Okay, let’s talk about the reality of politics. You see politics is nationally known but locally grown. What does that mean? That means that when we vote on a national scale, when we vote for president, our vote does matter. But it is not the only vote. That does matter, if that makes sense. You see locally, typically, those laws created by your local legislature, by your county commissioner, by your city council, those laws impact quality of life much quicker. Here’s what happens, because of the polarized state of our national politics. This Democrat versus Republican this left versus right, red versus blue, the tribalism of that restrictive two party system trickles down to local politics. But many of these issues are not congruent, they don’t fit. A city council member should be concerned about your trash pickup, your sewer issue, how services are delivered, none of these things are partisan in nature. But what has happened is that the dysfunction of our national politics Congress included, the dysfunction of our national politics has permeated and to our local politics as well. And because of that natural, partisan connection, even though these deliverables are not naturally aligned, it becomes blurred. Here’s my recommendation. And I say this to my college students vote where your policy agenda is matched. Sometimes that’s a partisan dynamic, sometimes that’s a person to person dynamic. But at least in that scenario, when you vote with your values, if you vote, with your ideology, your values, if you vote that way, at least you’re voting in a way congruent to what you believe. If you really look at where this country is headed. And I must say, primarily by the dysfunction of Republicans, even though there’s enough dysfunction to go around for Democrats as well. But if you look at the dysfunction of Republicans, they are taking the body politic away from the nuance of actual debate, the nuance of policy, and it is de evolving into personality only into branding only. You see, they would prefer you to purchase a brand. They want you to vote for a personality. There’s a reason why the platform no longer highlights the actual political ideology, the platform of the Republican Party, they don’t talk about it. What happened to being a fiscal conservative, what happened to the Christian evangelical movement inside of the Republican Party that said, this was about morality. This is about ethics. Well, that’s because Trump is the guy who’s in charge of the Republican Party, de facto and in fact, he can’t be the moral and ethical guy. It’s impossible. So what has happened? Republicans have decided to eliminate the reality of what politics should always be about. You. You, policy is about you. What is policy at the end of the day, policy is the socio economic contract between the community and the citizen. That is how it should work. Community citizen government, however you determined, these factors require good policy to coexist.
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By Straight Arrow News
Despite losing the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald Trump remains the leader of the Republican Party. Some polls indicate that Trump may be in a position to win the 2024 election. However, Trump’s far-right politics have also divided the Republican Party, complicating governance and policy decisions.
Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor Dr. Rashad Richey argues that as long as Trump and his MAGA brand are at the helm, the GOP will continue to compromise its principles.
Be the first to know when Dr. Rashad Richey publishes a new opinion every Friday! Download the Straight Arrow News app and enable push notifications today!
The following is an excerpt from the above video:
But if you look at the dysfunction of Republicans, they are taking the body politic away from the nuance of actual debate, the nuance of policy, and it is devolving into personality only, into branding only. You see, they would prefer you to purchase a brand. They want you to vote for a personality. There’s a reason why the platform no longer highlights the actual political ideology, the platform of the Republican Party, they don’t talk about it. What happened to being a fiscal conservative? What happened to the Christian evangelical movement inside of the Republican Party that said this was about morality, this is about ethics?
Well, that’s because Trump is the guy who’s in charge of the Republican Party, de facto, and in fact, he can’t be the moral and ethical guy. It’s impossible. So what has happened? Republicans have decided to eliminate the reality of what politics should always be about: You. You. Policy is about you. What is policy at the end of the day? Policy is the socio-economic contract between the community and the citizen. That is how it should work. Community, citizen-government — however you determined — these factors require good policy to coexist.
Interested in opposing perspectives? Have a look at how our other contributors view this issue from across the political spectrum:
Star Parker: House Speaker Johnson’s foreign aid bill shows a focused GOP.
Okay, let’s talk about the reality of politics. You see politics is nationally known but locally grown. What does that mean? That means that when we vote on a national scale, when we vote for president, our vote does matter. But it is not the only vote. That does matter, if that makes sense. You see locally, typically, those laws created by your local legislature, by your county commissioner, by your city council, those laws impact quality of life much quicker. Here’s what happens, because of the polarized state of our national politics. This Democrat versus Republican this left versus right, red versus blue, the tribalism of that restrictive two party system trickles down to local politics. But many of these issues are not congruent, they don’t fit. A city council member should be concerned about your trash pickup, your sewer issue, how services are delivered, none of these things are partisan in nature. But what has happened is that the dysfunction of our national politics Congress included, the dysfunction of our national politics has permeated and to our local politics as well. And because of that natural, partisan connection, even though these deliverables are not naturally aligned, it becomes blurred. Here’s my recommendation. And I say this to my college students vote where your policy agenda is matched. Sometimes that’s a partisan dynamic, sometimes that’s a person to person dynamic. But at least in that scenario, when you vote with your values, if you vote, with your ideology, your values, if you vote that way, at least you’re voting in a way congruent to what you believe. If you really look at where this country is headed. And I must say, primarily by the dysfunction of Republicans, even though there’s enough dysfunction to go around for Democrats as well. But if you look at the dysfunction of Republicans, they are taking the body politic away from the nuance of actual debate, the nuance of policy, and it is de evolving into personality only into branding only. You see, they would prefer you to purchase a brand. They want you to vote for a personality. There’s a reason why the platform no longer highlights the actual political ideology, the platform of the Republican Party, they don’t talk about it. What happened to being a fiscal conservative, what happened to the Christian evangelical movement inside of the Republican Party that said, this was about morality. This is about ethics. Well, that’s because Trump is the guy who’s in charge of the Republican Party, de facto and in fact, he can’t be the moral and ethical guy. It’s impossible. So what has happened? Republicans have decided to eliminate the reality of what politics should always be about. You. You, policy is about you. What is policy at the end of the day, policy is the socio economic contract between the community and the citizen. That is how it should work. Community citizen government, however you determined, these factors require good policy to coexist.
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