Think Bits
I’m quite amazed by the ongoing primaries of the Republican and Democratic parties in the US.
Candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were both leading their respective packs in the Republican and Democrat sides, respectively, with Trump winning six states last Super Tuesday, the same number also won by Clinton.
In the US, the election of the president is done through the electoral college where the candidates need to get the required number of electoral college votes in order to win the presidential election.
What is nice about the US election is the ongoing debates among the presidential candidates. On the Republican side, some political analysts voiced concern that the debates are deteriorating into mudslinging rather than centering on issues.
Apparently there is a move to stop front-runner Donald Trump from winning the Republican Party nomination with Romney attacking Trump as a phony candidate.
Rival Republican candidates Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz were so busy attacking Trump’s integrity and credibility since Trump had a field day insulting the rest of the candidates instead of providing details about his position on some matters.
Some political observers said the recent debate lacked substance and consisted mostly of insults and heated exchanges between Trump, on one hand, and Cruz and Rubio on the other. The two candidates have zeroed in on Trump’s business ventures.
I wish that in our country we could have the kind of debate like those held in the US and intelligent media coverage like that of CNN which isn’t biased for or against certain candidates.
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The Liberal Party campaign sorties in Cebu headed by President Aquino were marred by the defection of local Liberal Party stalwarts who voiced resentment towards the LP leadership for abandoning them in favor of other candidates.
Naga City mayoralty candidate Venci del Mar was especially indignant about the LP’s support of his rival, Alayon party candidate Kristine Chiong.
Talisay City Mayor Johnny V. de los Reyes also lamented the LP’s support of his opponent former Congressman Eddie Gullas even if he stuck it out with the LP since 2010.
I think the defection was expected due to the weird political arrangement of the LP-Cebu chapter with the Alayon party which left their ex-allies out in the cold.
Voters can only shake their heads at the ease with which the LP-Cebu chapter abandoned its former allies in favor of an admittedly bigger party which has the political machinery set up in Cebu’s 1st district.
The national LP should clearly identify who will get their support in the May elections rather than leaving their local allies hanging out to dry.
That they chose to reward loyalty by transferring their support to rivals of their supporters speaks volumes about how they value solidarity and party unity.
If LP standard-bearer Mar Roxas loses in the May elections, he has no one to blame but himself for abandoning JVR and Venci del Mar.
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