I think this is one of those things where moderate Democrats and Never Trump Republicans aren’t going to see eye to eye. Making it harder to vote appears to be a mainstream Republican strategy, and they have exploited and encouraged mistrust of the system to add additional hurdles that don’t actually reduce fraud (but sound like they might hypothetically) and do make it harder for poor (read “black”) people to vote.
It’s nice to think that reasonable people in the middle can come together and agree on policies, but when it comes to the basics of electioneering, it’s hard to make someone believe in a principle that will lead them out of power.
One thing that struck me over the last few months was how many likely Trump voters I heard interviewed in the media that didn’t seem to care much for Trump, but…ABORTION!
I believe (based on the last time I checked ( when Obama was still president) abortion rates have been declining steadily (be interesting to see if they continued that rate of decline or plateaued under Trump.) If a plank in the platform was to push abortion rates down as far as possible, through advances in contraceptive technology (longer term implantable, maybe?), easier access to b/c and through enhanced education about reproductive science and the financial burdens of unplanned pregnancy. I guess my thinking is to allow an alternative for moderate Republicans that want to break free of the Fundamentalist/Evangelical hold on the current Republican party.
Based on my last few months of listening daily to some never Trump Republicans, via podcasts, I don’t get the feeling that they support voter suppression or racism. I’d say they would agree that democracy is worth saving.
I guess I’m envisioning a way they could split from the current Trump/Evangelical held Republican party.
So far I’ve been thinking mostly of things that differentiate moderate Republicans from the far right absolutist gun rights people and the hard core faith based solutions only crowd. Things that non Flavor-aid drinking Republicans might find common ground with moderate Dems on.
But again, I’m not a moderate Democrat and yet I don’t take issue with that platform. So either explain what this new party does to differentiate itself from the Democrats, or tell me why we need a new party that has the same platform as the existing one?
I can’t see a single good thing coming out of two separate parties with the same platform, unless my party was the third one in the conversation, in which case I’d be elated.
So are you saying that the Democratic Party’s platform is fine as is and if any Republicans want to separate from The Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Qanon, News Max, Oann, virus is a hoaxers, etc. they can just join the Democratic Party, as is?
Maybe a moderate third party is not the way to go.
I haven’t heard much “abortion” talk lately. Maybe I just tune it out. I think the issue for the “I don’t like Trump but I’m voting for him” crowd is GUNS.
And other complete misunderstandings of Biden and the Democrats. For example, my mother-in-law is convinced the money her husband left her when he died is in jeopardy now that Trump won’t be around to protect her from Pelosi. She’s very afraid, and won’t listen to reason.
While Biden isn’t so bad in her mind, he won’t be able or willing to stop the radicals.
I’m saying that if they agree with the platform that you laid out, they already are Democrats. They might not be registered that way, and they might not self-identify that way, but if that list applies to a moderate Republican as well as to myself, a SuperLiberal™, then a third party isn’t necessary. We have plenty of room in the tent.