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John's avatar

I believe we need to work with Republicans, like Cheney, on the issues we can work with them on. Saving our democracy certainly seems like one of those issues. But, Mary, as you point out there are issues with Republican leadership. VP Cheney was comfortable with the Big Lie about WMD to take us into Iraq. Republicans were okay with Iran-Contragate that created a shadow government. Republicans have been okay with playing parliamentary games to sabotage sharing of governance.

Democrats need to work with Cheney and other Republicans to save our democracy. At the same, those Republicans serious about saving our democracy must face the serious issues they have created in burning trust in our government with their dangerous rhetoric that government is the problem.

Republicans wanting to save our democracy cannot expect to go back to their slash and burn parliamentary gamesmanship that has brought us all to this point. Like others, I hope there are back room discussions taking place among responsible representatives of both parties to meet this crisis of democracy as Americans who care about our democratic project.

It's hard to imagine a more existential crisis than this one.

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Reid (Seattle)'s avatar

And just like Churchill working with Stalin, while it is strategic to ally ourselves with Cheney in these dire times, we must never forget what she stands for. A tiger does not change her stripes and, while she is far preferable to Trump and his minions, that's a damn low bar for her to clear. She is otherwise reprehensible.

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Annette D. (North Carolina)'s avatar

The first place for Republicans to start would be refuting the lies that McTurtle and Ted Cruz said about the For the People Act in the Senate yesterday. Saying that it was the Dems that we’re trying to control elections was a huge lie. Oh, and how about Dr. Fauci having to call out the other ridiculous lie that Rand Paul said about out funding the Wuhan lab? So they have many chances to show that they are willing to save democracy. But I’m not holding my breath.

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Linda Mitchell, KCMO's avatar

Yep--golly gee, Republicans have to grow up and behave like adults instead of 6 year olds trying to slither out of taking ownership of the crap they have caused? Quel horreur.

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Mary Baine Campbell's avatar

Like you I hope the Democrats can find some reasonable Republicans to work with. I don’t happen to think Cheney is one of them.

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Rex Page (Left Coast)'s avatar

All of the Republicans that Democrats can work with call themselves Democrats.

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Liz Ayer, Nyc/MA's avatar

Frankly the pandemic was my biggest existential conundrum—the fact that the political crises merge into one period has and continues to be overwhelming.

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John's avatar

Yes, the pandemic has been especially hard on working families with children. These folks have been placed between a rock and a hard place, many of them having to idle one-half of their working pair to stay home to keep house and rear children I can't imagine a harder situation to be in.

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Liz Ayer, Nyc/MA's avatar

For sure!

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