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THE VIEW FROM HERE - There is no significant difference between the two terms except Independents are Centrists have already re-registered. Centrist refers to the philosophy that the country is best governed by mutual cooperation of those who have center positions. When a society is polarized and each party is controlled by its most extreme faction -- MAGA or Wokers, the party in office will use force to implement its policies. That creates a backlash since 85% of the county is not MAGA. When Biden Harris were calling the shots, over 85% of the nation was not Woke.
In order for a nation to follow rational and consistent domestic and foreign policies, it has to have an ongoing Centrist consensus. Decades ago, when there were Liberal GOP and Conservative Dems, the two parties had to work out a way to meld their politics. The extreme factions were excluded since enough Liberal GOP would support Dem policies for them to prevail and likewise, enough Dems would support GOP initiatives.
The November 5, 2024 Election Proved the Power of the Unorganized Independents
The Independents were 34%, GOP were 34%, and 32% were Dem. It is vital that Independents remain unorganized and do not try to form a third party. As long as a voter remains Independent, both parties will woo him, thereby drawing both political parties towards the center. The Dems lost because they continued to ram the Woke DEI agenda down the nation’s throat, while Trump with all his zaniness, made pitches to the Independents. The Dems haughtily chided voters who were straying. Barack Obama’s shaking his finger at Black males and lecturing them on their duty to vote for a Black woman revealed that Wokers thought that they owned the Black vote.
Independents Cannot Be Culture Cancelled
When 1/3 of the nation is registered as Independents, they have no party to which to be loyal, making them immune from party discipline. Thus, when Trump overplays his hand in his delusion that he has a mandate, he will find this current 54% approval rating drop. Once again, Trump did not win a mandate in November 2024 just as he did not win a mandate in 2016 – the Dems lost both times! Psychologically, Trump cannot accept this fact; most of his advisors, however, are more realistic. Since Independents owe no party loyalty, they can criticize Trump’s overreaching on mass deportations. When some loudmouth MAGA says that Trump gets to nominate whomever he wants, Independents have no reason to agree with such nonsense. Trump does not get to have whatever extremist sex pervert or possible Russian sympathizer he wants. In a Republic, the Senate has the right and duty to advise and consent on many nominations. Only 34% of the nation are GOP, and of them, less than one-half are MAGA. The quick rejection of Matt Gaetz as Attorney General shows that the GOP leadership has not yet abdicated its constitutional role. With the support of Independents, GOP Senate leadership will, hopefully, continue to do its constitutional duties.
The great advantage to the Republic in having a large number of Independents is that independently minded people can see through the True Believers on the Left and on the Right. So, what if Dems insist they lost because Black men are misogynistic. Let’s see how that line of Woke BS will hold Black men in the Dem Party. Continue to tell Mexicans in Woke California that they owe billions of dollars to Blacks due to slavery, when California never had slavery! California is in transition since the Wokers are drastically over playing their hand. California Dems’ biggest advantage is that California GOP is still anti-Black, anti-Mexican, anti-Gay and pro Christian fundamentalism. In order to run for mayor Rick Caruso switched from GOP to Dem, the same for the new County District Attorney Hochman. California candidates will realize that aligning with Wokeism is an error. Soon candidates will admit that both party labels are a liability, and California will see more Independents. The latest break down for California is Dems have 10,261,984 voters (46.77%), GOP have voters 5,249,974 (23.9%), and Independents have 5,096,197 voters (23.22%). The only way to draw voters from all three groups is to become an Independent candidate.
The Power of De-registration
When one de-registers as a Dem or a GOP, that sends a powerful mid-term message. Waiting until election day to show one’s dissatisfaction is way too late. When either party sees people de-registering between elections, it should realize that extremism is unwanted. Presently, both parties are living in a fantasy land. Trump and his MAGA supporters think he has a mandate. His only mandate is to stop the Woke DEI, but there is no mandate to victimize the least powerful among us – the Transgender. GOP’s attacking the Dem Woke’s absurd abuse of the Transgender community with "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you" theme was directed at the Woke Dems – not at Transgender people. Start kicking Transgenders out of the military, then Trump will become a bully attacking the most vulnerable among us. [One should note that the GOP Trans ads had the same theme which won the 2020 election for Biden when he said that the election was not about Trump’s family or about Biden’s family but about “your family.”]
Because Trump is a Histrionic, he is a shallow thinker and he has allowed himself to be swayed by right wing bigots to betray the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. Each individual has inalienable rights, and self-identification is the most fundamental liberty. The fact that the Woke Dem have seriously abused Transpeople is something to be combated. The area which is most obviously wacko is allowing former males to play on female sports teams. Suppose I decide to stop identifying as Jewish, male and Gay and identify as a female Catholic priest. That does not mean that I get to force my way into Blessed Sacrament Church and celebrate the mass. The Woke Dems abuse the Transgender and Gays in a similar fashion. The Wokers are self-appointed Poverty Pimps for Transgenders and Gays. Gays' rights, for example, are not based on Wokeism but are bedrock inalienable rights. Read Lawrence vs. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003). The harm which Wokeism has done to both Trans and Gay is incalculable, and Gays and Trans have to fight back against the Woke Dems and against the bigoted GOP. In this one respect, Tim Walz was right: “Mind your own damn business.”
One purpose of creating a Republic was to prevent any faction from gaining too much power. In a polarized society, elected officials are, for the most part, craven cowards who will not do their constitutional duties unless there is a significant support from Centrists in the voting public. They look at Liz Cheney and see what integrity brings one in a polarized society.
Remember, a democracy brings polarization and extreme overreaching by both political parties, while adhering to the values of the Republic will keep the nation on an even keel. We are still leaning too starboard and too port. The more voters re-registered as Independent, the more stability for the nation.
(Richard Lee Abrams has been an attorney, a Realtor and community relations consultant as well as a CityWatch contributor. You may email him at [email protected])
