Team Saturdazzle: The One Without the Kool Aid

 

Hello, those dropping by from the A to Z challenge and welcome to Team Saturdazzle! 

Team Saturdazzle is the best thing on the internet that no one has ever heard of.  It's one of those super cool, super hip things that needs no explanation.  

Okay here's a small explanation; Team Saturdazzle occurs each Saturday at Leap of Dave and is a Potpourri of randomness and merriment.  Team Saturdazzle began when I led a work group chat at a previous job on our Saturday shift.  I called the chat, wait for it, Team Saturdazzle.

This year I have titled all the Team Saturdazzle posts with titles that look like they are episodes of the T.V. Show Friends.  That's why this post is called The one Without The Kool Aid.  

So for the Saturday's of the challenge I will have my A to Z post as the first part of the Team Saturdazzle post.    

Before I start I want to share that during the A to Z challenge my  Weekly Writer's Workshop submissions will appear as a segment in Team Saturdazzle or as part of my daily A to Z challenge response.

Here are this week’s prompts: 

1.Write a post based on the word roommates. 

2. Write a post in exactly 12 sentences (lines). 

3. What’s something that makes you far angrier than it should? 

4. Write about something you’ve recently spent a lot of time wondering about.

5.  If you could change the color of one thing, what would it be and why? 

6. If you knew you could live forever, how would you spend your days differently?   

 

My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me.  Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.  Today's letter is E so let's get right to it shall we?

A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C was for Christian

D was for David Davidovich 

E is for Evangelical Sans The Trump Kool-Aid

As a Christian I believe that the only thing I deserve is an eternity without God as a result of my own sins. I also believe that my salvation comes from God through Christ and is taught in the Bible. Nothing else is needed. When evangelicals defend unchristian behavior because they like the politics behind it they are not showing an understanding of Christ's redemptive love to a watching world.

Dave Roller - The Politics of Christianity 7/1/2020 Random Acts of Daveness  Word Press Blog

Yes, I am quoting myself.  I will be making many of the points today that  I have made multiple times on this and other platforms.  Since it is the ABC's of me, and I am, in fact,  me.  I will be quoting myself whenever possible.  All quotes unless otherwise noted are from the post The Politics of Christianity  which there is a link for in the paragraph above this one. 

John Holton of The Sound of One Hand Typing  put out his prompt list earlier this week for his Writer's Workshop segment. I chose #4: Write about something that you recently spent a lot of time thinking about.  I've been ruminating about this topic for many many years and that includes recently.  It is one of those things that makes me go" Hmmmm?".

I consider myself an evangelical Christian. This is how Wikipedia defines Evangelicalism:

Evangelicalism (/ˌiːvænˈdʒɛlɪkəlɪzəm, ˌɛvæn-, -ən/), evangelical Christianity, or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, trans-denominational movement within Protestant Christianity that maintains the belief that the essence of the Gospel consists of the doctrine of salvation by grace alone, solely through faith in Jesus's atonement.^] Evangelicals believe in the centrality of the conversion or "born again" experience in receiving salvation, in the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity, and in spreading the Christian message.

Wikipedia

 I know I wrote more experientially and anecdotally when I wrote about being a Christian on my C post.  However if I were to take an academic or explanatory approach it would match pretty close to Wikipedia's entry above.  The Wikipedia entry is very similar to the 5 Solas (Latin for alone) the tenet's of the protestant reformation.

They are Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Christ Alone, Glory of God Alone, and Scripture Alone.  Evangelicals, in a nutshell, believe in those 5 points and spreading that message as a regular practice of their faith. -

Why is the church getting engaged to the republican party when we are supposed to be the Bride of Christ? - Dave Roller TPOC

The problem of putting something in a nutshell, is that there is usually a nut or two alongside. (That is definitely a future quote from me.)  Among American evangelicals these days there seems to be many who are nutty about Making America Great Again.  It's as if there was a 6th sola, America alone (Sola America) and since 2016 a 7th Sola : Trump Alone (Sola Donalda) 

It wasn't always this way.  Back in the 1980's and 1990's  I knew  evangelical Christians who were Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and some even who were fans of the Green Bay Packers. aka Packertarians. Back then Donald Trump was not necessarily someone you would equate with evangelicalism of any stripe.  

