reer wrote:
Question for people on this thread: What would you recommend for a lifelong Republican who is a big fan of Romney/Kasich types, voted Independent in 2016 and for Biden in 2020 (first time ever voting for a Democrat), and is appalled at what Trump and the Republican party has become, especially post-election? One side of me wants to immediately unregister as a Republican and become Independent, as a very insignificant middle finger to what the Republican party has become, but the other side of me wants to remain a registered Republican so that I can at least continue to have a vote in who they nominate going forward (my state has a closed primary).
I'm also increasingly embarrassed to be getting Republican party crap in the mail, which is another motivation to unregister, though they'll probably still mail me stuff anyway.
Sounds to me like you are not a proud Republican, much like I am not a proud Democrat. If you can find it in you to disassociate from a few of the traditional Republican positions on issues such as abortion, the environment, and voting rights you will find a lot of common ground with a huge number of centrist Democrats. Depending on how much influence the more liberal Dems can have, you might even find a lot more centrist Dems who agree with you on fiscal conservatism.
But be ready to feel like you are in a tiny minority for a while. Heck, a lot of Dems to be honest are just motivated by what they see is a slide backwards under trumpism and the GOP. Do you think I’m happy with the job Dems have done? They have $hit the bed a lot, refused to take risks with bold policies, and of course play victim too to make the pendulum swing faster their way when they are not in power. It’s a tiring game for most Americans.
I believe the only thing that can make politicians actually compete to work for the people is if there is a split or two within the GOP and/or Dems. Trump was a huge price for all to pay but I do hope there is a serious split in the GOP at least. Yes the pre-trump Rs will be much weaker but not as much as you might think. Also, there is no way for the Dems to continue on this big tent path without losing often. People want things done in the end and if there are too many different expectations not being met voters stop participating. The left needs a socialist party without using socialist in their name.
The other thing that will continue dooming us is this winner take all system. We need competition and alliance building. The problem we’ve always had is black and white situations in the House, Senate and WH. The need for majorities to get anything done is insane. All the minority party gets across the House and Senate are their lame committees to try to embarrass the party in control. That situation needs to change somehow to force sides to have to convince others to play along. Dems and Rs constantly play this game of chicken and fear mongering. They push the envelope as far as possible with dysfunction and partisanship and in the end we get a handful of giant $hit bills that appear to be wins for both but fails to convince the public.
