Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

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Thursday, May 13, 2021

In 2016, Lindsey Graham said...

 "If we nominate Donald Trump we will get destroyed...and we will deserve it."



How prescient of him!



Over 100 Republicans, including former officials, threaten to split from the G.O.P.



Over 100 former Republican officials will sign a letter on Thursday declaring that if the Republican Party does not break with former President Donald Trump and change course, they will back the creation of a third party. 

The letter, headlined: "A Call For American Renewal," is an exploratory move toward forming a breakaway party, two of its organizers said. The group is dismayed by what it says is a modern Republican Party driven by its allegiance to Trump, who continues to falsely claim the 2020 election was stolen from him. 

These Republicans are preparing to release a letter this week threatening to form a third party if the Republican Party does not make certain changes, according to an organizer of the effort. 

The statement is expected to take aim at former President Donald J. Trump’s stranglehold on Republicans, which signatories to the document have deemed unconscionable. “When in our democratic republic, forces of conspiracy, division, and despotism arise, it is the patriotic duty of citizens to act collectively in defense of liberty and justice,” reads the preamble to the full statement, which is expected to be released on Thursday. 

The effort comes as House Republican leaders are expected on Wednesday to oust Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming from their ranks because of her outspoken criticism of Mr. Trump’s election lies.


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This is the best idea I've heard coming out of the mess called the Republican Party, but it's actually the only positive, pro-active idea I've heard coming from them for a very long time. 

To me and other Americans, the GQP is the party of "NO!" -- negative, entrenched, and certainly not practical or visionary. This move will obviously split the vote in the existing party, which some of us consider a step in the right direction if the net effect is to lessen the vitriolic grandstanding we currently listen to every day.

And it will finally put the lie to Trump and his cultists yammering about a "stolen election."

Trump and his cultists will have to finally face the fact that a majority of Americans rejected him, his disastrous incompetence, and his proto-fascist ideas!

10 comments:

skudrunner said...

And Graham was right. Time to build a third party that supports Americans. Pass term limits for all politicians, pass a balanced budget act, cut the house members by half, mandate congress be run by citizen legislators who meet a week every six weeks and have to work for a living in order to pay their bills. Take away the lifetime salary and benefits from congress.
A few simple changes that will result in a more efficient productive government.

Dave Miller said...

A third party.

That's the dream of so many, however misguided. I spend a lot of time in a country with three major parties. And since 2002 when PRI lost their monopoly on federal elections in Mexico, three parties has been a disaster.

Pick your poison. That third party will be an offshoot of one of the other parties. So here it will be mostly a newer GOP leaning party. That will split the conservative vote and guarantee the Dems win most elections.

Is that what people are hoping for? Maybe some on Dem side, but not me.

What we really need is a purge of the ppl in the GOP who struggle with truth. For the life of me I can't understand why the GOP is chasing after the lowest common denominator voters, but it is what it is.

Skud, your view of the work done by legislators is so uninformed. The notion of Joe the Plumber and Susan the Mechanic taking a few weeks off work to go to Washington and do our business is quaint. And unworkable. A nice dream though. As is the idea that we will ever get term limits.

That's what elections are for.

Better to clean up the gerrymandering rules, limit campaign cash and let the people who wish to run to be our representatives compete on level playing fields.

Bluebullamerica said...

We already have term limits - they're called elections. The single most effective way, imo, to clean up DC is to outlaw lobbying by professionals. If constituents want to talk about their issues, great, but lobbyists would be outlawed in my version of America.
Also, I agree with Mr. Miller that the idea of 'weekend' legislators would be a disaster.
I'd love to see a third (or fourth even) party but it can't just be shades of one of the other parties - sort of a GQP lite or a DNC lite. I don't honestly see a 3rd or more parties working out in this country, but I do like the idea. We've tried 3rd parties several times and they end up being relegated to the dustbowl of history.
Our two closest alternate parties currently - the Libertarian and the Green Party can't even get their own members to vote for them most elections. I've met several people who say "I'm a Libertarian" and then vote GQP! Don't cry to me that there aren't any Libertarians in DC if that's your position at the ballot box.

skudrunner said...

You say we cannot have citizen legislators for some reason. How many days does congress meet and how much of their time is spent conducting business vs fundraising or going to a fact finding trip to some tropical resort with their family. They are members of the class they attack, the rich and one percent. If their job is to represent their constituents which can best be done in their districts.

I agree more than two parties would not work but we still don't need 435 members with their huge staff and expense accounts. A bloated government is not efficient and our government is very bloated.
Libertarian is just another word for I have no opinion and the green party is another name for progressive party.

Mike said...

I don't think the cultist will ever face any facts. I think they will have to die off to be out of our lives.

Les Carpenter said...

America, like all great powers of the past is entering its declining years. Nothing is forever and American supremacy is slowly, steadily draining away. We will absolutely go the way of all great powers. The mantle will be taken from us and we will become just like all the rest.

And it will be our own fault brought about by out own inability to grasp the essence and truth of reality.

Dave Miller said...

Skud... I work in Mexico, a country that basically has a hands off, part time government, you take responsibility for your own life. Taxes are low, across the board.

Government is basically not a presence in most peoples lives. Regulations on businesses are almost nonexistent. It seems as if that is what many on the right want here.

Here's the reality...

Mexico has no research on anything. The country waits on everyone else to do the work, then they adapt it. No medical breakthroughs come from Mexico. Not from lack of desire or talent, but lack of money and government support. Crimes are rarely solved, because a professional police force is not funded.

Medical clinics abound across the country, but they have no supplies and no doctors. They are simply buildings labeled as clinics.

Business pollute with impunity, discriminate daily and are not "good citizens" in their communities. Political leaders have told me without the work of non profits like mine, the entire system would collapse.

Because taxes are low, the military and police are easy targets for corruption by narcos.

Low taxes mean roads are seldom repaired leaving many residents to figure it out themselves.

But the people are free. And not under the yoke of heavy taxes or government regulations or overreach.

Is that system we want here? I don't think so. But it will be the system we get if we have people working on our legal system with no background in law or government.

Maybe you'd let an untrained surgeon work on you, but not me. I don't want people like MTG, Gosar, Boebert or most of the other "Freedom Caucus" idiots working on our Constitution, laws and goverment.

I want professionals.

Jerry said...

Haven't you learned yet not to listen to these lying idiots.
That's part of our problem, Americans have been listening to and believing these lying idiots.

Les Carpenter said...

Yes, of course it is part of the problem. But it has metastasized and is now a full blown cancer on America and its democratic ideals.

skudrunner said...

Rev, What you are saying is Mexico is broken, something that has been going on for decades. How many medical breakthroughs has our government made. Private enterprise for profit is the reason for breakthroughs of any kind.

Now we have a president who says he will not raise taxes on the average person and causes layoff for thousands. Inflation while not a tax hurts the poor more than a tax increase. Yes we can spend trillions for social causes and the people most affected are those we are trying to help. Mexico government may be broken while ours is incompetent and corrupt. I'll take citizen legislators any day.