A  letter to the editor in a suburban Chicago newspaper, The Daily Herald  regarding Muslim reaction to Trumps proposed Taj Mahal casino had this to say about Trump:

Donald Trump's very name has become synonymous with conspicuous consumption, greed and arrogance.  He is now linking himself with gambling more and more.  A Reaction To Trump, Daily Herald April 27th 1990

The author  did not identify himself as an evangelical in the letter, however, since I was the author of the letter, I can assure you that I was an evangelical at the time , and still am (sans the Trump Kool-Aid).

Billy Graham, who I will refer to for the rest of this piece, as EFE (Everybody's Favorite Evangelical) had this to say about gambling: 

“Gambling is nowhere approved in the Bible. Instead, the Bible stresses that the Christian should earn his living by honest work and effort, and this would exclude relying on chance (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12). The Bible tells us to ‘abstain from all appearance of evil’ (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Gambling has often done untold evil to people by making them lose money that could be used for good purposes or even the necessities of life. Money is given to us by God to be used for good, not evil. Anyone seeking to do God’s will should not be involved in gambling.” Billy Graham - My Answer Column quoted in Gospel Herald Article 1/26/17

Trump still profits from his previously owned  casino resorts.  The AP reported this past Tuesday that Trump has an agreement with Bally's that if they build a casino on the former Trump Links that Bally purchased in 2023 that they will pay him 115 Million dollars.  It is just one of many instances where it makes it hard for me to understand the relationship between Trump and Evangelicals.

Michael J. Kruger wrote an excellent article at his website canon fodder entitled "How the 5 solas do more than respond to Catholicism".  Kruger breaks down each sola,  saying what it fights against.    Kruger says that Soli Deo Gloria (For God's glory alone) is about "letting go of our glory, and living for God's glory." He concludes that Soli Deo Gloria fights against pride. 

If that's the case, MAGA doesn't make sense coming from the mouth of an Evangelical. Making America great again and  all our energies on being a proud American sound like what people who need Christ may be looking for Glory but not the evangelicals dedicated to sharing that Christ.  The Wikipedia definition calls evangelicalism a world wide movement.  If that's the case, wouldn't  the aims of evangelicals be more global, if not other worldly, than national? 

In my post, The politics of Christianity I explain how I have both a passion for political involvement and also a passion to shower the world with the love of Christ. I then say:

 If I had to choose between passions I hope I’d choose the passion mandated in the Bible. Jesus states this passion very succinctly in the book of John ...

¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

John 15:12-13

Or in the words of EFE:

“I’m trying to stay out of it and just keep preaching the gospel, because there’s nothing coming out of Washington or any of those places that are going to save the world or transform men and women. It’s Christ,” Billy Graham 1987 – quoted in What Billy Graham taught us about a healthy relationship between religion and politics – Deseret News 2/21/2018 also quoted in TPOC

The point I hope I am making is that evangelicalism has nothing to do with Trump.  This doesn't mean that evangelicals should have nothing to do with him.   Evangelicals carry the good news of Jesus Christ and that message is vital and has eternal consequences.  It is a message worth sharing to presidents, felons, adulterers, poor losers, and instigators of riots.  Evangelicals can and should vote in their countries elections, but that doesn't mean they need to drink the Kool-Aid.  

