South Africa Elections, Who Speaks for the Military, Evan McMullin
Major Shifts in South African Politics Guest: Leslie Hadfield, PhD, Professor of South African Social and Political History at BYU The African National Congress is the political party of Nelson Mandela, the party that led the fight against apartheid twenty years ago and has been in power ever since. But in the last week, the ANC suffered a string of election losses in key South African cities, leading to serious questions about the party’s future. Who Speaks for the Military Guest: Paul McLeary, Pentagon Reporter for “Foreign Policy” Magazine Both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions featured retired military generals offering fiery speeches of endorsement. Lieutenant General Michael Flynn lead the Defense Intelligence Agency endorsing Trump and General John Allen who commanded the war effort in Afghanistan endorsed Clinton. They’re certainly not the first retired generals to voice political opinions, but it’s a controversial move because of the sense that the America’s military is – and should – be above politics. Independent Candidate Evan McMullin Guest: Evan McMullin, Former CIA operative and House Republican Policy Advisory, Independent Candidate for US President Among the things that stand out about this year’s presidential election is the tremendous unpopularity of both major party candidates. Polling averages show 53 percent of Americans dislike Hillary Clinton and 60 percent dislike Donald Trump. Those are historically bad numbers for leading presidential contenders. And they mean that literally millions of voters across the country are torn about what to do in November. There are Green Party or Libertarian candidates to consider. But conservatives seem particularly distraught about their choices. Many have told me they simply won’t vote, or they’ll write someone in as a protest. What should you do in a democracy like ours if you simply don’t like any of your choices on the ballot? Well, Evan McMullin decided to run for the office himself. He’s a former CIA operative and national security advisor to Republicans in Congress. He’s a BYU graduate and a Mormon. In the last week, he launched an independent bid for the White House, even though he’s never held elected office and November is just three months away.