This is a Non-political Blog ...

 ... But it is also my blog.

I started as a Republican. I voted for 

• Gerald Ford. A good moderate guy with a terrible set of cards.
• Ronald Reagan. He had some tough times near the end.
• George Bush Sr.
  
• Bob Dole. I wasn't impressed, but I was less impressed with Bill.
• George Bush Jr.once. He turned out to be too full of himself and not entirely honest.
  

 And that was the last time I voted Republican.

• Barack Obama. I really wanted to vote for John McCain. I believe he is a very good man and would have been good for the country. But I also though Obama could set a valuable precedent. I remember, on election night, feeling that I would be happy with either.  They were both presidential. Mitt Romney would have been OK too.
  

And then we made a turn.

• Hillary Clinton. She could be irritating, but Trump made his money stealing from people in the casino business. I was brought up to believe gambling was a sin, and that casino owners were in the same catagory as pimps. I still feel that way. A moral person just can't enjoy stealing from people. And why was anyone surprised that he turned out to be a narcissist showman a pathological liar? It was ... obvious. Why were we surprised that the world did not respect him?
  

And now it has escalated miles past the point of ridiculous and scary. It seems there is no action or statement or threat that shocks. There is no red line, not in law, not respect for the process or even Constitution. January 6th he proved that he was a dangerous megalomaniac. 

But more damning for the Republican party is that the only thing they can do is circle the wagons and double down on ... a mistake. They have lost the ability to lead or frankly, to think for themselves. They can only rush to see who can spout the most bile. There are better Republicans. Are they hiding? I believe, hopefully, that many are mortified with the state of affairs, mortified that Trump can be presented as the best statesman they have to offer, but at the same time certain that if they put one toe out of line they will be dissected. As a former loyal Republican, I feel sorry for those that have been attacked and marginalized. There are good people in there. But they seem to be fading.

I would have voted for Nixon. He did a lot of good things. He also did one bad thing and, his own party had the character to confront him with it. He had the character and honor to resign. He appointed a good moderate man to succeed him. I respected that. I thought it would be good for that party in the long run. I think it was.

 Now, the Republican party, the party I supported for decades, has lost it's compass and its sole. I don't think they have any idea where they are heading. They seem to have lost track of right and wrong and even the rule of law. I really hope they can start over. I fear they cannot.

I hope Kamala, should she win, will aim for the center. Not too progressive. It might help the Republican party move to the center as well. As I see it, views change slowly, and the US has moved to the left faster than people can adjust. We've made a large group  uncomfortable. Again, I'm not saying whether that is right or wrong, only that it is true. I'm saying a people just can't change that fast. Real change takes generations, and slow but steady is probably better than two steps forward, then three steps back. The result has been an obscene and sometimes violent overreaction back to conservative values, which too often manifest as mean values. Fear plays a big part, and power-hungry people have always known that feeding fear is a cheap short cut to power. We need to be brave about change.

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America is great, and becoming greater all the time. I've lived here a good while, and you can't convince me it was better 20, 40, or 60 years ago. It wasn't. Isolationism and protectionism have always lead to inflation and slowed economic growth. Engaugment and competition lead to growth and greatness. 

The world is different and at the same time better, but not all people can acclimate to change. We probably do need to slow the rate of change, not because it is right or wrong, but because it is necessary to allow people time to catch up. 

I could, of course, be wrong about everything. Opinions are like that.