Tag Archives: republican

When Politics Becomes a Team Sport

Voting by identity instead of values

We have a problem — and it’s us. We treat politics and government as binary, as if they were an either-or situation. You’re either this or that, with no room for nuance, complexity, or actual thought. That’s how we end up voting along party lines, like a team sport instead of choosing what aligns with our values or what might actually serve the whole. And this is why/how the Democrats continue to drift further right every cycle, and the Republicans continue to become more extreme every election cycle, and we become more polarized, tired, and confused. It’s intellectual laziness dressed up as political identity, and the politicians just become more feckless.

Here are examples of what I hear.

If you are pro-Second Amendment, you must be a Republican.

Millions of gun owners exist across multiple disciplines in the spectrum. And whether or not you’re a gun owner, when you question certain gun-control proposals, suddenly you’re accused of wanting children to die in schools, or you don’t care about the Second Amendment. Nuance? GONE.

If you believe in secure borders, you must be a right-wing nut job. OR You don’t believe in what ICE is doing, so you’re okay with illegals raping and murdering U.S. citizens.

It couldn’t possibly be that maybe you are a Republican, or you’re a Democrat, progressive, or independent who simply believes safety and humanity can coexist. In the either/or narrow world, you either want open borders or you’re a Marxist. There’s no room for the idea that security and compassion are not mutually exclusive. (Commentary on ICE is a whole issue of horrors on its own, as well as all “illegals” being criminals.)

If you are a Republican, you must have voted for Trump.

Because apparently no Republican with a functioning brain could ever make another choice. Again, nuance? Nope.

If you didn’t vote for Kamala Harris, you must be a closet Republican or you hate Black women.

Or if you didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton, you must hate women in general and simply don’t want a woman as President. The possibility that their policies weren’t compelling enough — and that the DNC continues to fumble — is never considered.

If you supported Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race, you are a communist or want New York to turn into a Muslim state.

It couldn’t be that you want corruption out of politics, or that you want a city that works for everyone. No — you must be a radical jihadist.

If you want law enforcement reform, defunding, or abolition, you are okay with murderers and rapists running free.

It’s reasonable that a system with a foundation rooted in slave patrols has evolved into state‑sanctioned violence rather than community safety. Let’s talk about how we pour more funding into policing year after year, yet crime rates don’t drop enough, neighborhoods aren’t improving, and the abuses and atrocities continue. But imagining something better is apparently out of the question.

If you refuse to vote for a candidate because they refuse to condemn violence against Palestinians, you’re antisemitic, or a single-issue voter.

Genocide, anywhere and against anyone, is morally a full stop for many. It’s not about hate for an entire group, but being opposed to systems of oppression, suppression, and, frankly, crimes against humanity. If there is no line drawn there, my God, where is it then?

Every election, there is someone who tells me to f*ck off because I don’t bow to the DNC like them, or thinks that they can bully me into voting for the candidate that mainstream media says is “the one.”

This is the nonsense that got us into our current mess, and why we are in this disgusting political situation. Some of us have been warning (screaming!) about what was coming for years, while others sat back, ignored the signs, and — even without realizing it — voted for the very outcomes they feared. Someone once said to me, “You better vote for ______________.” I remember thinking, Or what? What are you going to do? Revoke my citizenship? Snub my Constitutional right to vote? Stop talking to me? Get out of here. People who claim to know me (should) understand that ultimatums without evidence are pointless, and bullying is the fastest way to make me stop taking anything you say after that seriously.

If you dare criticize a politician from your own party, suddenly you’re the unhinged one.

We’ll fight tooth and nail against the atrocities of “the other side,” yet somehow develop complete cognitive dissonance when it comes to our own favorites and eat our own for daring to call out their wrongdoings.

People don’t want to take the time to follow the money, the votes, the practices that count.

They don’t track how their “favorites” actually vote in Congress. They won’t take the time to look up where their donations are from. They’ll cheer a lengthy, fiery, made‑for‑camera speech on the House floor, then ignore the fact that the same representative turns around and votes against their interests. We don’t build the habit of holding elected officials accountable, and we certainly don’t develop the muscle memory to remember their records. Sometimes I wonder if this same pattern shows up in people’s personal lives too — trusting leaders who rely on apathy, convenience, or complacency to get away with things they shouldn’t.

I’m having a hard time even finding folks engaged enough to sign a petition.

It literally doesn’t get any easier than that. Someone once told me it was “too much reading.”

“I don’t know much about politics, but I’m voting for Gavin Newsom for President because he’s so good looking.”

A woman once told me this while we were waiting together, and there are other similar instances where this sentiment prevails. This level of engagement is concerning. I’ll admit I get a kick out of his snarky posts on X, but that’s not what earns my vote.

The “Gotcha!” Conversations

“If you say this, then you must be that” is a tired conversation, not a flex. We’re in a political culture that’s forgotten how to think, afraid to question, and unable or maybe unwilling to imagine beyond the either/or commentary. We’ve become lazy voters — quick to embrace our favorites, but willing to ignore their failures, their records, or face challenging, inconvenient facts when they surface.

Now we're here — stuck with a festering boil of a narcissist in the White House, taking a chainsaw to our democratic experiment, shredding the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and every amendment he can get his hands on, while we stand around daring to wonder how it all went so wrong.
Recent conversation with someone who seems to believe that
belonging to a political party makes you a monolith.

