The duopoly is old, let it die a natural death.

 

As a true pro life believer which means I believe in the sanctity and respect of life from conception to natural death, I feel it is time for the duopoly to pass.

And I know it is hard to determine if I am consistent and probably takes reading ten thousand posts to see any consistencies. I have never said I am against the two party system. I am not. I say the Democrats and Republicans are no longer useful. Their partisanship finger pointing, hate speak towards each other, ineffective public policy that is only good for their partisan echo chambers yet not effective for our country represent some of the examples of why I say both parties are dying and them as the two party system is a failure.

If we create two new parties, that would be great. If we create more, then we create more. I know historically I said we need new parties and probably led people to believe that I wanted more than two. If we create more than two fine, but I am not married to it. I write we need new parties as if addition of two parties is the solution. It might be, but it is not a complete repudiation of a two party system.

The Democrats and Republicans are no longer useful as they stand now. They have overstayed their welcome and their usefulness. They rely on the system they have built to stay in power. Yet it is this same system that is destroying the country. When I originally started thinking about this topic I thought they are a cancer eating at our innards. Unfortunately Joe Biden announced his real cancer this past weekend so I had to sit on my analogy for a moment. And of course we pray for a recovery for the previous President. I really do think cancer is not a natural death because it appears to be caused by agents we create that infect or contaminate our cells.

Yet the Democrats and Republicans are a cancer that eats away at our values, our morals, our ability to thrive as a people in our country. The noise coming out of their mouths is just unholy noise now. It is not productive for anyone.

There are real solutions to our problems. We need to implement them yesterday. Time is running out, but with work we can turn the hourglass over and buy a bit more time or we can rebuild it and allow new sand to enter to increase our lifespan as humans on this planet.

It is up to us. And real change begins with us realizing that certain mechanisms get old, become useless and must be put out to pasture to die and become fertilizer for the new.

The duopoly is old, really old. It is time to move on.

New Podcast live

 My Representative from the House held a phone-in Townhall. This is a clipped and edited version from me. 

Please also read the show notes on Youtube and thanks for listening.

https://youtu.be/9LV5vFQJEG8

Why the two party system works best when treated like the temperature of your shower

 Most people do not turn their shower onto the hottest or coldest possible setting. Some do and they are quite happy. Others may like a hot or cold shower, but they moderate the temperature some. The allow for factors such as how they feel, what the outside temperature may be, if they need to conserve hot water for others.

In our current body politic the two parties only pander to the people who only want the hottest or coldest temperature. The majority of the country doesn’t want these extremes.

It is like the Federal Reserve Bank, sometimes to cool off inflation they raise interest rates. Other times to promote growth they lower rates. They have to adjust the knob of how much water is coming out of the shower to affect the price of goods.

Our system works better when the two parties realize a litany of items effect what is best for the country. One party may need to put more pressure on their legislative agenda because that is what the people need at the moment. Over time though things change so should the turn of the knob to the hotter or colder temperature.

Time, outside influences, internal and external needs affect what needs to be done. This play is why when done right a two party system can be effective. A more conservative party can push for budget restraint, value orientation, or a pro business model if growth is needed. A more liberal party can push the boundaries when the economy is doing well, when people are flush with expansiveness and charity, taking education to the next level. Yet in either case you cannot do both simultaneously because the resources won’t allow it. The times may not allow it.

So the people by choosing which party they want in power for two, four, six or eight years are turning the knob to make the water hotter or colder. This way all the people can take a comfortable shower over time.

If you let the parties become so extreme that they only want the hottest or coldest temperature they leave the vast majority of us out of the shower which hurts all the people. No one group has all the answers, so no one group should have control of the shower knobs.

The two party system fails us when the extremes are in control. Right now the extremes on both sides are in control and you can tell this by the vitriol, denigration, hate aimed at each other. Neither is thinking about the country only what they believe is right. Now they may say all the right words to convince their base they are in the right, but in reality year over year, primary after primary, certain party elites control the system, turning the knob hard in their direction and making the rest of us uncomfortable to be in the shower. This has been going on for so long, no one remembers what a moderate temperature feels like and now the right has turned on the let’s say cold water so hard they are freezing the vast majority of the country out. Add in Trump and his crew are just screwing us royally things are ice cold to this country. We didn’t get here because one party turned the knob all the way, both have, we are here just because one party turned the knob harder and working hard to make sure it cannot be turned back.

