As a centrist with both conservative and progressive leanings I feel like I am part of a growing middle that will be lost in 2020. It seems like every person I know, every newscast or commentator i watch and forum i read gets painted with a “team color” of blue or red with no in between.
I recently took the quiz at isidewith.com for grins and my results clearly show my concern. My party affiliation spread between democratic, green, socialist, Libertarian and GOP was 7%
Why can’t we find some common ground in our politics and policies? I know some issues are colored by money more than belief (Global Warming vs Fossil Fuel industries and lobbyists comes to mind)
But why can’t you be against the border wall but agree that maybe you do need a state ID to vote? Maybe spending 2 billion on high tech surveillance is common ground on border security.
Why can’t there be acknowledgement that the Rich do pay a lot of taxes (Thank you) as opposed to marking them all as evil, while going after the billions that are sheltered offshore by Amazon, Netflix, Apple, etc.?
Why can’t you be PRO law enforcement while also supporting 100% body camera adoption and acknowledging that both racism, mistakes and corruption do exist?
Why can’t a non-violent felon vote in elections? They are still citizens and stripping away those rights does nothing to normalize a criminal into a productive citizen.
I despise Trump “as a horrible human being” who has clearly shown himself to be both corrupt, dishonest and arguably racist. Yet I am continuously bewildered by Trump supporters who “seem” to genuinely think of Trump an honest, fair and smart man who is just a victim of “fake news”.
But on the other side of the aisle we have a Democratic party that is going (IMO) too far left… to the point that I (and I believe millions of others) feel left behind. While I think someone like Joe Biden would do a good job, my fear of the ultra-left AOC party of the future scares the heck out of me TBH.
At this time I truly have no idea how to vote in 2020
-
Global Warming - 100% agree that global warming is VERY and can only /facepalm at the deniers - most of which - are either clueless voters or incented by the fossil fuel industry directly or downstream.
-
Education - I fully support free college education. The Student loan epidemic casued by Sally Mae privatization until 2010 was predatory at best and full blow corrupt at worst. No unbiased review of the facts can support any other conclusion. And while we are at it, how about implementing a combination of teacher testing standards, common core AND large pay increases for one of the most important jobs in America (Note - I am not, never was and have no family members in education).
-
Single Payer Healthcare - While I agree the government sucks at handling many programs and waste is generally increased. That inefficiency is vastly outweighed by the corruption and greed of privatization. While I still support the Adam Smith laissez faire economic model in many areas, healthcare and retirement are not among them.
-
Gun Control - I own guns. I support the 2nd amendment but cannot understand the conservative logic that anyone (Dems) will take away your guns. It is hyperbolic and
republican scare tactic. While I think criminals will - 99% of the time - get guns regardless of any controls, if better background checks and some safety standards (fingerprint locks for example) keep one child of shooting themself or others, the time cost is worth it. And automatic weapons, there is no argument for this IMO. -
I support our military and defense budget (mostly for our servicemen and new technology) but acknowledge we have wasted billions of dollars that could have been used to help our citizens.
-
Decriminalization of Drugs - From Harry Anslinger to Richard Nixon to Jeff Session this “War on Drugs” is one of the most ridiculuous and wasteful efforts in American history. I do not use drugs (other than alcohol from time to time) but this issue has ALWAYS been a pawn for Racism (Ansligner) and Anti-War Counter Culture (Nixon). The prison privatization explosion and our backwards thinking of rehabilitation show a sad state of understanding and rationalization.
For anyone interested there is a great interview with Johann Hari that is so reasoned and thoughtful I find it hard for anyone but hardline oldtimers and those incented with jobs in drug enforcement to disagree.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDpjvFn4wgM&t=4745s
Long post, but very cathartic for me. Wondering if others feel as I do or if everyone here is firmly on their team.