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Team Saturdazzle At The Movies

Powered By Box Office Mojo

Top 10 Films 

 top 10 Films of 2025 as of 3/31/2005 

 10. Paddington In Peru   

9. A Complete Unknown Down 1 from February 

8. Nosferatu down 2 from February  

7. One of These Days  

6. Moana 2 down 1 from February 

5 Snow White  

4. Sonic The Hedgehog 3 down 1 from February 

3. Dog Man up 1 from January 

2. Mufasa The Lion King  

1. Captain America: Brave New World 

 Top 10 Films of March 2025

  10. Dog Man down 8 from Debruary 

9. A Working Man 

8. Paddington in Peru down 4 from February

7. Last Breath Up 13 from February

6. Black Bag

5. Novocaine

4. The Monkey up 2 from February

3. Mickey 17 

2. Captain America: Brave New World down 1 from February

1. Snow White

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I just love this standup routine from Nate Bargatze from the first time he hosted Saturday Night Live.  The first few minutes are pretty good but it's the last 5 to 6 that just about kill me.  So funny.  

I may have broke AI

While I was researching and writing my A to Z post for today,  I searched for how the 5 Solas would be translated in other languages.  This was for a point I decided not to make.  I looked it up in  Spanish, Russian and Greek.  Each time Googles AI gave me an overview with the 5 Solas and what they would be called in that language and then I could further search the links below that.  Being the totally Saturdazalous person that I am I decided to see how the Solas might look in Klingon.  AI went to work but after 30 seconds it was still thinking and I decided that maybe I should back out before anything really bad happened.  

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That's about all I have for Team Saturdazzle today.  Thanks for stopping by either  from The Sound of One Hand Typing or the ABC Challenge.  For More Writer's Workshop click here.  To get back to the A to Z Challenge website click here.  To go back directly to the A to Z Challenge Master List click here.  Otherwise leave a message at the tone and  I'll call you back at my earliest convenience.

Beeeeep!

 

An Open Letter to Bob Morgan

 

Bob Morgan

Il State Representative  58th District

Dear Representative Morgan:

A few years ago some well meaning member of the state senate decided to fix something that wasn't broke with  a bill called SB136.  At the time, I was the dedicate home educator of our family home school, and  as the bill  was primarily aimed at home education I rallied against it even writing several posts about it on my blog. At that time I thought I might be done with blogging about misguided bill proposals.  But thanks to you, I get to go at it again.  

 While it may have seemed to you  like a good idea to tie winning records into public funding requests  for sports facilities,  and it certainly  gave you 15 minutes of fame, The question remains why you would set winning records as a requirement for stadiums when it is not requisite for other public funding.  

Public schools, for example, continue to receive public funds even when the students are not showing winning records.  In fact, one can make the argument that we should put funds in schools that are not winning so their winning percentage can increase in years to come.  It's called development. Also ,we spend money on prisons and that money is spent on people who come to have losing records, sometimes in your line of work.  

{{Information |Description={{en|1=Staley Da Bear, the official mascot of the Chicago Bears. }} |Source=http://www.flickr.com/photos/blueyeda73/2988610732/ |Author=[http://www.flickr.com/photos/blueyeda73/ blueyeda73] |Date=10 28, 2008 |Permission=see belo

One of the main  reasons we should be exploring the idea of spending public funding for sports teams like the Bears is to bring more quality opportunities to our area.  If the Bears had a state of the art facilty they woukd be much more likely to be considered for hosting events like the Super Bowl and giving the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago more leverage in winning a future bid for hosting the Olympic games.    Those events would certainly bringg revenue to the owners of the facility but would also bring visitors, jobs and positive notoriety to the area.

If you still insist on making winning records part of government financing of a stadium I'm not sure the requirement of  3 of 5 years winning record your proposal calls for is the best way to go.   According to your plan, a team could win 3 of their last 5 and then have 9 straight losing seasons.  A back end approach seems more feasible. Perhaps after the team that receives financial backing from the state starts playing in their new facility there be a written into the contract that if the team has a combined losing record any 5 consecutive seasons in a 19 year period that they have to pay the state a predetermined amount.  This could either be a percentage of the original financing amount or a percentage of their annual revenue.

If such a plan was in place after government money was used to build what was then called Comiskey Park or Comiskey Park II, there would have only been 1 5 year period of 15 (1995-1999) where the White Sox would have needed to pay a penalty.  During that 19 year period the White Sox went to playoffs 4 times and won the World Series  in 2005.  Those 4 playoff appearances were one more than the 80 seasons played at the original Comiskey. When put that way it seems like it  was money well spent.  