We need new parties to fight through the impasse that was created in the past that left us with a completely corrupt regime. And these two new parties will need to fight hard to get control of the temperature again, but definitely worth the fight once our country starts seeing a moderate well oiled knob directing the flow of temperature again to the people of this country. And yes at times it will need to be somewhat warmer or cooler to address the circumstances of the times.

Still no cheers, the times are a killin’ us

The 21st century “Kitchen Cabinet”

 

People may vaguely remember the term kitchen cabinet from history class. It may bring up some discontent among people who remember the Andrew Jackson presidency so they may not view hearing the term as a positive, yet let’s look at a new kitchen cabinet.

As a quick reminder the term came up when Andrew Jackson would sometimes meet with various outside interests to discuss policy. The term is still in use, but for today’s purpose let’s focus on an actual Presidential Cabinet made up of people who handle issues most Americans talk about around the kitchen table.

So many times you hear about the White House hosting meetings and events for investment groups, business leaders, CEOs, bankers, think tanks etc…, yet when does the American family get a seat at the table. Sure all these groups say if we know what is going on we can support better business decisions, growth of the economy, yet these policies still benefit the wealthy more than the American family.

People complain to me about me saying we need new political parties. Depending if they are Democrat or Republican they will tout the successes of their party. What neither side discusses is where they failed or fell flat. And more often than not they fall flat. The same promises are made by each party each election cycle because they never did what they promised in the first place. Sure at times they pass legislation that meets their parties campaign promises, but in reality it only benefits a small group of people. Republicans cut taxes mainly for the wealthy and Democrats pass more and more benefits for the poor. There ends up being a large group in the middle that gets squeezed and I know that is not the first time you have heard that along with feeling it every day.

I now promote a new center right party for this new kitchen cabinet. Lately on social media I still hammer away with the need for new parties, yet I am specifically stating we need a new center right party. You can create a new Democrat Party or remake it and same for the Republicans. Yet if you really want to get something done that benefits the majority of this country especially families, you need someone representing their interests. And since most Americans are generally center to slightly center right in their mindsets, this new party can focus on their needs.

And I know one reason the two parties do not want to hear this is because they know they are campaigning to their bases and extremes in their primaries and a center right party would pull everyone who might vote just in the general election away from them. The more you talk about change they more they dig in and try to prevent another party being successful. It is all about getting re-elected nowadays and not about representing you.

What does a new Kitchen Cabinet look like? Well it would need some people not from Wall Street, not from think tanks, not from either political party to align policy with the needs of most Americans. One great aspect of our Constitutional Republic is supposed to be rule by the majority with minorities protected. Sure an oversimplified statement, yet that is the gist of how our government should operate.

I don’t know if you could just pull a random person from the street to be on the cabinet. There is still need for expertise, yet you probably can find throughout the country well educated people who have a more bedrock understanding of basic household issues starting with healthcare, education, family support, retirement specifically social security and Medicare. Many Democrats will say we already do this and I say then why do we still need major help in these areas? More issues include tax reform and cuts, better 401k rules, small business help, job promotion and Republicans will say we already do these and I say then why is the wealth gap growing and why can’t tax cuts be for the people not the wealthy.

Most economists know, but won’t say in Republican circles that if you strengthen the middle and working class then businesses will do well. Yet they rely on tax cuts and other government incentives (handouts) to increase their profits. That is not strengthening businesses it is only exacerbating the wealth gap divide. If businesses relied on actual commerce to make money they would know to pay their employees, cut less during recessions and other factors that may cut into their profits some, yet would maintain a strong economic outlook going forward. As long as Wall Street calls the shots for businesses then the middle and working class will struggle since Wall Street lobbies for all the government tax cuts and other incentives that only benefit them.

For too long Republicans and Democrats rely on the same mindset and people they always have and act like something is different when the name of the President changes. To effect real change we need a change of people from entirely different groups and organizations than the ones that permeate Washington year after year.

We need a Kitchen Cabinet that understands what people talk about in their kitchens at night.

Happy Easter

 

John 20:1-9

 

Well I was feeling really good after Mass last night, yet I woke up this morning with demons bouncing around my head like bingo balls in the basket waiting to be pulled.

Really trying hard to avoid them so let’s hope they go back to where they came from, yet their madness is making me want to say something snarky.

So it bothers me no end when you hear (and this can be someone from the right or left) “you don’t have to read this or listen to this or see this because I did for you”. Just how clueless pseudo elitist can you be? You think your opinion is so much better than mine. Or that I cannot think for myself? Seriously!

