued.  I do believe they realize that they now have won a prize whose value is rather dubious.  Is it possible that America is stumbling towards a similar predicament with next year’s Presidential race?

Trump seems to have exceeded the shelf life predicted for him by many self-proclaimed professional political prognosticators (say THAT real fast three times!)  Although the race for the Republican nomination is far from over, it is perilous for Trump’s detractors to dismiss him so easily.  If nothing else, he has proven to possess a resilience, powered by constant media attention, that has surprised…no, SHOCKED… the overwhelming majority of the nation’s political pundits.  On the other side of the political aisle, Hillary and her minions have effectively co-opted the National Democratic Party apparatus and are steadily proceeding towards her coronation as their nominee.  So…what exactly do we have here?

By any objective analysis, Trump is a loud-mouthed, mean-spirited, deviously calculating bully who has blustered his way into a strong lead for the Republican nomination by effectively targeting his amateurish and irresponsible rhetoric towards certain Republican voters.  His essence elicits either blind support or blind hatred from Republicans.  His nomination would undoubtedly split the party and result in many Republican voters staying at home on Election Day next November.  Democrats in leadership positions are absolutely giddy when they consider the prospect of competing against the Donald.  Unfortunately for them, their candidate is not really primed to take full measure of the advantages Trump might present to the Democrats.  Hillary is a proven liar with the personality of a door knob.  She is an unprincipled and ineffective orator who will say anything to anybody at any time (and in any dialect) in an attempt to curry support.  The overwhelming majority of Republicans and Independents recognize her for the dishonest, corrupt, professional politician that she is and a surprising number of Democrats see her the same way…while all the while supporting her with their checkbooks, rhetoric, and print.  It is hard to see how any candidate whose credibility and honesty is so poorly viewed, in such a settled fashion, by such a large number of American voters, could possibly run a successful presidential campaign.  But then again, there is the prospect that Trump will be her opponent.

I can think of no greater belated Christmas gift for the media mob than a Trump v. Clinton Presidential contest next year.  When considering this possibility, I have seen several of them go over the top with excitement.  And to those who can somehow perversely enjoy our nation’s political process, I can easily see how this potential match-up would be entertainment of the highest order.  Unfortunately, for those of us who do NOT see our presidential selection method as a well-oiled and finely tuned machine and do NOT make our livings hanging on every bit of drivel that emanates from the mouths of candidates; such a match-up would be depressing beyond description.  And, on the heels of Obama’s eight years of wandering in the wilderness, it would be a cause for absolute and total despair.  For those of us lucky (or unlucky?) enough to hang our hats in Kentucky, it would be two Novembers in a row where we go the polls and select the lesser of two evils to reward with our vote.  It would be the second time in a year’s span when we hold our nose to perform our civic duty.  It would be a clear indictment of the utter failure perpetrated on this nation by our two major political parties.  And it would throw the future of this nation into a realm of uncertainty that has not been conceived of in my lifetime.