Republicrat

When did being a-political become fashionable?  Yes, I know the old adage, never discuss politics or religion.  But isn’t there something inherently wrong with that?  Our country is built on political discourse.  We need discussion to prosper.  We need discussion to solve problems.  We need discussion to try to fix things.  Yet when I mention a political topic, heads go down, eyes roll, and people turn their heads.  It’s a dirty business.  Go away.  We won’t lower ourselves to talk of such things.

Well, to each his own.  But things in this country are about as bad as I can remember.  Income is down.  Savings is down.  A recent study shows the majority of Americans are living just outside or in poverty.  Violence is up.  Prices are up.   Companies have quit hiring.  And when they do, the jobs are part time. The labor participation rate is the lowest it has ever been.  The rich are getting richer…but the poor are getting poorer.  People are angry and discouraged.  It occurs to me that at some point in time Americans would wake up and say what’s going on?  Why has this happened?

For most of my life there has been a certain order to things.  There have been ups and downs, but generally we knew where we stood.  But in modern America, politics is truly making strange bedfellows.  I am a rock ribbed conservative.  But as of late I find myself aligning with those on the left who are appalled at our surveillance nation.  I attended a rally populated mostly by union members to counteract demonstrations by the anti-fracking crowd.  Common areas of interest are being found by various segments of our community where there was none before.

The issues today are both complicated and simple.  At the heart of it is an administration that is in retreat.  America has Obama fatigue but has yet to process what this man has done to this country.  In our journey to accepting the truth, we are about half way there.  Generally speaking, America has been vested to the extreme in the success of the first black President.  We are at the “he is just another dirty politician” stage.   It is going to take a long time for the country to come to the truth about Barack Obama.  It may even take generations.  Betrayal by someone you trusted is a bitter pill to swallow. 

Now Obama has been reduced to petty politics.  It is almost comical.  His is the lamest of lame duck presidents.  He is faced with the centerpiece of his administration collapsing around the edges.  Obamacare will not be repealed in a grand stroke.  It will fall away bit by bit.  Some will be the result of legal challenges.  Others will be the result of political reality.  And still other parts will collapse because of economic practicalities and human nature.  People on the left have always believed they can legislate basic human behavior.  It has never worked before.  It will never work in the future.  We are only human.

The economy will limp along propped up by the Federal Reserve.  Obama’s policies have been disastrous.  Even good news is bad news.  The unemployment rate fell this past week, but it is a false figure.  The only jobs being created right now are part time jobs, and the labor participation rate is at an all time low.  Americans are hovering around the poverty level at historic numbers, and hope is on the wane.  The political scandals which rival Richard Nixon will play themselves out, and will have major consequences for the 2016 election.  Hillary Clinton is playing the Queen in waiting.  You read it here first: IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.  In politics, there is never a sure thing.

Unfortunately, the Republicans currently aren’t offering an alternative leader or vision.  Part of the problem is the course normal politics as politicians jockey for position.  But I am sensing a new coalition in America.   I’m not sure what it will look like.  But there is one Republican who seems to be moving in that direction. 

Chris Christie is the Democratic Republican.  He is anathema to the Tea Party types, reflecting instead those previously labeled as Reagan Democrats.   He is from New Jersey.  He is tough. He is not afraid of a fight. He certainly would play well here in the Mahoning Valley.  And I suspect he will emerge as the strongest Republican candidate. He is a Republican that Democrats can vote for.

I don’t agree with him on many matters.  But I believe that it is this type of candidate that can put together a coalition that can break the extreme liberal stranglehold on our government, and more importantly, the press.  He is the politician I grew up with.  He is comfort food for people like me.

I am a lifelong Republican with a strong strain of libertarianism running down my spine.  But I am first and foremost an American.  It is time for healing.  For America to get better, we need a leader with a little something for everybody.  No candidate can give me 100% of what I want, but I think Christie can give me what I think America needs.

Barack Obama has destroyed the faith in many of our institutions.  He has marginalized the Constitution.  He has destroyed Rule of Law.  He has turned the IRS into a political weapon.  He has upped the spying on all Americans.  He has attacked the freedom of the press.  He has divided the races.  He has increased poverty.  He has lied to the American public in ways I haven’t seen in years.  And now it is time for something better. 

We will see.