[quote]By Prashant Shankar
Online Writer
Photos courtesy of MichaelVadon (Wikipedia) & Jotagueerrepe (Wikipedia)
Graphic by Drew Danko[/quote]

With the 2016 Presidential Primaries beginning Feb. 1, 2016, voters on both sides of the political spectrum are debating over which candidate to elect for their party. But as an avid Sanders supporter, do you know what I’d like to see in the general election?

Trump vs. Sanders.

I’ve probably shocked people of both parties here. “Why would you want that socialist running our economy?” “Why would you want that racist in charge of foreign policy?” But allow me to explain why a Trump-Sanders election would get America active and invigorated in politics again, regardless of political party. Keep in mind I’m not necessarily arguing either would be the most qualified president, but that a Trump-Sanders match-up would get America politically active again.

America likes taking sides on major issues, and Sanders and Trump are polar opposites on nearly every major issue. Bernie Sanders is pro-choice, while Donald Trump is pro-life. Sanders is all for universal health care and expanding Obamacare, while Trump has recently called Obamacare “a catastrophe that must be repealed and replaced.” Sanders is concerned about climate change and wants to expand green energy, while Trump disagrees and wants to prioritize oil energy. Most contrastingly, Trump is renown for being against unregulated immigration from Mexico, while Sanders has wanted to cut down security on the Mexico-United States border. All these opposing views would guide voters to a clear choice, as opposed to voting between two candidates who have either taken unclear stances or refuse to take stances on the important issues facing our country.

But despite all their differences, neither of them are your typical candidate, like a Bush or Clinton, two names you’ve already heard before. Candidates that have been involved in the same old politics for years, whether it comes to flip-flopping on issues, or letting their donors make decisions for them. But Sanders and Trump aren’t like most other candidates. Neither Trump nor Sanders has accepted any money from Super-PACs or large corporations. Both candidates are getting funding either by themselves or small donations, which at least proves they’re not slaves to banks or corporations when it comes to making decisions. Both Trump and Sanders’ followers share the same view: they’re passionate about their candidate, and tired of the same old politicians that never listen to the public.

So both Trump and Sanders supporters are very passionate about their candidate, something most other candidates can’t say. But why does that matter? Because increased interest in a candidate results in higher voter turnout, something America desperately needs. Voter turnout hasn’t topped 60 percent since 1968. According to Pew Research, the United States’ 53.6 percent voter turnout in the 2012 election was lower than every developed country’s most recent election, except Switzerland and Japan. Candidates like Trump and Sanders would likely bring more voters to the polls. Their clear-cut differences in views and attitude would bring voters out of apathy on the major issues, and be encouraged to spark debate on key issues such as Middle-Eastern relations, taxes, abortion, health care, and more.

No matter what your stance on the issues or opinion on the candidates, there’s no denying that Trump and Sanders are passionate about their views and have sparked more debate and activism than any other candidate on either side. And that debate and activism is what matters the most. With more active voters, we could create a Congress that better represents us, and in turn create a country that’s made by the people, for the people.