By Tony - Bears vs Chiefs, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

As for calling your act the BEARS act may make sense to you since Lake Forest, I believe is in your district but to name it  for just one team when many may  want to finance a stadium seems again like a cute way to make a name for yourself.  I would suggest a better acronym and a better plan before calling any more audibles.  

Jimmy Carter's eulogy for Gerald Ford

I scheduled thispost to coincide with the beginning of President Carter's National Funeral Service. Jimmy Carter gave a Eulogy at President Ford's Funeral service. It is eloquent, homespun, and humorous. In that it embodied many of the traits of both Presidents.

Who I'm Not voting for in the 2024 Presidential Election and Why not.

 The U.S. Presidential election is a week away, and I wanted to explain how I am voting in it. This is not an endorsement; I don't expect anyone to vote like I am. However, I do feel that I am making a logical and sensible decision, given the choices before me.  

If you were not aware, the election is between Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. In the state of Illinois, where I reside, one other candidate is also listed on the ballot.

I have quite a bit of history when it comes to voting in elections.  I turned 18 in 1982 and voted officially in that election and voted in my first Presidential election in 1984.  Before that, I had voted in 2 mock elections, one in 1976 at Grove Jr. High School where I  voted for Gerald Ford over Jimmy Carter, and one in 1980  at Elk Grove High School where I voted for Carter over Ronald Reagan.  Incidentally, I voted for Carter for the same reason I voted against Carter: I thought that the incumbent candidate needed more time to complete their work.  On both these occasions my views were in the minority. 

My procedures for choosing who to vote for have evolved since those mock elections days.  I take the responsibility to vote very seriously.  Initially, I try to pick between the majority party candidates, and if neither stands out to me as the best choice I may vote for an independent or write-in candidate. I believe one time, four years ago, when I found no candidate worthy of my vote,  I just skipped down to the next race in the election.

The first thing I try to determine is whether the candidates are credible.  That is to say are they believable?  Will they do what they say they are going to do?  It may surprise some people that this is the first thing that I try to determine.  Why not look at what the candidates say they believe and vote on the one I agree with the most?  Why not? Because, if the candidate is not credible it doesn't matter whether I agree with what they are saying if I don't believe they can or will do it.  

Among the two major party candidates, there is only one credible candidate and that is Vice President Harris.  When I read the issues page of her website I believed her when she said these are the issues that are important to her. So, she is credible in that regard.  

Unfortunately, there is very little that Donald Trump says that I believe.  To me, he is not a credible candidate.  He says that he won the last election, In fact, 3 minutes into his Jan 6th, 2020 speech at the Capitol Mall, he stated "We won this election, and we won it in a landslide".  This was never a credible statement.  Trump has been creating a false narrative since he first declared in 2015 that he was seeking high office and that the only way he could lose is if other people cheated. So naturally when he lost the election it was because of massive fraud. 

There are very few things that Trump has said that I have believed.  Most of his few credible statements are not positive.  He said recently that if reelected he will consider arresting his opposition.  As scary as that image is and how undemocratic it seems, I can totally believe that he would consider that.  When he was caught on a hot mike saying he wanted to force himself on women, I found that credible.  Morally reprehensible, yet credible.  When as President, he maligned the countries that were sending us the most immigrants, I truly believed that he could be so mean-spirited and uncaring.  Unfortunately, all those statements match to what has already been revealed by his character. When he makes positive claims, his character, and his history of previously false claims, make it virtually impossible for me to believe a word he says.  

This is why when he claimed to be pro-life when running in 2016 I did not believe him.  When he actually did appoint conservative judges and justices I was surprised.  Those appointments did lead to Roe vs. Wade being overturned in 2022. So you might think that I would now find Trump credible at least on this issue.  No, Trump has backpedaled on his abortion views for the 2024 election and so I can't find him credible on that issue either.  I chalk it up more to political expediency than anything else.  

