Top 10 of 2015: Worst political blunders from the top presidential front-runners

Bush+laughs+at+this+article+%28not+really%29.

courtesy of MTC Campus/ Joe Burbank

Bush laughs at this article (not really).

by Garrett Wiehler, Reporter

In 2015 we’ve heard a lot about next year’s election. With the primaries for both parties coming up next year, many family members will be strongly asserting their opinion this holiday season. I’ve compiled a list of the worst things the front-runners have said, so you can quickly rebut your Cruz-loving-uncle or Clinton-supporting-cousin.

10.“I am the only candidate running for president who is not a billionaire.” Bernie Sanders           One of the staples of the Sanders’ campaign is that he does not have a political action committee (or SuperPAC) associated with him. This means that he does not have nearly as much money being funneled into the campaign. Sanders is proud of this and when he claimed he was the only candidate who was not a billionaire running for president he was blatantly lying. The only billionaire running for president is Donald J. Trump. We can easily cite this as an exaggeration, but in a presidential election candidates shouldn’t have the luxury of exaggeration.

9.  “Just chillin’ in Cedar Rapids.” – Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton needs to take a page from her biggest rival, Bernie Sanders, who, unlike other presidential candidates is not trying to act youthful. Young voters don’t like Clinton’s lame attempts to use social media. In fact voters find them much more hilarious than relatable. Hillary’s “Just Chillin in Cedar Rapids,” Vine has become the butt of countless jokes. Perhaps all publicity is good publicity, but Clinton’s attempt at being cool makes her look more like a bad joke than someone we’re ready to elect.

8. “I would have…” Jeb Bush

Jeb! The younger of the Bush brothers has had to deal with George W.’s Iraq blunder throughout Jeb Bush’s campaign. Bush tries to distance himself from “Bush” every chance he gets, but when he misheard a question, he shot his campaign in the foot. He was asked if “Knowing what we know now, would you have invaded Iraq?” He said he would. Any sane person would have known that was the wrong answer. Many agree Iraq has been one of the worst military mistakes since Vietnam and Bush said he would’ve done it again. Mistake or not this was the first nail in Jeb! campaign’s coffin.

7. “My own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids in order to store grain.” Original Quote

7a. “Some people believe in the Bible like I do and don’t find that to be silly at all, and believe that God created the earth and don’t find that to be silly at all,” Carson said. “The secular progressives try to ridicule it every time it comes up and they’re welcome to do that.”Carson defending that quote

That is so unbelievably incorrect. The pyramids were built to house the bodies of the pharaohs. This is factual. In fact, the Egyptians wrote down everything. They had an entire language that we meticulously decoded, and we know that the pyramids were not built by Joseph to store grain. The way Carson says, “Some people believe in the Bible…” makes it sound condescending and gives the whole statement a “holier-than-thou” tone.

6.“And, you know, I want to be clear, because Ted Cruz is a nightmare of a human being. I have plenty of problems with his politics, but truthfully his personality is so awful that 99 percent of why I hate him is just his personality. If he agreed with me on every issue, I would hate him only one percent less.” Craig Mazin on Ted Cruz

Many of Cruz’s colleagues in Congress (on both sides of the aisle) don’t like him, but his ex-roommate, Craig Mazin, hates him. Maybe this isn’t technically a political blunder on Ted Cruz’s part, but this was one of the worst things to happen to his campaign since the beginning. So maybe the political mistake was Cruz’s decision to attend Harvard Law School.

5. “Everything I learned about Iranians, I learned working in the pool room…I met a lot of liars, and I know the Iranians are lying.” —May 22, 2015, speaking at a conference about his job in a pool hall as a young man Lindsey Graham

He dropped out while I was writing this Top 10, and, I guess that was inevitable. While he may have been talking about the Iranian nuclear deal, this quote is still loaded with racism. To group an entire nation of people is plain wrong. Then he says that that everything he knows about said people is from a pool hall.

4. “Just because a couple people on the Supreme Court declare something to be constitutional’ does not make it so.” – Rand Paul

Yes, it does. That’s how it works.

3.“… rape victims should make the best of a bad situation.” Rick Santorum

Sometimes, I just don’t know what to write.

2. ObamaCare is the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery. In a way, it is slavery, because it is making all of us subservient to the government.”  – Ben Carson

Slavery= enslavement of African people.

ObamaCare= controversial affordable healthcare law.

1. The American people. Why are we the biggest political blunder affecting the 2016 presidential election? I think it’s because Donald Trump is still in the race. For some reason enough American voters support him that he is leading in the polls. The guy is a racist, sexist, fear-mongerer. And if he ever reads this article, he will insult me on Twitter. To showcase this man’s insensitivity, I have put seven of the worst things he has said together for your reading enjoyment.

“All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me – consciously or unconsciously.  That’s to be expected.”

“I don’t think Ivanka would do that, although she does have a very nice figure. I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”

“I will build a great wall — and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me —and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great wall, great wall on the Southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for it. Mark my words.”

“…total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”

“… I always insist on being politically correct.”