After four years of extreme polarization and chaos, it's time to turn the page! We've had four years of bullying friends and opponents. We've had four years of a relentless effort to erase the entire legacy of President Obama. We've had four years of working to undermine democratic institutions and sustained attacks on a free press. We've had four years of a foreign policy that has sought to ridicule and harangue longtime allies and embrace strongmen and dictators around the world. We've had four years of stoking/inflaming long simmering racial tensions. We've had four years of governing exclusively for the benefit of RED states and actively pursuing policies to hurt BLUE states. And, finally, we have had ten months of trying to spin a deadly pandemic, and a stubborn refusal to fundamentally address either the health or economic issues which it has generated.
That America is NOT in a good place right now should be self-evident to everyone. I've heard it said that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome is the definition of insanity. How do we get out of this dark place that we're obviously in right now? How do we restore some semblance of tranquility and normalcy at home and our reputation as the leader of the free world? In short, how can we make America great again? The answer to me seems obvious: Change our leadership and direction. It's time to dump Trump and try something different!
"I've heard it said that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome is the definition of insanity."
ReplyDeleteIgnoring all of the unsubstantiated blaming of Orange-Man-Bad, I think only low-information voters would boil down the election to Trump vs. Anti-Trump. Explain to me how Biden?/Kamala is the morally right choice.
Looking at the forty-seven plus year career of Biden that Trump loves to underscore, we can find many mistakes and policy positions to disagree with; but a picture clearly emerges of a decent and compassionate man who values and respects the constraints of democratic governance. Kamal Harris is an extremely liberal senator (it's a debatable proposition that she is the most liberal, but any objective evaluation of her record suggests that she is very liberal). Even so, we find in her record the same kind of temperament, civility and respect for democratic process that Joe has exhibited. And both Biden and Harris have advocated the love thy neighbor approach to dealing with this pandemic (from the perspectives of health and economics).
DeleteSorry, Kamala, I missed a keystroke!
DeleteUgghhh...spare me the cringey campaign slop. You're just proving my point that you only see things through the lens of Trump vs. Anti-Trump. What about their policies? They have both been on record lying, or flip-flopping, about their policies.
Delete"...man who values and respects the constraints of democratic governance."
Packing the Court, forced lockdowns regardless of State rights, 2nd ammendment..."Hell yeah, were gonna take your guns!"
Destroying Capitalism as we currently know it, CORRUPTION,.......
etc
DBP,
DeleteYou perplex me - You have demonstrated a capacity for independent thinking - thinking outside of the box. And, yet, you have joined yourself to the echo chamber of support for Trump. Who has flip-flopped more than Trump? Have you looked at some of his statements down through the years and the candidates which he has contributed to in times past? And Donald Trump is a pathological liar! If Satan didn't already have the title, he'd be a serious contender for the honor of "father of lies."
"Packing the Court, forced lockdowns regardless of State rights, 2nd amendment...Destroying Capitalism as we currently know it" All of those are presumptions on your part - You think that that is what Biden's going to do if elected, but you don't know for certain that's what he'll do. We have a record of four years and a pattern of behavior as president - We KNOW what a Trump presidency looks like, and many of us don't like it. And the corruption of Trump and his children is legendary - they make Joe and Hunter look like rank amateurs in the corruption department!
How do you determine if you yourself are not living in an echochamber? Reassurance from an authority figure? An illusion of Strength in Numbers? Or doing the thinking for yourself?
DeleteJust repeating "Liar, liar, pants on fire" only works on the playground. Or, like Biden, do you "choose TRUTH over facts."
DBP
ReplyDeleteI am agreement with you.
States should ask the Federal government for support, should the dead lie in the streets.
The Federal government should nudge States however on the latest scientific findings. For instance in the 1860's when some States needed convincing that enslaved persons were people too, despite the ensuing destruction of the local economies.
I also agree that the judgment of politicians should be on policies, not on personal character, although character helps in times of stress and duress for sound decision making. Also some characters make decisions based on "gutfeeling", others on involvement of stakeholders, or the participation of knowledge in the decisionmaking process. Accusing a politician of corruption is lame. That is just the establishment of worn out fact.
Nck
Nck,
DeleteThere is a tension between State and Federal government that is written into the American system - like the tension between the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of the Federal government. As you know, that tension exists by design of the Founders; and there have always been advocates for a greater role for the Federal over the State and vice versa. Personally, when confronted with a problem that affects all of the states, collective action (on the Federal level) makes more sense to me. This scattershot approach to the pandemic with each state doing what seems best to them and competing with each other for limited resources has not faired well compared to the responses of other countries around the world.
I also believe that personal character trumps (pun intended) policy. The policies of an amoral/immoral person will very often reflect the character of the person who promulgates them (e.g. separating and caging immigrant children at the border). And public policy based on the involvement of stakeholders and reasoning based on factual information is almost always superior to that which originates in the gut.
Miller
DeleteIf you recognized the tongue in cheek, you've seen where we agree.
I do stand by my remark that most knowledge regarding local situations is at the base.
We talked about that exhaustively regarding the topic of the *pyramid hierarchy God" or the "scrum teamplayer God".
I also believe that if people are stubborn, the only way lessons can be learned is through, trial and experience, hence my insisting that from noe on the Stated should initiate seeking assistance if the near dead crawl on the steps of the State Capitols, instead of shouting Liberty in full armed gear.
Nck
I did recognize the sarcasm :) - I thought I would elaborate a tad - I'm not sure everyone always appreciates the subtlety and depth of your comments.
Delete"separating and caging immigrant children at the border"
DeleteThat was Obama/Biden.