Posted on 05/21/2017 7:59:07 AM PDT by 2banana
It came as a thunderclap.
A college friend, a fair-minded liberal, did the unthinkable: He walked away from the Democratic Party, publicly declaring his disgust on social media.
The election of Larry Krasner — the anti-cop defense lawyer — as the Democratic Party’s nominee for Philadelphia district attorney was the last straw.
His post: “That did it. After 30 years of voting as a Democrat, I am no longer a member of that party ... The national Dems failed to clean house after admitting they fixed the presidential primary. And the local Dems just let George Soros buy the Philly DA's race for $1M in TV time. Enough. I’m sorry, but if you're not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.”
Welcome, friend, to the growing ranks of Americans who have ditched membership in the two major parties because the stink is too much, even for a loyal Democrat.
Voters who are unaffiliated with either major party, and who identify as independent, now comprise 43 percent of the U.S. electorate — an all-time high.
Meanwhile, voters who identify with either party are lower than Gov. Wolf’s job approval. Republicans are at 26 percent, Democrats at 30 percent.
Colorado is the future. The Centennial State has 1 million unaffiliated voters, more than Democrats and Republicans combined.
Unfortunately for Bucks County, Rs and Ds command a combined membership of about 386,000, but there is good news.
Between Nov. 9, 2016, and last week’s primary election, an astonishing 1,038 people here registered as unaffiliated, outnumbering the 910 who registered as Republican, and almost even with the 1,131 who became Democrats, according to the Bucks County Board of Elections.
The trend toward independence is happening because, for 30 years, GOP and Democrat leadership has promised much but delivered debacles, among them outrageous congressional gerrymandering that throttles competition.
Twenty years ago, I quit the Republican Party as I saw RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) like the Fitzpatricks, and pretty much any member of the Bucks County caucus in Harrisburg, roll the base with conservative sweet talk each election, and then jam a knife into the backs of those same people who voted them into their cushy jobs — jobs that always seem to make these office holders wealthy.
“Public servants” my Irish Catholic (rear-end).
The back-stabbings are always preceded by tossing crumbs to party loyalists.
For Republicans, it’s a pro-life vote here, a promise of school vouchers there.
For Democrats, there are promises of “equality” of pay, or reversing the Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” ruling on corporate campaign contributions.
What have the parties actually produced?
Endless wars without victory, a $20-trillion national debt, job-killing trade deals and 15 million illegal immigrants who drive down blue-collar wages because they work cheap.
The two parties are led by dumb people who recruit dumber people to run. They are so vapid that neither Republicans nor Democrats have even one leader with the moral stature who, when he speaks, the country listens.
There is no Daniel Patrick Moynihan, no Jack Kemp. There are only smug men and women with perpetual disdain for us in the provinces.
If you’re a Republican, you can’t be happy with your party controlling three branches of government, and still have no Obamacare repeal, no border wall under way, no economic rebound percolating for the middle class.
As a Democrat, you can’t be pleased that Guantanamo remains open, Wall Street bankers own your party and, according to Wikileaks, your leaders rigged the primaries against Bernie Sanders because it was Hillary’s turn.
You as a Democrat must be depressed (or should be) that throughout the Hope ’n Change years, your leaders allowed the hollowing of the party, as Republicans now control the legislatures in 32 states that cover 61 percent of the U.S. population, as well as control a majority of governorships.
Democrats have their smallest public presence since the 1920s, reduced to regional parties clustered on the coasts and within impoverished big cities, like Philadelphia, where Dem leaders seem fine with billionaire George Soros handing cop-hater Larry Krasner $1.45 million to purchase the DA’s job.
Now, disaster looms. Democratic partisans seek to force President Trump from office, whipping up a phony constitutional crisis that will gravely damage the country.
How grave? Sixty million Trump voters will not sit by idly as their man is driven from the presidency by people who won’t accept the results of the Nov. 8 election.
In a country of 357 million guns, I dread to think how this fight ends.
And Republicans, how happy are you that your leaders won’t call out the impeachment-obsessed Trump haters, or even defend the president?
Trump won the 8th Congressional District over Hillary Clinton. You ought to remind Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Legacy Boy, of that during his next brave “telephone town hall.”
Americans must quit these un-reformable and ineptly-led parties that divide us as friends and neighbors.
