On Wednesday, July 10, 2019 at 3:43:38 AM UTC-4, Patrick wrote:
I take it this is you quoting WaPo:
> Amash is a man without a party because a party that embraced his ideas
> cannot win. Whether he loses a reelection bid or runs a quixotic
> presidential campaign, as many expect, on the Libertarian Party
> ticket, he will soon be gone from political life. And the dream of a
> libertarian-dominated Republican Party will go with him.
So, Americans who want neither the Democratic Party's "slouching
towards social democracy" policies nor the Trump-era Republicans'
incoherent mix of personal-rule populism and obeisance to religiously
motivated social "conservatives," both infused with greater and greater
power to the state, and both wedded to continual war in the far corners
of the world, in service to ... just what,exactlty?... must put up with
this false choice between Statism Blue and Statism Red for how long?
Both sides are ready to shred various sections of the constitution as
pleases their core constituencies. The idea that a legislator might
use his own conscience to decide which way he votes, and answer to the
voters of his district is dead, what matters is how loyal he is to
the party caucus, and its leader, or to the occupant of the White House,
if he happens to nominally be a member of the President's party, comes
before anything else? This last is especially alarming in an era when
party identification among the voters is as weak as it has been in a
long time. More voters identify as independent than do with either of
the officially supported parties.
[quote]
Significantly more U.S. adults continued to identify as political
independents (42%) in 2018 than as either Democrats (30%) or Republicans
(26%). At least four in 10 Americans have been political independents in
seven of the past eight years, including a record-high 43% in 2014.
[/quote]
https://news.gallup.com/poll/245801/americans-continue-embrace-political-independence.aspx
Now,those who remain in the 2 parties may be as partisan as they ever
have been, though nobody has been beaten to within an inch of their
life on the floor of one of Congress' chambers, nor fought any duels...
yet!
see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caning_of_Charles_Sumner
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr-Hamilton_Duel
We are envisioning a president who may fight to keep from a
conviction in an impeachment trial, because he needs the
office to shield him from prosecutions and civil actions he may
be exposed to were he to resign. The 2020 Trump election slogan
may not be "he kept us out war," but "help the Prez stay out
of jail!"
Neither side in this mishegas has a clue how to, nor even
any motivation to extricate the country from interminable
military entanglements abroad,or the war on its citizenry
under the flag of "fighting drugs," with its attendant
loss of,not just civil liberties, but the lives of innocent
bystanders, of minor "offenders," and law enforcement
personnel put at risk to effect a Sisyphean task of breaking
the country of a bad habit,using the tactics of occupying
armies. It is madness, but if you are labeled "soft on crime,"
you will lose your seat!
Kudos to Amash and a few Republicans for voting to shame the
President for his imitation of a 19th century Know-Nothing,
yesterday.
--
Kevin R
a.a #2310