In the 1930s Will Rogers was famously quoted as saying, “I am not a member of any organized party—I am a Democrat.”
Now, almost 90 years later, the quote remains apt.
Except now the consequences of incompetence are a threat to our way of life.
We have as president a man whose life ethic is win at any cost with no respect and perhaps no knowledge of the great principles that have sustained our nation for close to 250 years. His administration has ridiculed science, childishly mocked opposing views, and stoked the festering hatred that has been lying dormant in so many of our citizens.
During past periods of concern for our country, I have always held the belief that we were ingenious enough, we were smart enough, and we were decent enough to right the ship. I’m not sure I maintain such beliefs. There used to be a time when men and women of both parties had integrity. The current Republican legislative makeup lacks this integrity as it adopts an agenda that is restrictive, cruel, and cowardly.
I normally tell myself to decide who to support at the polls by determining their views on the issues of interest to me: immigration, education, world affairs, transportation or any of the myriad other problems we face.
But, for the survival of our nation, in this coming election there is only a single issue: removing Donald Trump from office. Because giving him and his sycophants another four years will erode our democracy/republic to a depth from which it might never rise.
The only way to do this is for the Democrats to get their act together and I don’t see that happening. I’m reminded of another Will Rogers quote: “You’ve got to be an optimist to be a Democrat, and you’ve got to be a humorist to stay one.”
Well, I’m no humorist. Here are a few of the things I want in order to keep the Democrats from working to lose the next election.
Over 20 individuals have declared they are a candidate for president. This is a recipe for disaster. It’s what happened to the Republicans in 2016. For the longest of times, through many primaries, Trump received substantially fewer than a majority of the votes. However, usually he received more votes than anyone else so he claimed that state’s prize and began to make people think he might win. Unfortunately, he, probably the worst of all the candidates, did. I fear some minor star might do the same thing for the Democrats. But I don’t think that would be a winning choice. What I want is for the candidates to get together, forget their egos (fat chance) and find the perfect candidate, not necessarily from their group, one who is young, charismatic, competent, smart, able to handle the nastiness, has no baggage, and has the best chance to win.
I want every Democrat and every person of good heart who is disgusted by the current situation to vow they will vote for the Democratic candidate, even if he or she does not best represent the voter’s views. I’m tired of Ralph Nader pulling people from a Democratic win; the same for Jill Stein. This is one election where we can’t afford to be petty.
I want the party platform to represent views that will appeal to the most people, even if some worthy ideas such as Medicare For All and the Green New Deal aren’t included. Remember, the only important thing to do this election is win.
I want Congress to think before every investigation of Trump and determine if the effort is going to help defeat him or if it is going to backfire on the Democrats. This is especially true for impeachment which has zero chance of success and will have a devastating negative kickback at the polls. People want leaders, not whiners.
I want us to encourage contacts with Republicans. Many are fine people who are as disgusted with Trump as we are. They may not agree with us on all matters of policy. On the other hand, everything we state as our belief is not necessarily correct. We have to be willing to have honest civil discussions about issues and recognize opposing views are worthy of consideration. Then we can encourage our Republican acquaintances to vote, if not for our candidate per se, at least against Trump which is, of course, the same thing.
If the Democrats don’t get smart, we can kiss our country goodbye.
Remember, there is ONE issue and ONE issue only in 2020.
Now, almost 90 years later, the quote remains apt.
Except now the consequences of incompetence are a threat to our way of life.
We have as president a man whose life ethic is win at any cost with no respect and perhaps no knowledge of the great principles that have sustained our nation for close to 250 years. His administration has ridiculed science, childishly mocked opposing views, and stoked the festering hatred that has been lying dormant in so many of our citizens.
During past periods of concern for our country, I have always held the belief that we were ingenious enough, we were smart enough, and we were decent enough to right the ship. I’m not sure I maintain such beliefs. There used to be a time when men and women of both parties had integrity. The current Republican legislative makeup lacks this integrity as it adopts an agenda that is restrictive, cruel, and cowardly.
I normally tell myself to decide who to support at the polls by determining their views on the issues of interest to me: immigration, education, world affairs, transportation or any of the myriad other problems we face.
But, for the survival of our nation, in this coming election there is only a single issue: removing Donald Trump from office. Because giving him and his sycophants another four years will erode our democracy/republic to a depth from which it might never rise.
The only way to do this is for the Democrats to get their act together and I don’t see that happening. I’m reminded of another Will Rogers quote: “You’ve got to be an optimist to be a Democrat, and you’ve got to be a humorist to stay one.”
Well, I’m no humorist. Here are a few of the things I want in order to keep the Democrats from working to lose the next election.
Over 20 individuals have declared they are a candidate for president. This is a recipe for disaster. It’s what happened to the Republicans in 2016. For the longest of times, through many primaries, Trump received substantially fewer than a majority of the votes. However, usually he received more votes than anyone else so he claimed that state’s prize and began to make people think he might win. Unfortunately, he, probably the worst of all the candidates, did. I fear some minor star might do the same thing for the Democrats. But I don’t think that would be a winning choice. What I want is for the candidates to get together, forget their egos (fat chance) and find the perfect candidate, not necessarily from their group, one who is young, charismatic, competent, smart, able to handle the nastiness, has no baggage, and has the best chance to win.
I want every Democrat and every person of good heart who is disgusted by the current situation to vow they will vote for the Democratic candidate, even if he or she does not best represent the voter’s views. I’m tired of Ralph Nader pulling people from a Democratic win; the same for Jill Stein. This is one election where we can’t afford to be petty.
I want the party platform to represent views that will appeal to the most people, even if some worthy ideas such as Medicare For All and the Green New Deal aren’t included. Remember, the only important thing to do this election is win.
I want Congress to think before every investigation of Trump and determine if the effort is going to help defeat him or if it is going to backfire on the Democrats. This is especially true for impeachment which has zero chance of success and will have a devastating negative kickback at the polls. People want leaders, not whiners.
I want us to encourage contacts with Republicans. Many are fine people who are as disgusted with Trump as we are. They may not agree with us on all matters of policy. On the other hand, everything we state as our belief is not necessarily correct. We have to be willing to have honest civil discussions about issues and recognize opposing views are worthy of consideration. Then we can encourage our Republican acquaintances to vote, if not for our candidate per se, at least against Trump which is, of course, the same thing.
If the Democrats don’t get smart, we can kiss our country goodbye.
Remember, there is ONE issue and ONE issue only in 2020.
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