Skip to main content

Party on, Wayne!

Read this article this morning:

 http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/27/opinions/trump-not-causing-gop-exodus-obeidallah/index.html

It's a rather fascinating insight into the dissolution of the Republican Party. Here's a couple of quotes I found particularly interesting:

Trump didn't persuade the GOP base to embrace his extreme and at times bigoted views -- he didn't have to. Those views match up well with what the rank and file of today's Republican Party already believes.
...
Win or lose, Trump will come and go -- but his views truly represent a solid majority of today's Republican Party. The bigger question for Republicans like Rep. Love, Romney, Paulson, and others is: do they try to change the GOP from within or is time for them to find a new political party?

I don't have any idea what I would do if I were a Republican, but I am sure that I would feel increasingly that the Republican Party didn't represent my views. This was a conclusion that I came to a long time ago when I decided that I just couldn't be associated with the kind of stances that I see many Republicans taking on different issues, such as economics/taxation and the way the poor should be treated. The fringe issues of immigration and national security and gun control were not really that big of a deal in my mind, but they have become more important as the years have gone by and my understanding and position has changed. Further, some dear friends have awakened me to the importance of women's rights issues, and I think that there are few issues that are more important.

So the question becomes - how loyal should one be to a particular political party? How closely does a political party reflect my views? I consider myself to be somewhat of a centrist, seeking a rational, measured approach to issues, and I find that in the Democratic Party on most issues that I'm concerned about. But that doesn't mean I can't or don't support a candidate or platform that is outside of the Democratic Party. For example, I'd be in favor of a third party, garnering say 10% of the vote, such that no other party has a clear majority and must work with the others. I think this might go a long way towards mutual understanding and getting things done. But that's not a Democratic Party idea.

In short, I find myself bemused by those who continue to blindly support a particular party at the expense of personally held values. If the Republican Party doesn't represent my views, perhaps it's time to align myself with another party. Or maybe create a new party...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is this thing still on?

 Does anyone even blog anymore? I remember when it first got started and everyone was having a blog. I like writing, and I do a lot of it in my professional life, but not everything makes it onto this blog, which is where a lot of my personal thoughts come out. I put more into Facebook lately, too, because it's a little easier. But there's something to be said for this long-form writing exercise, and I think I will continue here periodically. You don't mind, do you? Well, in my last post I wrote about how difficult things were for me at the time. That changed in July when I finally got a job working for the State of Utah. I was the program manager for the moderate income housing database program, and that meant I worked from home a lot but also went in to Salt Lake when needed, mostly on the train. It was a good experience, for the most part, and I'm grateful for the things I learned even in the short time I was there.  In October I started working for Weber County in t...
1 comment
Read more

The Other Art

I'm not sure we appreciate photography as much as we do other art forms. Part of this comes from the reality that surrounds and permeates a photograph - it's very, very real, and the photographer strives for clarity and crispness in the representations. Perhaps this is why black and white images continue to be relevant - they strip away extraneous information (color) and leave us with something that is at once familiar and also non-existent - for nothing exists in black and white. Nothing. I also think that pictures are becoming too common-place... Everyone has a camera in their pocket, and while that's a very democratic thing (everyone can express themselves in a picture easily and readily, and can find an audience for these images, which are casually taken and casually viewed, and perhaps just as casually forgotten) I think that we embrace that casual attitude, and it spills over to all aspects of the media, making it impotent. So I read this article this morning: h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lucky!

So Tomorrow is Amie's birthday. The 12 th is Andy's. The 14 th is Alex's. And the 26 th is mom's. Happy birthday everyone. I recently found that a member of our ward has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer has a survivability rate of less than 5% and you never, ever kick it, even if you live. Once diagnosed, people are expected to live about six months. My wife and I were talking about this wonderful woman. There are very few (too few) people in this world who shine. Literally. This sister shines with a light that is perceptible and discernible . The world will literally be a darker place without her in it. Life is short, folks. Too short for hard feelings, too short for pain and misunderstanding. I love you all so much. Sorry this one is such a downer... I don't mean to be lugubrious on your birthdays... I consider myself lucky to be your brother. You have and continue to bless me and my family in many ways, for which I will be eternally gra...
4 comments
Read more