In most Presidential elections since I started voting in 1984 there have been (in my opinion)  2 major party credible candidates running against each other.  The only exceptions are the aforementioned Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.  In Clinton's case, I never found him to be a trustworthy candidate.  

If there are 2 credible candidates I don't then try to decide who's more credible.  I decide who's more worthy of my vote.  Only credible candidates are worthy of anyone's vote, and then I am free to decide from who's left.  

The Republican Party has done the country a great disservice over the last 3 election cycles by not putting a credible candidate on the Presidential ballot,  Fortunately for them, most voters look for a candidate who purports to match their views first and then judge the character of that candidate.  This puts the voter in a difficult situation by looking for candidates who agree with them they open themselves up to be maneuvered by master operators like Clinton and Trump.  

In 1992, it seemed like the Republicans saw Clinton for who he was, but the Democrats failed to grasp that. They were enamored with the idea of putting the first Democrat in the White House since Carter won in '76.  In 2016 despite a field of credible Republican candidates, the Republicans reimagined themselves in the worst possible way picking a bully who could win and make populist gains at the risk of the party's soul.  

I think it might be easy to think that if there is only one credible candidate that is the candidate you should vote for. But this has simply not been true for me.   I could have gladly supported Joe Biden years ago when he was a Pro-Life Democrat, especially over Trump.   Biden decided to believe that a Pro-Life Democrat could not elect his President and changed his stance so he could get the job he always wanted.  Biden abandoned his beliefs for the expediency of office for the same motives that the Republicans abandoned their integrity to embrace Trump.  In the 2016 and 2020 elections, this put me in quite a pickle.  I didn't believe that anyone should vote for Trump and I could not bring myself to vote for Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden. While I found both these candidates credible, my conscience would not let me support them.

People would tell me you must choose the lesser of two evils.  I would say why should I choose evil?   Also, if I had to choose the lesser of two evils in those elections it would not have been Trump.  I'm not even sure that Trump would ever admit that he was the lesser of two anything. "People are always telling me Don you're so evil.  Frankly, If I was going to be evil I'd be amazing at it."

Adam Kizinger made an impassioned speech at the 2024 DNC urging his fellow Republicans to vote for Harris in the election,  It is tempting but the truth is that the 2024 election has me in the same pickle. I won't consider Trump and when I do consider Harris, I can't get past her pro-choice positions.  It's frustrating because I would have gladly supported someone like Nikki Haley or Kizinger and will probably end up writing one of their names on my ballot.  I'm not picky, I just want to be able to choose between two credible candidates and the Republican party keeps on robbing me of that opportunity.  

A To Z 2924:I is for Indicted Illinois Governors Day

For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate.  Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day.  I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge.  At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter.  At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in a to z keepsake playlist on Spotify.  Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together. 

April 10th is Indicted Illinois Governors Day

In U.S. history there have been 25 state governors  who have been convicted of federal crimes.  4 of these have come from the state of Illinois.  .  That's righr 4 of the last 10 Illinois governors have served in federal prisons.  

As a non public official of the state of Illinois with all the power invested in me by this great state, I proclaim April 10th as Indicted Illinois Governors Day.  

There have actually been 5 Illinois governors to be indicted. 

Joel Aldrich Matteson, the 10th governor of Illinois (1853-1857) was charged in 1859  in the Canal Scrip Fraud Scandal.  Matteson redeemed Scrip for the Canal for himself.  He was indicted but then acquitted and returned the majority of the funds to the state.  

Otto Kerner Jr,  was governor of Illinois from 1961-1968.  In 1972 He was a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals when he was indicted on multiple charges including mail fraud, & income tax evasions.  Charges he was eventually convicted og.  Kerner served six months on a three year sentence.  His crimes went back to 1962 when as a governor he colluded with race track owners. 

,  

Dan Walker was governor of Illinois from 1973-1977.  Unlike Kerner, Walkers convictions came from crimes committed after his time as governor. As CEO of a savings and loan siphoned bank money for his own use,  Walker was indicted, convicted and served 17 months of a seven year sentence.

