Con man. Tough guy. Embarrassment. Lightweight. Words such as these are far more likely to be heard in the political arena this year than, imagine this, words of policy.

In what has become a disgraceful election, this year’s race made a mockery of the bid for the Republican Nomination. Instead of debating issues that are of substantial importance, issues of tan-lines and reporters’ menstrual cycles are deemed to be of greater importance than actual policy issues.

Before he later dropped out of the race, Marco Rubio (though no longer a candidate, his remarks reflect the persisting spirit of the election), decided to comment about the size of Trump’s hands instead of actual policy issues, saying, “You know what they say about men with small hands.” Trump then responded by assuring the world that there was no problem with the size of his hands, or anything else. Clearly, the candidates have made a joke of this process with their immature words.

Besides the personal insults shouted at debates, hatred and disgust of the Democratic party has also been a focal point. Each candidate, particularly Ted Cruz, has taken every opportunity possible to bash President Obama and any other Democrat in or out of office. We get it, Republicans hate Democrats and want to see them out of office. We can all agree that we are well informed on this point. However, this should not be the basis of practically every Republican debate.

The one exception to this shenanigan of a season called the Republican Nominating Contest is current Ohio governor John Kasich. Though he has of course pulled out a few personal digs towards the other candidates, I have been impressed by his attempt to largely stick to the facts and issues of policy. He has been a refreshing change of pace from the playground name calling that are the Republican debates. Unfortunately, his campaign has not resonated with voters, and so although he remains in the race, he is no longer a viable candidate.

As a newly registered voter, leaning Republican, I am disappointed to say that this election has made it very difficult to have confidence in any candidate that I believe will reflect my policy and moral ideals. With the candidates acting like children, I have a hard time believing any of them are fit to act as our next commander in chief.

Our country is built upon the belief that voters should have the opportunity to hear from each candidate about policy positions and make a vote based off this. With the focus on name calling and insults in this year’s election, however, I see no way in which any voter can cast a vote that they feel truly good about. Our supposed next leaders need to push their pride aside, and should know better than to do this disservice to our country.

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