There are an increasing number of people who are unhappy with both parties. I would be in that number. Amnesty for illegal aliens is merely one of several issues that has separated me from the Republican Party in the last few years. The Democrat Party's support of gun bans, unions, public sector unions, and nationalizing the health care system put them far beyond the pale. Both parties are corrupt and lean toward the fascist economic model.
Nobody is perfect. I loved Ronald Reagan, but he wasn't perfect. I guess it goes the other way, too. I detest Bill Clinton, but, compared to Obama, the worthless, lying, gun-grabbing, philandering SOB wasn't so bad.
The real difference between me and so much of my cohort from the '60s is that I have never had and have not now any use for authority beyond God and my parents. Period. No king but King Jesus. Unfortunately, we seem to have reached a point where most people are only unhappy with authority they do not control. They are fine with totalitarianism so long as it favors them and crushes the opposition.
Republican voters -- me included, to my shame -- supported Bush despite Medicare Part D, No Child Left Behind, his push for amnesty, the Patriot Act, and the Department of
I have awakened. Possibly other people are starting to. From the BI article linked above:
Republicans need to gain a net of six seats to win a majority in the Senate. They are also hoping to widen their advantage in the House. Though the pair of polls spelled bad news for the Democrats, the WSJ/NBC News pollsters noted a strong chance of "unexpected results" due to an unusually "volatile environment" created by military operations against the jihadist group Islamic State, the ebola epidemic, voter discontent, and signs of unusually high support for third party candidates.
(Link from original)
This might be a sign that neither party has much to offer that we really want. I rather hope that people are starting to lose confidence in the current two-party political system and in the whole idea that we should invest the federal government with unlimited power to control our lives.
There is a certain amount of insecurity in liberty. You can fail. Things can go wrong. It's not always fair. But it's a lot more fun.
Yep. I'm with you on my distancing myself from the Republicans. I'll vote for my congressman since he has shown himself to be very conservative. For Senate? Ed Gellespie? Former RNC head and Bush Staffer? I may vote for the Libertarian, even though he is not somebody I particularly like, to send a strong message -as they say.
ReplyDeleteFeels good to sit this election cycle out -as in not work for the party. I'll still vote.
I'll be the same way in 2016 when it will most likely be Blunt versus Nixon. I can't stand Nixon, but he not much more of an establishment, big-government jackass than Blunt is. I may break down in the end, but, right now, Libertarian sounds best.
ReplyDeleteHere in NZ a decade or more ago we moved from what was essentially a two party system such as you have in the USA to proportional representation. It is designed to create more 'representative' parliaments / Governments, and while it has to some extent, notably with the inclusion of the Greens (in opposition) and a minor libertarian party ACT on the right, not much has really changed.
DeleteI have supported ACT because like the Republicans, our National Party has forgotten it once had a philosophical base, and has become the party of pragmatism. All of those nanny state programs they railed against while (briefly) in opposition, they kept and fostered the moment they became Government again.
The problem IMHO is not the electoral process, or politics per say, it’s culture. As Mark Steyn has correctly opined, “Culture trumps politics every time”. We will therefore not see any significant change politically, until we see a change culturally in our nations. I might add, for better or worse.
True that. That's why I'm getting less worked up over politics than I used to. I thought I could change things politically but, as you said, it's the culture that needs changing.
DeleteI'm not sure I can do much about that.
That puts me at what, Stage 5? Acceptance?
Hi John
DeleteDid you know in its short life, a honey bee makes one teaspoon full of honey?
I think if we run with what God has placed in our hand to do, then we can leave the rest to Him.
A teaspoon full of honey. Perspective is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteOoops, seems I was wrong. A friend had told me 'one teaspoon' and reflecting on it I decided to check - the correct answer is between 1/10th and 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey. :-)
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