Let’s work to make Pennsylvania an open primary state and get things done for the good of our country, not a political party.
Hitlery Rotten Clinton’s corruption and lies didn’t phase him either. It was the collusion against Bernie Sanders that peeved him. Bet he still trusts CNN though.
The only way it happens is when the ENTIRE populance has enough of things “the way they are,” the truly Godly people take charge and put things back the way they are supposed to be.
Exactly so. Trump is neither a Republican or a Democrat (although he nominally goes by one). It's all Kabuki Theater.
FYI, Soros is dumping mad money into the DA race in Philadelphia. Now why would that be?
And Republicans, how happy are you that your leaders won’t call out the impeachment-obsessed Trump haters, or even defend the president?”
In truth this failure goes back to the 70s. Democrats began calling us NAZI and bigot and rascist etc back then and we never stopped the show and,pointed out the pure ludicrousness of this language and demand it stop. They took over language and debate then as we watched.l and did nothing.
The GOP congress looks like a sorry football team with a one point lead trying to run out the clock before the next election. They are deathly afraid of taking a stand or lead on any issue, desperately waiting the summer recess. Gee, I wish a couple of street thugs would play the knockout game with Paul Ryan. That punk really needs his comeupance.
Absolutely agree. Both parties are beyond change and redemption.
Yes we have Trump and he is now trapped. He can’t get his agenda passed because we still have two corrupt parties opposed to him.
Republicans are fighting Trump on the illegal alien front just as much as Democrats.
Both parties have been supporting a bipartisan policy of non-enforcement of laws and borders for 30 years.
Until Trump wrested the nomination from the GOP against their will, they have always nominated amnesty candidates, effectively blocking the citizens from stopping the illegal alien inundation.
Neither party wants illegal aliens removed, nor the flow stopped.
The American system of government was designed by courageous and inspired geniuses, but is run by debased and evil scoundrels.
Political parties have practically destroyed this once great country, which is why the people chose a non politician as their current president.
Although I’m a registered Republican, I’m not a partisan at heart. I’m simply an American who believes in our country’s founding ideals and form of government.
The Framers’ blueprint for America provided our people with the framework to become the most prosperous, most successful, most powerful, and freest people in all of human history. That is worth preserving, and means more to me than any political party.
I’m sure I echo the feelings of tens of millions, when I say that I will give my life to prevent the actual destruction of all we hold dear, should it come to that.
I would support a constitutional amendment to ban political parties within our government.
Craft the amendment to read that all those seeking public office, and every person appointed or hired by the federal government, must renounce their allegiance to all political parties.
Make it unlawful for any office holder or federal public servant to have any contact with partisan political groups of any kind. Make harsh and ironclad penalties for violation of these rules, and enforce them ruthlessly.
Maybe then our republic will have a hope of survival.
Just right click on the image and save it to your computer.
If is the operative word there.
If the invasion has indeed been slowed by three quarters of its former volume, I'm extremely pleased, but I don't actually know it to be a fact.
More than anything, I want to see the 40 million who are already here, return to their home countries. I don't want to rush the President, but only deporting the "bad hombres" isn't enough. Not nearly enough.
Well said. -Tom
System? What system? There's not a single mention of political parties in the Constitution.
Because political parties weren't expressly forbidden by the Framers, they arose quickly, and soon captured all control of a government that was created to be "of, by, and for The People."
The 'two party system' isn't working at all. Political parties have practically destroyed this once great nation, and ought to be outlawed.
Abolish political parties and restore the default settings of our federal government.
We can do it the easy way, or we can do it the hard way, but it’s got to be done, or this nation will not survive.
New parties will also grow corrupt in time. The fact that we are a free country and it costs $ to run these elections means we simple have to expect corruption.
This could be overcome with SOME way to give every American who votes, access to many voices of opinion. Among them may even be the truth. Freedom of the press means they are free to fool and shame the public.
How can we abolish the right of people to “freely assemble,” as the parties will consider themselves?
It isn’t the system that is good or bad, it’s the greed that powers corruption. Greed for control and money (and easy access to all kinds of sex).
What we need, those who seek constitutional freedom, is an end game around corruption. I do think the Internet has played a huge role, for me personally, in enabling me to seek out enough information to get pieces of truth and attempt to combine them into some form of synthesis. But it’s not working for every voter.
George Washington warned about political parties.
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