Kavanaugh, Outrage, Hypocrites, and Party Lines

I don’t think Kavanaugh is the right choice (likely not a big surprise to anyone) for Supreme Court Justice, and I’m PISSED, but probably not the reasons 99.9% of you think.  For one, I think he’s partisan. Two, he showed a piss poor demeanor during the interview.  Three, I believe Dr. Ford. And my reasons why are that order of importance. The first two are pretty clear, but the third is last on my list because honestly, we fucked up. (“We” meaning mainly the left, because I don’t consider myself a Democrat). This issue with Dr. Ford could have been cleared up sooner and in a more thorough way. But someone thought it’d be good strategy to throw it out there at the 11th hour. STUPID!  Have we not forgotten that the right wing folks are the same ones that obstructed nearly everything Obama tried to do (and we know why; don’t fool yourselves or pretend), AND they announced it publicly that they would?  Yes, this is the party of ZERO FUCKS GIVEN.  Did we think that this cute last-minute move by the left was going to actually change something??? This should have been dealt with from the first day it was made known to whoever could have done something about it. (We’ll likely never know who let the cat out of the bag. At first we were praising Feinstein, then we were protecting her from having the fingers pointed at her for doing it, so…. )  We also gave Dr. Ford a dirty deal by putting her out there like that. She should be hurt and pissed at how she was treated on all levels, by all sides. WE failed her by handling it this way, and consequently, have not helped any other victim who wishes she had the wherewithal to come forward, or possibly even someone who’s now more afraid than ever to leave her/his abuser.

 Remember Merrick Garland? How about Gorsuch? Remember the obstruction and the speedy push-through?  How about ALL of the various politicians over the years that are KNOWN for sexual misconduct of various degrees – on both sides? There are self-serving hypocrites on both sides of the aisle, and I’m not just talking about the politicians! We are just as bad when we turn a BLIND EYE to what our party does, but then turn around and blast the other party for similar offenses. Both sides do this! In MY lifetime, there was nothing comparable to the pre-announced obstruction of the right wing when Obama was in office, and if you say this is false, you’re just a liar. In the old neighborhood, we used to say “Don’t start none, won’t be none,” but now you all are surprised at the pushback you are getting from the Dems. I don’t know who to point and laugh at harder and louder – the right or the left!  We are getting NOWHERE; well, maybe we’re spiraling downward faster.

If you want something to change, then WE have to change – change the way we VOTE, and certainly change our expectations to a higher plane for our public SERVANTS. Start by INVESTIGATING your own candidates at least as much as the others, and PAY ATTENTION to ALL that your representatives are doing WHILE they’re in office! They lie so much, and though they are supposed to be serving us, they are indeed SELF-SERVING. STOP TURNING YOUR HEAD WHEN YOUR OWN CANDIDATE OR PARTY DOES A DIRTY DEED! You can’t keep pointing the finger at the other party and wonder how we got here. We can’t change THEIR house; we can only change OUR house!

 The Dems are the party of  ELEVENTH HOUR ORCHESTRATED OUTRAGE. How many times are we going to protest, write letters, complain, etc. when we want something done, and one of them finally shows up at the 11th hour with some fire and brimstone speech. You know what we do?  We idiotically cheer them on then, lifting them on our shoulders like some kind of frigging hero. GIVE ME A F’ING BREAK!  Just off the top of my head Warren, Obama, Harris and Booker come to mind. (Side note: have you paid attention to the records of these folks, or do you just like how they speak and look?)  

 You want change?  Get off the teats of MSNBC, CNN, Fox, etc. Get OFF the websites that ONLY support YOUR opinion. Start using the ol’ thinkie-thing again! And probably the most important of all, stop being afraid to vote in CHANGE. Let’s get these frigging dinosaurs and limp noodles out of there! I still can’t forget how many people were afraid to vote for a third party SIMPLY because they thought that the candidate’s stated goals were too lofty.  That is SAD!  We keep saying what a great country this is and flexing our biceps about it – except at the polls!  When did we become so afraid of having lofty goals?  I thought that’s what this country was about. NOTHING is going to change if we keep voting in these mealy-mouthed, late-comer dinosaurs!  This isn’t a football game (or pick your sport) where we should e rooting for the side whose jersey we wear!  This is much more important than to be so shallow!

 Trump is the slimiest of slimeballs.  He is disgusting, and just generally a terrible human being. And PLEASE don’t try to tell me what he does for the veterans! If you’re a veteran and/or stand by him for veterans, you are being foolish. Google it!  In addition, do you actually think he gives two shits about the flag?  He doesn’t. But I digress….  ‘You know why he’s the president?  Because of 52% of white women + Hillary Clinton (and her DNC partners in crime.)  That’s the TRUTH.

Now don’t get me wrong; I’ll get out there and protest (body-willing). But our keyboards, streets, sidewalks, and Capitol steps CANNOT be the only place we do legwork!  Take a trip through the voting archives online to see how they’re voting in Washington DC, and equally important if not more so, look at your local public servants’ records!  Pay attention to when they step in and throw out some convenient outrage and action.  Look to see who their donors are! Don’t be lazy and rely solely on the biased mainstream media. Stop wasting your time trying your best to make the other side look bad while your own side is sneaking under the radar with some janky mess!

 You say you want things to get better and you want to see change?  Then open your eyes. Open your mind. Don’t be fooled by party lines; they’re ALL about privilege and self-serving. Be a brave American and don’t be afraid to change your mind. Then VOTE with an educated, courageous mind!