greymouse
greymouse's JournalA Republican Senator talks sense
neither Clinton nor Trump is acceptable.
From Facebook:
(Senator) Ben Sasse
AN OPEN LETTER TO MAJORITY AMERICA
TO: Those who think both leading presidential candidates are dishonest and have little chance of leading America forward:
(
or, stated more simply)
TO: The majority of America:
Note: If you are one of those rare souls who genuinely believe Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are honorable people if they are the role models you want for your kids then this letter is not for you. Instead, this letter is for the majority of Americans who wonder why the nation that put a man on the moon cant find a healthy leader who can take us forward together.
I want to tell you about four unsolicited conversations from the Fremont Wal-Mart this morning:
**Retired union Democrat meat-packer:
What the heck is wrong with that city where you work? Why cant they give us a normal person? Is it really so hard?
Me: Actually, it is for them because most people in DC buy the nonsense that DC is the center of the world. You and I, despite our party differences, both agree that Fremont is the center.
Union Democrat (interrupting):
Because this is where my grandkids are.
**Young evangelical mom:
I want to cry. I disagree with Hillary Clinton on almost every single thing but I will vote for her before Trump. I could never tell my kids later that I voted for that man.
**Middle-aged Republican male (more political than the other folks):
It feels like the train-car to hell is accelerating. Why is DC more filled with weirdos and yet more powerful at the same time? How do we slow this down long enough to have a conversation about actually fixing our country?
**Trump supporter (again, unsolicited):
Please understand: Im going to vote for him, but I dont like him. And I dont trust him I mean, Im not stupid. But how else can I send a signal to Washington?!
________
Ive ignored my phone most of today, but the voicemail is overflowing with party bosses and politicos telling me that although Trump is terrible, we have to support him, because the only choice is Trump or Hillary.
This open letter aims simply to ask WHY is that the only choice?
Melissa and I got the kids launched on homework, so Ive been sitting out by the river, reflecting on the great gap between what folks in my town are talking about, and what folks in the DC bubble are talking about.
I trust the judgment of this farm town way more than I trust DC. And so Id like to share a dozen-ish observations on these Wal-Mart and other conversations today:
1.
Washington isnt fooling anyone -- Neither political party works. They bicker like children about tiny things, and yet they cant even identify the biggest issues we face. Theyre like a couple arguing about what color to paint the living room, and meanwhile, their house is on fire. They resort to character attacks as step one because they think voters are too dumb for a real debate. They very often prioritize the agendas of lobbyists (for whom many of them will eventually work) over the urgent needs of Main Street America. I signed up for the Party of Abraham Lincoln -- and I will work to reform and restore the GOP -- but lets tell the plain truth that right now both parties lack vision.
2.
As a result, normal Americans dont like either party. If you ask Americans if they identify as Democrat or Republican, almost half of the nation interrupts to say: Neither.
3.
Young people despise the two parties even more than the general electorate. And why shouldnt they? The main thing that unites most Democrats is being anti-Republican; the main thing that unites most Republicans is being anti-Democrat. No one knows what either party is for -- but almost everyone knows neither party has any solutions for our problems. Unproductive doesnt begin to summarize how messed up this is.
4.
Our problems are huge right now, but one of the most obvious is that weve not passed along the meaning of America to the next generation. If we dont get them to re-engage -- thinking about how we defend a free society in the face of global jihadis, or how we balance our budgets after baby boomers have dishonestly over-promised for decades, or how we protect First Amendment values in the face of the safe-space movement then all will indeed have been lost. One of the bright spots with the rising generation, though, is that they really would like to rethink the often knee-jerk partisanship of their parents and grandparents. We should encourage this rethinking.
5.
These two national political parties are enough of a mess that I believe they will come apart. It might not happen fully in 2016 and Ill continue fighting to revive the GOP with ideas -- but when peoples needs arent being met, they ultimately find other solutions.
6.
In the history of polling, weve basically never had a candidate viewed negatively by half of the electorate. This year, we have two. In fact, we now have the two most unpopular candidates ever Hillary by a little, and Trump by miles (including now 3 out of 4 women who vote more and influence more votes than men). There are dumpster fires in my town more popular than these two leaders.
7.
With Clinton and Trump, the fix is in. Heads, they win; tails, you lose. Why are we confined to these two terrible options? This is America. If both choices stink, we reject them and go bigger. Thats what we do.
8.
Remember: our Founders didnt want entrenched political parties. So why should we accept this terrible choice?
9.
So...lets have a thought experiment for a few weeks: Why shouldnt America draft an honest leader who will focus on 70% solutions for the next four years? You know...an adult?
(Two notes for reporters:
**Such a leader should be able to campaign 24/7 for the next six months. Therefore he/she likely cant be an engaged parent with little kids.
**Although Im one of the most conservative members of the Senate, I'm not interested in an ideological purity test, because even a genuine consensus candidate would almost certainly be more conservative than either of the two dishonest liberals now leading the two national parties.)
