heartofthebear said:
Zippergate said:
tequila4kapp said:
Zippergate said:
There is very little conservative about the modern Republican Party and I sadly agree with many (most?) of the criticisms of it expressed here. But in a two party system, it's the choice by default because the alternative is completely off the rails. It doesn't matter now because they will win regardless of popular sentiment for the same reason that Maduro always wins. Laugh/gloat now while you have the chance. On the bright side, thanks to Chavism, Venezuelans don't need Ozempic.
But there is something we can do. Remember, both parties fundamentally care about obtaining and retaining power. That is their Achilles heel. As long as people continue to accept that our only choices are the lesser of two evils, nothing changes. We can refuse to vote or we can start voting in different ways. It is just a numbers game...enough of us need to do something different and the two parties will change. IMO Republicans are more likely to change first, mostly because (IMO) they are a rudderless group that mostly doesn't even pretend to have core values any longer.
The answer is, of course, populism. Trump is vulgar, but anyone who despises him because he is "conservative" is just misinformed. He was a Democrat for most of his life and his policies as president were a mishmash of traditionally left and right ideas because deep down he's not an idealogue, he's a pragmatist. But he's a political outsider willing to take on entrenched interests and that is what we need. Don't like Trump? Fine, someone else then. I'd be thrilled if he would leave the political stage if we could replace him with someone with similar energy and will to break the Uniparty stranglehold.
Rather than hate on the populists in the Republican Party, it would be great if sensible liberals would form their own populist coalition and push back against the insanity. Even better if they'd find common cause with right-leaning populists, bring the whole thing to the center where most Americans are, and cleanse the system of the Uniparty.
I'm sure all of this is totally repugnant to most here who identify as Team Blue. But I ask you, would any of you be willing to vote for a Republican? I'd vote for RFK Jr in a heartbeat (even though we have quite different world views) because I think he is an honest man who won't sell out to the establishment. He's the quintessential 60's liberal so I find it fascinating that he is attacked primarily from the left, not the right. It's also interesting that he shares a number of views that align with Trump populists. It's because the Democratic Party has abandoned their raison d'etre and become a cabal of semi-authoritarian, neocon, kleptocratic social Jacobins.
As a progressive, I agree but we can do better than RFK junior
Personally (registered Dem and almost always vote Dem), I would
absolutely consider voting for a Republican, though, honestly, by election time, I would probably be swayed by things like Supreme Court appointments and end up voting Dem.
But maybe not. The Democratic candidate would have to be unappealing and the Republican candidate would have to have a strong resume and be reasonable (think ideology of somebody like an Arnold Schwarzenegger.). The problem is, reasonable Republicans are being marginalized in their own party. I don't see many left and, if there are some, they would never get the nomination.
I appreciate Liz Cheney's principled stand on democracy, but she is just too far to the right for me, on most issues.
An RFK Jr type would never get my vote. I don't want the leader of the free world to be some whacko. Good God...
