I live streamed the latest debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, tweeted a bunch, and followed up with a response to an article I read in the New York Times:
In Democratic Debate, Hillary Clinton Paints Bernie Sanders's Plans as Unrealistic - Amy Chozick and Patrick Healy
My response to this article on Facebook:
"This is a very disappointing article. Yes, Hillary Clinton didn't win New Hampshire, but if you talk about substance rather than flash, at least her answers held some detail in her plans. Bernie Sanders speaks with broad statements and talking points. This is very effective when trying to win over a volume of people with short attention spans. However, Hillary Clinton's responses - while sometimes stilted in delivery - were more detailed and actually told something about her thought process."
As you can imagine, this garnered quite a few responses including +130 likes and +30 comments.
One comment was particularly important, I believe:
"Sorry but, i just looked at your page, and you're Canada (great country by the way)
What's up with all these Canadiens commenting on America's Political Revolution ? I just find it peculiar, because i don't know if they're being sincere in their interest, because some of them are for Bernie and some are HRC.. Is there paid trolls on each side?, or they being sincere in their interest? Like i said, i just find it peculiar is all..Are you sincere in your interest?"
My response:
Yes, I'm a political scientist and writer from Canada - Yes, I'm very sincere when I comment because the relationship between Canada and the US is incredibly important. The US is our largest trade partner [United States: US$363.2 billion (76.8% of total Canadian exports)] and we share the world's longest unprotected border. Whenever we have a disagreement, our lives are effected e.g. Softwood lumber, pipelines, participation in military and peacekeeping efforts. We also work well together e.g. Hurricane Katrina, 1998 Ice Storm. Generally, I don't pay much attention to American elections during the primaries, but in this election, we've already witnessed so much violent rhetoric from Donald Trump and a ton of aggressive comments about Hillary Clinton, that I am paying attention much more than I normally do. During the Barack Obama elections, Americans got swept up in his positive messages and, while I had my doubts, I didn't feel compelled to act because it was at least rhetoric that was going in the right direction - and he has had successes and failures during his terms in office - But Canadians like me are seeing our American friends struggle with racial, censorship, inequality, family planning rights, medical coverage, education, and debt issues that appear to be getting worse instead of better and we are concerned. It's a mix between caring for a friend and self-interest that you'll pull us down with you that compels me to comment since I can't vote in your country. We have Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who is doing his best to help our internal and international trade issues, refugees, and our place on the world stage, and after 100 days in office, there are already changes being made. I look at American news (which is actually easier to get here than some Canadian news since your population is so much larger than ours - 35,985,751 to 322,835,000) I know that whether you elect a Republican or Democrat, we're going to have an interesting next four (or eight) years. My interest is sincere, it is mostly unpartisan, and I am greatly interested in what leader you will choose. It will have a great effect on lives both inside and outside of your country.
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