10.
Imagine if we had a candidate:
...who hadnt spent his/her life in politics either buying politicians or being bought
who didnt want to stitch together a coalition based on anger but wanted to take a whole nation forward
who pledged to serve for only one term, as a care-taker problem-solver for this messy moment
who knew that Washington isnt competent to micromanage the lives of free people, but instead wanted to SERVE by focusing on 3 or 4 big national problems,
such as:
A. A national security strategy for the age of cyber and jihad;
B. Honest budgeting/entitlement reform so that we stop stealing from future generations;
C. Empowering states and local governments to improve K-12 education, and letting Washington figure out how to update federal programs to adjust to now needing lifelong learners in an age where folks are obviously not going to work at a single job for a lifetime anymore; and
D. Retiring career politicians by ending all the incumbency protections, special rules, and revolving door opportunities for folks who should be public servants, not masters.
This really shouldnt be that hard.
The oath I took is to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. In brief, that means Im for limited government.
And there is no reason to believe that either of these two national frontrunners believe in limiting anything about DCs power.
I believe that most Americans can still be for limited government again -- if they were given a winsome candidate who wanted Washington to focus on a small number of really important, urgent things -- in a way that tried to bring people together instead of driving us apart.
I think there is room an appetite for such a candidate.
What am I missing?
More importantly, what are the people at the Fremont Wal-Mart missing?
Because I dont think they are wrong. They deserve better. They deserve a Congress that tackles the biggest policy problems facing the nation. And they deserve a president who knows that his or her job is not to reign, but to serve as commander-in-chief and to faithfully execute the laws not to claim imperial powers to rewrite them with his pen and phone.
The sun is mostly set on the Platte River -- and the kids need baths. So gnight.
Ben
#?WeCanDoBetter
#?GiveUsMoreChoices
Clinton Times tries to stack the deck again
Their new meme is Hillary beats Trump by an amazing amount:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/05/04/upshot/electoral-map-trump-clinton.html
curiosity question
Okay, no reason this is in the Bernie group, but it feels like the only cosy place for me in du except the lounge.
I keep hearing how Republicans hate Cruz. But I never hear why they do. It can't be his policies, since they're Republicans policies.
What does he do, eat with his mouth open or what?
Is Hillary competent?
No. I had a post hidden and some of the jury said I shouldn't have classed Hillary with incompetent people.
I have asked before, what has she accomplished, and all I hear is crickets and general declarations. So I am asking once more. Helping Wall Street and Big Oil snd polluters does not count. Accomplishing something Democratic does.
As Secretary of State, she destroyed the quality of life of millions of people in Libya. She degraded the lives of many in Haiti.
Before that she voted for the Iraq war, which resulted in immense damage to many people.
She failed to get healthcare through in Bill's administration.
She was complicit in that job sucking NAFTA and banking deregulation. They're always saying they're a partnership, right. I take her at her word.
So speak up, folks who support her, what has she actually accomplished?
END OF THE MONTH: DONATE!! Help Bernie.
People, the need for expensive ads in delegate-rich California and elsewhere is high. The end of the month reporting of donation amounts, which matters to the view of how Bernie is doing, is almost here.
PLEASE, anything you can donate, no matter how small, will help. I have already done so.
Thank you!
two links for live results today April 26, Bernie leads in Rhode Island in early returns,
http://graphics.latimes.com/election-2016-rhode-island-results/http://wpri.com/election-results/
I'm updating: RI has been called for Trump, in case anyone cares.
At about 9pm Eastern time, AP:
Delaware · 21 delegates
84% reporting · Clinton won and has 6 delegates, Sanders has 4
Connecticut · 55 delegates
24% reporting · Sanders leads
Rhode Island · 24 delegates
29% reporting · Sanders leads
Maryland · 95 delegates
0% reporting · Clinton won and has 46 delegates, Sanders has 17
Pennsylvania · 189 delegates
5% reporting
My state, RI, called for Bernie, so I'm off to bed. Don't forget, people, states with big fat delegates counts are still coming up - California, etc.
How corrupt have Hillary and DWS made the Democratic party?
Read how they've stacked the deck at the convention, just one excerpt from a Clinton Times article:
"In January, the party chairwoman, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, appointed dozens of Clinton supporters and advisers to the three standing committees of the Democratic Party convention. Of 45 potential members submitted by Mr. Sanders, she appointed just three, according to Mr. Sanderss campaign."
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/25/us/politics/bernie-sanders-campaign.html
(Ignore the usual Bernie can't win stuff.)
laugh of the day
My post was alerted on and hidden, with a note that the poster I was replying to in the Bernie group, who produced a giant missive criticizing Bernie, and had a post count of one, making him or her suspiciously a Correct the Record paid shill, "supported the same person."
This must be some strange new definition of support, one I have not previously encountered. (Thanks Douglas Adams.)
But it was amusing.
Profile Information
Member since: Mon Feb 8, 2016, 07:44 AMNumber of posts: 872