Anyway that has to make the top ten worthless things to say on the internet nowadays.

 

Other than that I hope you have a great Easter and are spending it with family, friends and those you love. Maybe just maybe we should shut down for the week for Passover and Easter. People are smart. They could plan ahead. If we started spending more time with those we love instead of raging on social media and corporations gave up some greed trying to squeeze every last dime out of us we do not have, then maybe we could be great again. And add in taking the day(s) off for Thanksgiving, Yom Kippur, Christmas, Hanukkah, Memorial Day, Independence Day and even Labor Day we might just learn to talk to each other again. Just a friendly thought to promote family values instead of corporate greed in our country again.

And I do hope you find Joy in this Easter Season, we definitely need it.

 

He is Risen.

Discussion with a Democrat leading to what my complaints are about the Republican Party

 

Some background, I have been going back and forth with someone on “X” about the Democratic party among other conversations in our modern world. I try to stay productive in our conversations yet since they go back and forth coherence or a long view can drop by the wayside. I am not going to rehash my current viewpoints on the Democratic party and instead focus on some of my opinions on why the Republican party falls short. I invited the person on “X” to read this for their enjoyment. It is an open invitation.

First I am a conservative and regular readers know I say that often and am probably more conservative than I let on. I am also somewhat pragmatic when it comes to either implementing public policy or even writing it. Most Americans even though my “X”  friend disagrees are center to center right and I will get to that in a moment. And quite frankly centrist public policy in many cases is the better public policy in a Republic such as ours. The goal is to protect along with grow the people and country so that the majority benefits and any minority depending on the policy is still protected. Hence centrist policy helps to achieve a balanced approach to running the country.

I won’t get into all my reasons as to why I see the Republican Party failing us and some of this post will be a brief history. I will not spend too much time on the current version of the Republican Party since anyone outside of it sees what the problem is now.

I am starting with the social conservative aspect which may be a problem since most people struggle with social conservative policy including the Republican party. First I am pro life, but do not under any circumstances confuse me with the debacle of pro life policy coming from the Republican party over the last 40 plus years. You cannot legislate or adjudicate morality. It is a disaster to do such. The best case example is Prohibition. Outlawing anything to do with morality only entrenches people’s hearts in the wrong direction. You have to change a person’s heart for them to understand.

Yet I am pro life and that means from conception to natural death. What does that mean? It means for pragmatic purpose if you believe people should have their babies then you need to believe the family needs to be a primary benefit of public policy. This includes good and affordable healthcare, childcare, strong education for our children (equal opportunity applies also here) and taking care of the elderly yet not prolonging people’s lives artificially. And of course you can probably add more.  And this is where Republicans fail us. They spend inordinate amounts of time screaming about women carrying their children to term, but then turn their heads on the rest. I believe we should have our babies. Republicans with this attitude give too much credence to the left saying they just want to control women’s bodies. There is no desire to control women’s bodies in my mind.  I want babies to be born. Life is precious and way to delicate to treat indiscriminately. And then we need to do everything we can to support life and the quality of life until natural death. And this is where centrist public policy comes into play. Some Democrats say we support helping people, I do not disagree in the mentality just in the application they fail. That is another discussion.

Now for some historical points as to why I think the Republicans fail our country. I became an independent shortly after the 1980 presidential election. This is when I saw the Republican party change from a center right political body to an organization that’s primary concern was big business. And yes the Republicans were supporters of big business before 1980, but it wasn’t the biggest driver of most of their policy. And earlier I mentioned most Americans are centrist to center right. They are now and they were then and Richard Nixon understood this well. At the time the term silent majority best exemplified this point. His whole campaign in 1972 revolved around bringing the silent majority to the forefront. And he succeeded beyond belief as he had one of the biggest landslide victories in American political history.

On a side note, my Father was super liberal and actually worked on the McGovern campaign. I considered myself a liberal in my teens. I changed for a variety of reasons in college and yet again a story for another day. Still though I have quite a bit of respect for Jimmy Carter, probably way more than most Republicans. He was anomaly though.

So what happened between 1974 and 1980. Some say the Goldwater wing of the Republican Party came to the forefront since Reagan was originally a Goldwater Republican, but it was more than that. Reagan won in another landslide and the circumstances at the time had more to do with his victory. Reagan then took the party in a new direction and this is where I drop off as being a Republican. A friend of mine in college and I use to argue relentlessly about what it meant to be a conservative. He was a diehard Reagan Republican, while I took a more populist approach.

