The Republican Party is at it again, when they really do not have to be and should not be, because they think that that is the only way that they can win. Although some of my readers are likely tired of hearing me say it I must say it again. Republicans have an awful lot of talented leaders with an awful lot of good ideas on how to run America and work to assure that it will prosper.
But this talent and all of these wonderful ideas are being squandered because there are no Republican statesmen that are willing to stand up for their party even in order to save it from demise. What a shame! Politicians have always played politics but there was a time when before things got to be completely ridiculous as a result of these political games other politicians in the Party would step forward and declare that enough was enough and put a stop to the antics.
It is becoming more and more apparent that this is not the case anymore. What is happening now in the Republican Party seems to be the new normal. There seems to be a win if you can, lose if you must but do whatever it takes to try to assure that you always win mentality. It is no secret that Republican Party run legislatures in many states around the country have set up roadblocks to obstruct as many people as possible from voting who normally vote for Democrats.
Based on the fact that there are not a lot of Republicans who have pushed back against what these states have done and are continuing to do speaks volumes about what matters most to these politicians; they would rather shore up their chances of being reelected than to stand up for what is the right thing to do. It is no leap whatsoever from what these states have already done to block voters from voting to what they are now doing in their efforts to rid their Party of Donald Trump as a 2016 presidential candidate.
What are they doing to try to stop Mr. Trump? Some state Republican Parties have decided that in order for a 2016 presidential candidate to be eligible to be on that state’s ballot, that candidate will be required to sign an oath to support the 2016 Party nominee. Why are they doing this to stop Mr. Trump? It is because they are afraid that he will kill all chances that they have of winning the White House in 2016.
Maybe this would not seem so bad if the Republican Party had not been tampering with democracy for the past six to eight years because they are afraid that, without doing so, they cannot effectively compete for the office of President of the United States. Again, the sad part about this whole Republican Party fiasco is that they did not – and still do not, have to resort to these kinds of tactics in order to win. They have plenty of capable politicians with good ideas that could be workable and good for the country if brought forward and given a chance to be implemented.
Republican politicians at local, state and federal levels are responsible for not giving these ideas a chance to be debated, possibly implemented and tested to see if they would be good for America and help our country to become a more perfect union.
I am genuinely concerned that there are not more meaningful solutions and innovative ideas that are being offered up by both political parties in an effort to solve the many problems that our country is faced with. And because these solutions and ideas are not being offered up, obviously there can be no debate happening around them. There is no doubt that our elected officials need to be working on potential solutions to our country’s problems rather than fooling around with political posturing and honing their political skills.
Americans are fed up with all of the political posturing and they are angry because this is what politicians have chosen to engage in rather than taking care of America’s business. They are expressing their anger via Mr. Trump. This is why he has the staunch following and support that he currently has; he is not a politician and he is not doing the regular politician stuff.
If the Republican Party really wants to rid itself of Donald Trump and have a chance of claiming the White House in 2016 then Republican elected officials at all levels of government had better wake up. They had better step up and start offering up the genuine good ideas that they have for making America better instead of dallying with all of this nonsense like trying to figure out how to best block the vote (or candidacy) of those who do not agree with them.
The fact that congress is doing virtually nothing to address the real problems that America is faced with should be of great concern to all Americans whether they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents. Those who deny that climate change is a real issue and that how we now live our lives in this country is a major contributor to it are dangerous to this and future generations; especially if they are elected officials who collectively have the power to prevent those who want to address the problem from doing so.
Once again, I encourage all eligible voters – no matter your Party affiliation, to do whatever it takes within the boundaries of the law to get beyond all roadblocks that are set up to prevent you from voting and get registered and vote. And always remember, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it! Hopefully, this slogan will help to encourage you as you fight your way through all challenges that you might be faced with anytime that you must overcome obstructive and unfair laws that have been implemented to prevent you from exercising your right to vote.
Your vote could be the one that decides which path that America will take. Will she take the path to mitigate the dangers that we are faced with by the warming of the earth to which we are major contributors or not? Will we fight to have equal justice under the law for all people or not? Will we address women’s rights issues in a reasonable way or will we simply allow it to be handled the same way that these same unreasonable politicians have chosen to handle voting rights and their problem with Donald Trump? Will America take the path of war, without any effort at diplomacy first; or – whenever possible, will she take the path of peace?
The problems that we are faced with in our democracy are not just a problem for people of color, women or immigrants to deal with; it is a problem for all Americans to deal with. Reverend Doctor William Barber of North Carolina was able to bring a large and diverse group of people together to address the aforementioned problems because he was able to convince them that each of those problems was not independent unto itself but they all come together to form the whole problem that we have in this democracy, which constitutes the lack of equal justice for all Americans.
We must come to realize and accept that America’s problems can be likened to the spokes in a wagon wheel. They are all like conduits that are connected to (feed into) the hub. Some spokes in a wheel can be ignored and become faulty – or even destroyed, without the wheel losing its ability to continue to function. But if spokes continue to be ignored when they become faulty or are completely lost then eventually the wheel will lose its ability to function. We must address these problems and fix them as Americans and not as individual political factions.
Decisions to questions like those mentioned previously and many other questions like them rest partially in our hands because the answers will be determined by those that we elect to represent us and how much serious thought they give to their responses to them. Let’s be sure that we do our part to put people into these positions whose first and foremost concern is to serve their country with honor. If we do that, then America will be able to meet and surmount any challenge.
Eulus Dennis