Archive for December, 2019
Politics
Politics
It has become unpopular to discuss politics with anyone of a different persuasion than your own. If you want to remain a friend with someone who may have a different view of how our government is or should be run, avoid discussing the subject with that person. So you have us and them. This has always been the case during my long life time but not to the extent that it is today. What has been a divide along liberal and conservative views have become a chasm. Social media may have contributed to this widening divide. People seem less constrained in providing distorted claims when posting them on the internet than when they are in face to face interactions with another person.
Many citizens of the United States claim to not pay attention to politics but I believe it is a rare citizen that doesn’t have an opinion about the governance of this nation and to a lesser extent the governance at the state and local levels. I am of no exception. I grew up during the great depression on a farm in a part of the country that also faced a historic drought and dust storms. At that time conservatives were a rare birds in South Dakota. I only knew one neighboring farm family that admitted to being republican during that time.
My father said he had voted republican during the 1920’s but turned democrat in the 1930’s and never looked back. He idolized Franklin Delano Roosevelt. I inherited that background. I have voted for republican presidents, senators, representatives and governors but rarely, and as I have become older I seem to have increased my liberal tendencies. As a result I am interested in who from the mob of candidates striving to become the democratic 2020 candidate for president will be successful.
I do have a favorite, a long shot, Klubuchar. Since the day Amy announced herself as a candidate in a Minneapolis Park in a snowstorm I have believed she would be strong candidate for president for the following reasons:
- She is a women.
- She is from the Midwest and has consistently won in Minnesota red rural districts.
- She is a moderate. Will advance the liberal agenda but will not disrupt the country as we know it.
- She can honestly identify with the working class. Her grandfather was an immigrant that worked in the iron ore mines in northern Minnesota. Her father was a successful but alcoholic journalist, her mother worked as an elementary school teacher.
- I do not know of any scandals in her background.
I like her plan to expand public education two years beyond high school. Free community college to those who want it for two years, apprentice training for a trade for those who choose that route.
I like her plan to spend a trillion dollars on national infrastructure and has a plan to pay for it.
I like her plan to improve the Affordable Heath Care Plan to include an option for government provided health insurance to those who want it. This will be important for farmers, small business owners, entrepreneurs and other independent workers who now pay exorbitant rates for health insurance.
Amy is getting more attention and has been rising in the poles. I have hopes that this will build as others recognize her and her potential.
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