George Ryan was governor of Illinois from 1999-2003 and was the Il Secretary of State prior to that,  As Secretary of State he presided  over a huge bribes for licenses scheme.  This scheme was exposed after a truck killed 6 children in the same family  and it was revealed that the trucker had paid bribes for his license.  Ryan  was sentenced to 6 1/2 years of prison and was released in 2013.

Rod Blagojevich was governor of Illinois form 2002 - 2009 when he was impeached by the Illinois General Assembly.  When Blagojevich (Blago) rand in 2002 his mantra was no more business as usual.  This was in the wake of the Ryan scandals.  The problem is Blago missed his own memo, and went back to business as usual, and business was booming.  Blago was caught on tape trying to sell the senate seat of President Elect Obama, and was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and solicitation of bribery.  He was convicted and sentenced to 14 years and was in prison from 2012 to 2020 when hw was pardoned by Donald Trump.

While it's true that our last 3 governors have not gone to jail.  We could use the growth mindset, and say they have not gone to jail yet.  Why do so many of the governors of my state go to jail.  It may just be a matter of linguistical expectations.  What do governors and convicts have in common.  They both serve terms.  So in a way their first career sets up their second.  

While I made up this holiday, I unfortunately did not make up the history.  

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Song of the day: I Believe In You - Bob Dylan

The playlist is really taking shape now.   

That's it for me .  Feel free to add a comment before moving on with your day.

To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!

Here's a song some members of the Kinzinger Family probably haven't heard.

At the end of last November, I wrote a post about 10 things I'd like to see the Republican Party like to address going forward after the 2020 presidential election. One of these things was a distancing from Donald Trump. It isn't something that I think is greatly needed but not something I had great hope in happening. After the attacks in Washington, I hoped this would be the last straw for those aligning themselves with Trump. This happened with some Republicans but clearly not most Republicans.

One person who did not only distant himself from Trump but actually spoke out against him was Adam Kinzinger, a U.S. congressman from my home state of Illinois. Kinzinger was one of 10 Republican members of Congress to vote to impeach Trump earlier this year. Standing up to the highest-ranking member of your party takes guts and earned Kinzinger a great deal of respect in my opinion. It would be no surprise to hear that not everyone in the Republican Party holds my opinion about Kinzinger. It turns out that not everyone in Kinzinger's own family agrees with me.

Earlier this year Kinzinger received a letter signed by 11 of his family members denouncing the congressman. Here are some quotes from the letter.

"Oh my, what a disappointment you are to us and to God! We were once so proud of your accomplishments! Instead, you go against your Christian principles and join the 'devil’s army' "

"You won’t convince us otherwise with your horrible, rude accusations of President Trump! (To embrace a party that believes in abortion and socialism is the ultimate sin.)"

"It is now most embarrassing to us that we are related to you. You have embarrassed the Kinzinger family name,"

"We are thoroughly disgusted with you!! And, oh by the way, we are calling for your removal from office," 

This letter from Kinzinger's family members was written about 6 months ago just a few days after the capitol was stormed. I meant to write about this months ago as I thought there were some valued lessons to be learned from this incident. 6 months later I will just let the music and lyrics of Susan Ashton make my point.

https://open.spotify.com/track/5StYBDRxi6AdNgjtjMo7T2?si=bd2647ddcf3547af

Agree to Disagree

Standing on this battlefield of strong opinion
Among the verbal brush and briar
Plenty of weaponry and ammunition
We say ready aim fire.

So you argue points of logic until I'm put in my place
And I argue my convictions until I'm blue in the face but.

We just keep on going round in circles
Lost, found, life is such a mystery
We search and we find opposing answers
Maybe we should just agree to disagree.

Can we meet on neutral ground?
For surrender
And carve a path for restitution
Because my love for you is surely strong enough
To find some kind of resolution.

Cause we can have our differences
And that won't change the way I feel
About you and about me and about God
And His whole deal but.

