As we turn the page from our 250th birthday, where does our desire for a new birth of freedom take us?
It should take us back to the basics of our daily lives.
Americans repeatedly tell pollsters that they want our federal government to primarily focus on economic stability and healthcare.
Reduce the cost of living for low- and middle-income workers. Enhance job security and working conditions. Fund programs that provide job skills training that help workers move about in volatile job markets.
Americans want Uncle Sam to take an aggressive role in lowering housing and healthcare costs for average citizens rather than cutting taxes for the super-rich. We seek expanded social insurance programs to provide paths out of poverty for children and retired folks.
These issues are within those that I identified a few months ago in this paper: “We need leaders who will deliver a reasonable cost of living, affordable health care, well-paying jobs, social safety nets, enforced civil rights, a secure border with a comprehensive immigration plan, a safe environment, a coordinated national defense with trusting allies, the reliance on science, an internet with safe social media for children, common sense gun safety measures, quality public education, AI limits, constitutional rule of law, and an economy that rewards it’s workers, too.”
Traditional conservative and progressive economists tell us that this is affordable. Their plans are published. Some of them appear on talk shows, expressing a willingness to work together to make our country work for us.
What they don’t have, however, are elected leaders who are willing to work together, compromise and preach patience.
So how do we elect responsible leaders?
Can we trust Republicans to get the job done? They presently control all three branches of our government. How’s that working out? We know that their primary focus this fall, and in 2028, will be defending the numerous failures of the Trump administration. They blamed Obama/Biden to get elected. They blame Obama/Biden for their inability to successfully govern. More of the same will not produce different results.
How can Democrats screw this up? Let me count the ways: George McGovern, Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, John Kerry. Hillary Clinton. Kamala Harris.
But it starts and ends with us: educated, informed, and moral voters. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Ben Franklin expressed doubts about whether future Americans would arm themselves with the knowledge necessary to maintain the new American republic. But, they took a chance on us anyway.
Let’s reward their faith and sacrifices by becoming factually informed, morally practiced, and vote for the best candidate.
Let’s be the cure for stupid.
— Chuck Wieland,
Madera