This Democrat is Voting for Tiffany Smiley (WA)

Tiffany Smiley is a moderate Republican who is much closer to my center left politics than Patty Murray.

I’m a bipartisan wing Dem, so I don’t vote blue no matter who. I vote either side of the center line for whichever candidate is closest to my values. If the Dems gave me a sensible moderate candidate, I’d be more than happy to consider them.

But I can’t even see Patty Murray from where I am. The policies she supports don’t speak to me. I gave her a pass the last couple of times I voted for her, but now that there’s a candidate I can support on the right, Patty has lost my support.

My number one policy interest is school choice. Patty will never get us there. In Washington State, 70% of the kids cannot do math while 50% cannot read and write.

On top of that the economy is a disaster. The southern border is a disaster. Our energy policies are a disaster. Woke-ism is a disaster. Our federal government’s failure to address addiction, mental illness and homelessness is a disaster. Meanwhile, most of those are Patty’s committees.

Tiffany Smiley has pledged not to support a Federal abortion ban and she’s smart to do that. The U.S. Supreme Court decision to hand abortion rights over to the states freed me to consider other issues for my U.S. Senator vote. I’m pro-choice, but extremely tired of that being the seemingly single issue that Democrat candidates for U.S. Congress and President campaign on. For goodness sakes, I know what a heartbeat is and what a woman is for that matter.

I oppose abortion. I would like to see it banned in all 50 states. But it is up to the individual states.

So, I’m certain I will get flamed for what I’m about to write below:

The issue of abortion rightfully belongs with the states. There is no federal right to abortion, as the Constitution does not provide for it. However, the Constitution DOES provide — under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments — that the People and the States possess and retain the rights that are not described in the Constitution; and that the only powers of the federal government are those that have been granted to it by the People and by the States, and those powers not so granted belong to the People and to the States.

Just as Congress does not have the legal authority to ban firearms (a right of the People that is SPECIFICALLY identified in the Constitution), it also does not have legal authority to ban abortion.

Moreover, the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution (Article VI, Clause 2), establishes that the Constitution and federal laws made pursuant to it are the supreme law of the land and have priority over any conflicting state laws.

Therefore, the States DO have the authority to ban abortion (because the “right” to abortion does not exist in the Constitution or derivative federal law); but the States DO NOT have the authority to ban firearms as that right specifically exists in the Constitution under the Second Amendment.

“An AP poll revealed that 61% of Americans say abortion should be legal in most or all circumstances in the first trimester of a pregnancy and 65% of Americans oppose abortions in the second trimester, while almost all acknowledge that emergencies and special circumstances must be accommodated. Patty says she’s representing her constituents with her extreme position on abortion rights. Ironically, she considers herself a Catholic. Go figure. “

I tend to agree with her, that’s where abortion laws are going to end up. The majority will end up getting it’s way.

DEMS FEAR EXTINCTION

https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-elections-pennsylvania-lifestyle-election-2020-fc79679ef54d850c0245f96dac37456c

‘The brand is so toxic’: Dems fear extinction in rural US
By STEVE PEOPLES
February 17, 2022

Democratic candidate for the Pennsylvania U.S.senate seat in the 2022 primary election, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, arrives for a campaign stop at the Mechanistic Brewery, in Clarion, Pa., Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. The Democratic Party’s brand is so toxic in some parts of rural America that liberals are removing bumper stickers and refusing to acknowledge their party affiliation publicly. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
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The Democratic Party’s brand is so toxic in some parts of rural America that liberals are removing bumper stickers and refusing to acknowledge their party affiliation publicly. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
SMETHPORT, Pa. (AP) — Some Democrats in rural Pennsylvania are afraid to tell you they’re Democrats.

The party’s brand is so toxic in the small towns 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh that some liberals have removed bumper stickers and yard signs and refuse to acknowledge publicly their party affiliation. These Democrats are used to being outnumbered by the local Republican majority, but as their numbers continue to dwindle, those who remain are feeling increasingly isolated and unwelcome in their own communities.

“The hatred for Democrats is just unbelievable,” said Tim Holohan, an accountant based in rural McKean County who recently encouraged his daughter to get rid of a pro-Joe Biden bumper sticker. “I feel like we’re on the run.”

The climate across rural Pennsylvania is symptomatic of a larger political problem threatening the Democratic Party heading into the November elections. Beyond losing votes in virtually every election since 2008, Democrats have been effectively ostracized from the overwhelmingly white parts of rural America, leaving party leaders with few options to reverse a cultural trend that is redefining the political landscape.

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