We just keep on going round in circles
Lost, found, life is such a mystery
We search and we find opposing answers
Maybe we should just agree to disagree.

Cause we are getting nowhere fast
When the concrete and the supernatural clash
So we will stand at other ends with all this stuff
But can't we find a common thread in love.

And in our thirsting quest for knowledge
Maybe one day we will find
That I finally see it your way
Or you finally see it mine.

We just keep on going round in circles
Lost, found, life is such a mystery
We search and we find opposing answers
Maybe we should just agree to disagree...

10 Things I'd Like To See The Republican Party Do No That The Election Is Over

 My former pastor and fellow blogger Lindy Scott mentioned in a recent post, a list of upcoming posts that he would be addressing in his blog. One of those was about the future of the Republican Party. This reminded me that there are some specific areas that I would like to see the GOP address going forward now that the transition to a Biden Presidency has begun.

These issues are as follows ...

Abortion

I've heard it said that Donald Trump has been the most pro-life president this country has ever had. I am not sure if this statement has any merit, but for my present purpose the veracity of the statement need not come into play.

Abortion, in my mind, is one of the most critical issues of my lifetime. I am against abortion but I must admit that those on the other side of the issue have been very effective labelling it as a reproductive rights issue rather than a pro-choice issue. The bottom line is it is a human rights issue and it should be addressed as one. I would like to see Republicans (and Democrats for that matter) stand up for all life particularly for those like the human fetus who cannot defend themselves.

During the past election season, I viewed commercial after commercial where Republicans (and some Democrats like Illinois Congressman Dan Lipinski) were lambasted for their extreme views on abortion.

Click here to see one such ad against Lipinski.

Their "extreme" views were that abortion should be ended and that our tax dollars shouldn't fund abortion. These views are not extreme and need to be talked about in the light of day.

I would like to see Republicans not only stand strong against abortion but also lead the discussion on how to solve this problem. Many people align themselves with the Republican party because of this issue. So far, I don't believe they haven't gotten very much return on their investment.

Racial Reconciliation

It is often said that perception is reality. I think I can argue effectively for or against that statement. That is probably from my debate background. For now, let's just concede that it's a true statement. Lets review some perceptions for a moment.

Donald Trump has often been perceived as a racist. The Republican Party, it has been argued, has become the Donald Trump party. So if both those perceptions are in fact, reality does it follow that the Republican Party is racist?

I fervently hope not. But this perception is very real to many and I am certain this perception precluded many people from voting for Republicans in general and Trump in particular when they may have been more inclined to vote for them if these perceptions didn't exist.

Republicans need to show an immediate conciliatory approach to race relations in this country. Something I learned in my over 20 years in customer service is that its okay for me to apologize for something that isn't my fault. Slavery wasn't my fault. But I am sorry about it. It was a horrible practice to strip people from their homes and exploit, humiliate, and subjugate them. It is a shameful part of our history and it's even more shameful that we are still so divided racially in this country. It is just as shameful that so many people are ignorant of or tone deaf to these inequalities.

Republicans need to be on the leading edge of promoting racial harmony. The first step would be found in embracing the problem, even if the problem is just a perception. Changing the perception of the party to accepting people of all races rather than being perceived as a party of racists would be an important step in the right direction.

COVID 19

President elect Biden credits his victory in some part to making Trump's handling of Covid a major issue of the election. Republicans need to work with Biden and the Democrats as much as they can in stopping the spread of Covid. There is no logical reason why this should not be a bi-partisan slam dunk of an issue.

I think that Republicans do need to stand up and make sure that aborted fetal tissues are not used in potential co-vid vaccines. They need to be pro-actively seeking out scientific solutions that don't endanger any vulnerable populations including the unborn.

Distancing from Donald Trump

Speaking of covid, the Republicans need to begin socially and politically distancing themselves from the soon to be erstwhile president. There needs to be an almost Costanzalike mantra in any Republican politician asking what Trump would do, and then doing the opposite.

