Thanks Heather again for concise, penetrating commentary and insight. Hopefully the dam is going to break at some point and those (somewhat) honest Republicans in office will finally break with the "fringe" that now dominates the remains of the party. In all the polling and statistics, it seems that this country has about 30 some perc…
Thanks Heather again for concise, penetrating commentary and insight. Hopefully the dam is going to break at some point and those (somewhat) honest Republicans in office will finally break with the "fringe" that now dominates the remains of the party. In all the polling and statistics, it seems that this country has about 30 some percent of voters who are aligned with all the Trump et al lies. (A higher percentage of Republicans of course.) The challenge now, is to get a winning majority of the remaining 70 percent of voters to come over the the Truth, Facts, and Science of the Democrat party. How to do seems to me to be the challenging political matter at hand today. What is the way?????? Who shall lead??? That seems to be the great unanswered question. Biden is caught up in dealing with the everyday trying to deliver the goods right now----and succeeding magnificently (look at jobs added, etc.) even though the MSM can't see that. In Addition: For what it is worth, take a look at The American Prospect web and emails that point out the REAL problem behind the bottleneck in trucking and distribution. It is the lack of good, well-paying jobs. The scandal is the fact that so many truckers have been reduced to contractors, unions have been squeezed out, the turnover in truckers is about 94% per year---Get the article and confirm the details and then write letters to newspapers, and all the rest. It isn't the lack of drivers---it is the lack of jobs that pay decently, have benefits, and all the rest. (which was the status of things until trucking was DEREGULATED----end of this rant.) Peace and Courage to all. And sleep well; be ready for tomorrow........
didn't I read somewhere that 40% of the electorate now identify themselves as independent? I'm a proud member of this "non-party". I'd participate in an open primary if there was one available to me; everyone gets to vote and the top two candidates move on to the general election, irrespective of party affiliation.
There will always be lobbyists, and that's not all a bad thing. It's Citizen's (ha) United with no restrictions on money that propelled the destruction of our democracy by corporate thugs.
In 2016 after a lifetime of voting without enrolling in a political party, I found it necessary to enroll as a Democrat, as I finally became conscious of the need to stand strong against autocracy. I regret that it took me that long to see, and to begin to work purposefully to support democracy.
Perhaps I need to shift from Independent to democrat for now, too. When we have time to fight for campaign finance reform, I can go back to Independent. But we need to have huge numbers of dems right now to show the party of sedition that we mean serious business.
NM has closed primaries. I consider myself an Independent, but have maintained registration as a Democrat, because in a heavily Democratic state, that is where the candidates are chosen. Over the years, I have prided myself on voting for the candidates, not the party. For the foreseeable future that has changed and I will not vote for any Republican. No matter what they promise in campaigns, they seem to get sucked into the prevailing party line.
Choosing independent (with a lower case "i" )means one accepts the reality of being an "outsider" to any particular voter block. It also demands more of the voter than the party-line voter. There isn't a lazy "party ticket" recipe for voting. As an independent, one may have conservative and/or liberal views, issue by issue. I find myself fiscally conservative and socially moderate on most issues, understanding also that fiscal conservatism and social moderation have more than one definition. I view the primary season as a means to come to know something about the major party candidates, knowing I'll be confronted with two of them in the general election. Sadly, there hasn't been a third party candidate with a big enough megaphone to catch the public's attention since Ross Perot, although there are axes along which people can align themselves other than conservative/liberal. A balanced budget, for instance, is neither liberal nor conservative in and of itself. Tax policy can be used to unbalance a budget, or cover up profligate spending. So, I'm a spectator for the primaries, a voter for the general election season.
The Biblical directive quoted above; "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, ....and love your neighbor as yourself" can be claimed by persons on all points along the political spectrum. To truly own that commandment speaks far more about an individual's sense of humility than it does about one's politics, more about one's attitude/behavior towards others than one's personal view of the world. It more or less excludes the behavior of an idealogue. Hunger, frailty, danger, disenfranchisement aren't primarily political issues. We certainly politicize them, but one feature of political belief/process is about whether one approaches the debates with an intent to find common ground or to "win" a cage fight. Where is the party that attracts people whose instincts are to find the center, rather than the extremes?
The "fringe" ideas have been strong in the GOP for decades. Trump was only "special" in making it OK for them to say that crap out loud. Go read Richard Hofstadter's "The Pseudo-Conservative Revolt," written back in 1954 - it describes modern "mainstream" Republicans to a "T."
