Last night was the New Hampshire primary, and I can’t help but feel all political ‘n shi* today. So here are some thoughts on this election year…

====

Can people stop trying to determine who is electable?

It’s like not going to eat at a restaurant that you love because you don’t think “the masses” will like it, so it’s probably doomed to go out of business.

If you love it, eat there. Eat there often. And tell everyone you know to eat there, as well. Bring people along. Pay for dinner. Have a party there. Support things that you love and be vocal about them. That’s how you keep them alive.

I simply don’t understand why people say “we shouldn’t support this or that candidate because they just can’t win a general election.” It’s the near definition of a self-fulfilling prophecy there is.

Here I am, regularly telling my daughter that if she says she “can’t” do something, she’ll nearly always be right. That she’s undercutting herself before she even begins and nearly ensuring the outcome.

And yet, here are adults all over this country – supporters of every candidate – determining that they’re going to only support they person they’re guessing is “most likely” to win. It’s gambling. They’re just trying to guess human behavior.

I’ll tell you who’s most likely to win an election. It’s the person who gets the most votes. And the person with the most votes is going to be the person the most people rallied behind and told their friends about and supported. It’s human nature to be more likely to support something that you see others supporting. Anyone can win if their supporters are vocal and let others know it’s OK to support that candidate.

Not supporting or voting for a candidate because you’ve determined they can’t win a general election is absolutely foolish. Every one of the candidates in either race can win the general election if people vocally support them. To suggest otherwise – especially about the candidate you support the most – is shooting yourself in the foot.

====

I listened to some of Bernie Sanders’ victory speech last night. In the segment I saw, he repeated his call for a $15 minimum wage. Here’s the question his supporters should be asking:

If a $15/hour minimum wage will put more money in more people’s pockets, why not a $100/hour minimum wage? Or a $200/hour minimum wage? Then minimum wage workers would catch up with rich people even faster, right?

I don’t think he’s ambitious enough. We can solve poverty by making minimum wage $400/hour. Let’s do it. If only a candidate would have the courage to say so.

I was going to stop the post there, but in case my point is lost, let me just ask that people go through the exercise of determining how businesses would react to a $100/hour minimum wage.

Most couldn’t afford it and would go out of business. And that would mean fewer jobs and more unemployed people. It would also mean higher prices from the products and services  that did stick around, because they’d have to charge enough money to be able to pay their workforce.

Put another way, if you were running a business, and someone determined you had to pay a minimum of $100/hour, what would you do?

This is easy economics.

====

Regardless of your politics – whether you’re a liberal or conservative – I can’t understand why people would support Hillary Clinton. The Clintons have spent more than two decades giving us all the finger, thinking we’re all stupid.

Even if Hillary’s policies were the exact right ones for the country, I just can’t stand being taken for granted.

And speaking of being taken for granted, Trump’s comment that he could “shoot someone on 5th Avenue,” and his supporters would still vote for him, is a great illustration. Were I a Trump supporter, that he said that would make me think twice about ever supporting him again.