An example of this would be, if you find yourself speaking at a press conference and you are asked by a reporter what you would tell the millions of Americans who are scared. You probably don't want to go with "I'd tell them you're a bad reporter."

Click here to see the exchange I'm referring to.

Another thing I learned in customer service is that apologizing for someone else is nowhere near as effective as solving the person's problem. Solving the problem by employing a different approach than the way it was originally mishandled is more effective than just an apology on its own. Republicans going forward by handling issues in a way not reminiscent of Trump will go a long way in making the party a more viable choice for others in the future.

Establish a Platform

The Republicans chose not to have a platfrom at the 2020 Trump infomercial convention. This was a mistake. Their alternative was even worse. In the document the RNC did provide they stated that

RESOLVED, That the Republican Party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President’s America-first agenda;
RESOLVED, That the 2020 Republican National Convention will adjourn without adopting a new platform until the 2024 Republican National Convention;

Resolution Regarding The Republican Party Platform 2020

Some readers may have bristled when I said a few paragraphs ago that there was a perception that the Republican Party had become the Donald Trump Party. When a document designed to show your party's guiding principles says your party's mission is to enthusiastically support your President's agenda, it's hard not to get that perception.

Adherence to this document means now that President Trump is on his way out of office, the plan for next 4 years is to enthusiastically support the agenda of a former one term president who lost both the popular and electoral vote? As far as plans go, this is not a great one.

The party needs to redefine itself and represent that redefinition to the public.

Address Gun Violence

One of the hallmarks of a two-party system is that each party addresses issues in their own way. This is good and can be very effective. However, I believe that the gun issue is one that keeps many people from voting Republican or at least from feeling good about it. Guns may not kill people but they are part of the equation. Republicans need to realize that the gun lobby is never going to support Democrats. They can afford to pass laws that protect citizens better without infringing on their 2nd amendment rights. It's hard to argue that women don't have rights over their own bodies but everyone has rights to all manners of weapons. It's easier to argue that both parties should limit their rights that could deny other people life.

Widen Base

The Republicans need to take steps in the next 4 years to widen their base. Again, I think a concilatory approach is what is needed here. I think the Republican party can be a party of inclusion by showing that they can meet the needs of their constituents. I think by making some of the changes I have listed here a priority in the future they can add to their base without losing their historic identity.

Reform Immigration Compassionately

There are few places where walking back Trump rhetoric and actions is more important than immigration. Immigration is an important issue in this country. It is not going to get solved in a tweet or a debate. It is one of those issues that I believe needs to be solved on a bi-partisan basis. The reason why I say this is because otherwise it will just change from election to election depending on which party is in power. If Republicans want to build a multi racial base, they can do so by helping Democrats solve immigration permanently.

Reestablish Sound Foreign Policy

I know very little about foreign policy. What I do know is that Donald Trump's approach was far different than the historical Republican approach. I believe the foreign policies of Trump should be abandoned and the old approach brought back.

Appeal to Independents.

I don't think most Americans are 100% red or 100% blue, I think we are red, white and blue. Republicans living in a post Trump society should go forward trying to craft their message in a way that independents and the undecided can relate with. They should listen to their constituencies and meet needs and embrace change.

Now, none of these 10 things talk about free market capitalism or small government or many of the other Republican fundamentals. Other peoples' lists may look totally different than mine. In fact, some peoples' items might be opposites of the ones on my list. But that's okay, I think the most important aspect of this exercise was not the examination of the Republican Party but the examination of my values to see how the political parties line up to them. I also have a list of things I'd like to see the Democrats do in a Biden administration.

At the beginning of this post I mentioned how Lindy Scott ended his most recent post talking about other posts he is working on. I'd like to do the same.

Other subjects I would like to address in the future would be ...

Sizing up the 16 other Republican Primary candidates in 2016 for a run in 2024.

Why Bipartisanship is so important in the early days of the Biden Presidency.

Why a Trump 2024 candidacy would be a step in the wrong direction.

Those are just the political ones, I also have several chili recipes I'd like to spill the beans about.