Thanks Heather again for concise, penetrating commentary and insight. Hopefully the dam is going to break at some point and those (somewhat) honest Republicans in office will finally break with the "fringe" that now dominates the remains of the party. In all the polling and statistics, it seems that this country has about 30 some percent of voters who are aligned with all the Trump et al lies. (A higher percentage of Republicans of course.) The challenge now, is to get a winning majority of the remaining 70 percent of voters to come over the the Truth, Facts, and Science of the Democrat party. How to do seems to me to be the challenging political matter at hand today. What is the way?????? Who shall lead??? That seems to be the great unanswered question. Biden is caught up in dealing with the everyday trying to deliver the goods right now----and succeeding magnificently (look at jobs added, etc.) even though the MSM can't see that. In Addition: For what it is worth, take a look at The American Prospect web and emails that point out the REAL problem behind the bottleneck in trucking and distribution. It is the lack of good, well-paying jobs. The scandal is the fact that so many truckers have been reduced to contractors, unions have been squeezed out, the turnover in truckers is about 94% per year---Get the article and confirm the details and then write letters to newspapers, and all the rest. It isn't the lack of drivers---it is the lack of jobs that pay decently, have benefits, and all the rest. (which was the status of things until trucking was DEREGULATED----end of this rant.) Peace and Courage to all. And sleep well; be ready for tomorrow........
didn't I read somewhere that 40% of the electorate now identify themselves as independent? I'm a proud member of this "non-party". I'd participate in an open primary if there was one available to me; everyone gets to vote and the top two candidates move on to the general election, irrespective of party affiliation.
And No corporate money or lobbyists allowed. Down with corporatocracy.
There will always be lobbyists, and that's not all a bad thing. It's Citizen's (ha) United with no restrictions on money that propelled the destruction of our democracy by corporate thugs.
In 2016 after a lifetime of voting without enrolling in a political party, I found it necessary to enroll as a Democrat, as I finally became conscious of the need to stand strong against autocracy. I regret that it took me that long to see, and to begin to work purposefully to support democracy.
Perhaps I need to shift from Independent to democrat for now, too. When we have time to fight for campaign finance reform, I can go back to Independent. But we need to have huge numbers of dems right now to show the party of sedition that we mean serious business.
Yes. I did.
NM has closed primaries. I consider myself an Independent, but have maintained registration as a Democrat, because in a heavily Democratic state, that is where the candidates are chosen. Over the years, I have prided myself on voting for the candidates, not the party. For the foreseeable future that has changed and I will not vote for any Republican. No matter what they promise in campaigns, they seem to get sucked into the prevailing party line.
I am the same.
I'm one
I have been a member of the Independent Party for 35 years. The only member.
Choosing independent (with a lower case "i" )means one accepts the reality of being an "outsider" to any particular voter block. It also demands more of the voter than the party-line voter. There isn't a lazy "party ticket" recipe for voting. As an independent, one may have conservative and/or liberal views, issue by issue. I find myself fiscally conservative and socially moderate on most issues, understanding also that fiscal conservatism and social moderation have more than one definition. I view the primary season as a means to come to know something about the major party candidates, knowing I'll be confronted with two of them in the general election. Sadly, there hasn't been a third party candidate with a big enough megaphone to catch the public's attention since Ross Perot, although there are axes along which people can align themselves other than conservative/liberal. A balanced budget, for instance, is neither liberal nor conservative in and of itself. Tax policy can be used to unbalance a budget, or cover up profligate spending. So, I'm a spectator for the primaries, a voter for the general election season.
The Biblical directive quoted above; "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, ....and love your neighbor as yourself" can be claimed by persons on all points along the political spectrum. To truly own that commandment speaks far more about an individual's sense of humility than it does about one's politics, more about one's attitude/behavior towards others than one's personal view of the world. It more or less excludes the behavior of an idealogue. Hunger, frailty, danger, disenfranchisement aren't primarily political issues. We certainly politicize them, but one feature of political belief/process is about whether one approaches the debates with an intent to find common ground or to "win" a cage fight. Where is the party that attracts people whose instincts are to find the center, rather than the extremes?
Wow. Yes.
Here in NH, there's a law about to be put in place to mandate that anyone who wants to vote in a primary MUST declare party affiliation 120 days before the primary-no declaration-you can't vote in a primary. https://www.ledgertranscript.com/Proposed-legislation-would-close-New-Hampshire-s-primary-elections-to-undeclared-voters-44266835
And that seems very unfair in our system. I want to vote for whom I feel is the best candidate, not party. Ticks me off how we have to be affliated...
It's wrong. The vote should not be revealed.
The "fringe" ideas have been strong in the GOP for decades. Trump was only "special" in making it OK for them to say that crap out loud. Go read Richard Hofstadter's "The Pseudo-Conservative Revolt," written back in 1954 - it describes modern "mainstream" Republicans to a "T."