The Trust Factor

   I'm not especially proud of this. I've always taken pride in trying to look at both sides of issues and candidates, even when I might disagree. Trump and the rest of the GOP, save a couple of people, have destroyed my confidence in their credibility.
   In the past, I have occasionally chosen a Republican over a Democrat. It has not happened often, but it has happened when I thought the Democratic candidate was so far off base I couldn't vote for them. I've confessed in the past of having voted for Nixon for his first term, believing, erroneously, that he had some solutions for fixing our runaway inflation at the time.
   Except for a couple of people, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, I can no longer believe a damn thing any Republican says. I could ask Liz Cheney or Adam what their position is on a woman's right to choose how her body is used, and while I might disagree with them on this or any issue, I feel confident that I can believe their answer. Not so the rest of the GOP. Staunch anti-abortionists in the GOP are not waffling and giving long speeches with no substance, or simply lying about their stance on a woman's right to choose.
   Our governor's race in Washington State is a great example. The republican candidate, Dave Reichert, says the abortion bans he voted for in Congress are the same as Washington State - not true. The laws in Washington State allow more flexibility based on the medical expert's opinion of the viability of the fetus than the Draconian laws the conservatives tried to pass at the Federal level.
   During their Senate confirmation hearings, justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett M. Kavanaugh lied about their positions on Roe v Wade.

• Gorsuch: "Roe v Wade, decided in 1973, is a precedent of the United States Supreme Court. It has been reaffirmed. So a good judge will consider it as precedent of the United States Supreme Court, worthy [of] treatment [as] precedent, like any other."
• Barret: "Roe is not a super-precedent because calls for its overruling have never ceased, but that doesn't mean that Roe should be overruled."
• Kavanaugh: "As a judge, it is an important precedent of the Supreme Court. By "it" I mean Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey. Been reaffirmed many times. Casey is precedent on precedent."

   Trump and his MAGA-hat-wearing zombies have rendered the Republican Party as wholly unbelievable. Whether dodging answers or outright lying to try to get elected or seeking a lifetime appointment in the judiciary, they have destroyed any trust they might have had with me and, I believe, millions of Americans. They've poisoned the well. From the White House to Dogcatcher, they have infested and infected the GOP with a host of falsehoods, hate, and bigotry.

   At my age, I doubt the GOP can redeem itself in my lifetime, or probably even that of my children. Perhaps, just maybe, they can do so for my grandchildren's generation. Or, possibly, the few Republicans who still have a shred of morality and loyalty to our Constitution can form a new conservative party that is true to the conservative ideas of governance that have nothing to do with their religious views.

   I see nothing wrong with having three parties in our politics. Like many free nations on the planet, the three can each try to win a majority of votes. Failing to do so, they will be forced to form a coalition in government with one or both of the other parties in order to implement their policies. That is the definition of majority rules.

   In 1789, the Constitution made no mention of political parties. Many of the nation’s founders deeply distrusted such partisan groups. Alexander Hamilton called parties “the most fatal disease” of popular governments, while George Washington warned in his farewell address in 1796 that political factions would lead to a “frightful despotism.”

   The two-party system has remained durable through the past two centuries of American history—despite whatever public opinion polls (like this 2022 Pew Research Poll) may say about its popularity.

   One last thought. We could re-engineer our election process to get rid of the electoral college in favor of majority vote, and have public financing of elections to remove the overwhelming power of money and greed to decide who the candidates are and who ends up in power. It's much more complex than that last sentence, but it can be done if we have he right people at the helm.

   And, finally, we need to shorten the campaigns. No candidate should be allowed to begin campaigning more than six months prior to the election. We do not need two years of campaigning (including billions of dollars spent). These people were elected to office to help govern our nation, states, counties, and cities, not to be on the circuit like standup comedians performing for a TV and in-person audiences. They are supposed to be working for the people, not standing at a podium barking like trained seals.