I saw too much emphasis on big business. I abhorred the tax cuts for the rich (trickle down economics) and saw it as a takeaway from the working and middle class that would hurt them in the long run. And yes I am not speaking in hindsight, they worried me from the get go.  Then along came Grover Norquist with his demand that all Republicans sign onto his tax cut pledges. I felt even at the time the balance of power was being handed to multi national corporations to the detriment of everyone else. And this Republican mindset then was used to justify some pretty horrendous policy and actions by the Republican party ever since.

Add in people like Newt Gingrich and Fox News and the leadership of the Republican party had started their march to the current power grab by Trump. They probably never wanted Trump when they originally started their march. I feel like they would have preferred someone less bombastic and a bit more rational, but they set it up for him and now we, the people, are being served crap on a cracker to quote Penny because they still want their power grab, but can’t put the Trump genie back in the bottle to preserve some rational aspects of this country.

There is MAGA and there are the remnants of Reagan Republicanism both fighting for control of the party, neither though has the best interests of the working and middle class.

So what are the similarities that I say are conservative to the Republican party. This is where I say they give lip service, but have never truly implemented real conservative policy. First I do want less government, but since one of government’s roles is to protect the people we have to accept it as a necessary evil if we want to survive or thrive as a Republic, a people and body politic. And yes that means we do need to spend money on national defense, but also more. The alliances Trump is throwing out with the bath water are important. National defense is never just a country trying to survive by itself. That is self destructive. Alliances, trade, common morality all matter in dealing with other countries. You develop those over time and they are just as important to national defense as your military. Actually you spend less on national defense if you have strong alliances, not that we spend less. We could spend less if we did it right.

And protecting it’s citizens economically is another role of government. And this is where I go off a cliff screaming about how the Republican Party has failed us. Supporting billionaires and multi national companies over the populace is not conservative policy, it is supporting billionaires and multi national companies, nothing more. You can word smith with the verbiage all you want, but it is not conservative policy. If you believe the root word of conservatism is to conserve then conserving the values and livelihood of the populace is what you need to do first. Or how can you say you are a conservative?

I have written massive amounts of public policy ideas over the last fifteen years in this blog so I won’t rehash at this moment.

The goal of this post was to give you an idea of why I feel the Republican Party has failed us and I am just touching on it today.  

I probably need to break down the this versus that aspect of certain policies to give you a better perspective, but that is some weeds to dig through and this post is long enough. Again if you want to cherry pick some of my posts to argue against me fine, but remember there are fifteen years so somewhere down the line I probably already addressed your thoughts.

Well I never use Substack, but adding this so if you are reading this on Substack you will need to go to blogger to find the rest of this blog.

Cheers

Our turn to “flood the zone”

It is Saturday and there are nation wide protests scheduled, yet this will be a news item and nothing more. The Trump administration will tout this as radical left whatevers to try and lessen the news impact for their base.  Sure some will pay attention, but Monday is still going to come.

If you think this will help the Democrats win the mid terms then that might happen but if the market is coming back and people have gotten use to the inflation these tariffs have caused that will be a larger hill to climb in November than people realize right now.

And more importantly we cannot wait a year and a half to fix the damage both economically and alliance wise this disaster Trump created. We need change now. I know I acted a bit optimistic that the economy may settle down some by 2026 , yet that is a warning more than a prediction. Things could also could sour and south fast right now and then 2026 may be too late.

We need to take action now. And again the demonstrations today will make some news, but the only way to change course is to get the Republican Congress to change course.

And this means you need to write your Representative and or Senator now, daily, hourly, start at dawn and write once a hour until dusk. Call them, write them email them just flood their lives with how you feel, what you need and why this is a disaster. It is only until the Republican Congress feels the heat that is stronger than Trump’s bullying them with his base will we get change right now.

Tell them about the tariffs, cuts to programs we need, protect and improve Social Security, Medicare, cutting taxes for the middle and working class not the rich, better education. Tell them you matter. Tell them to call our allies that do not trust us anymore and assure them we are working on it. Flood them with your concerns.

The concern is it will get worse, it may not, but we cannot count on that. We need to take true action now. And that action is telling the Republican Congress how we feel daily. Make them feel the heat that you are about to feel in your daily lives.

You can go to the websites for the House and the Senate

Find Your Representative | house.gov

U.S. Senate: Contacting the Senate

 and search for your Representative and Senator and get their information. I already looked mine up. She has it set up to sign up for her email to contact her, so be it. She will get more emails from me than I from her.

FLOOD THEIR ZONE