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How low can we go before we actually take action?
Politically speaking, it seems we are an angry and divided country right now.
Throw any label you want at it, conservative or liberal, right or left, progressive or moderate. Who is responsible for all this division?
Well, part of the blame goes to the leaders we elected to represent us, from the president to the Senate and, obviously, the House, which can't even elect its own leader.
The rest of the blame goes to us for electing them.
Congress has only a 17% approval rating! How low can it go?
Yet, in 2022, we reelected 95% of House incumbents and 100% of Senate incumbents. How's that working out?
I blame the Democrats. No, wait, I blame the Republicans. No, wait, I blame us for being captured by their political warfare.
When asked what party Americans identify with, it's overwhelmingly independent! Polls conducted in 2023, asking which party respondents identify with, showed 49% identify as independent, 25% as Democrat, and 24% as Republican.
It is obvious we are frustrated with the Big Two.
Why don't the two major parties listen to us? Easy answer. They know they don't have to. They get reelected, regardless.
And, right now, with 70% of Democrats saying they prefer Joe Biden not run again and 60% of Republicans saying they prefer Donald Trump not run again, they continue to not listen to us.
Last time I checked, they worked for us, not the other way around.
How low can THEY go?
Polls again show 78% of us think our country is headed in the wrong direction, and only 21% think we are going in the right direction. Who are the 21%?
Again I ask you, how low can we go?
How long before we wake up and realize what we are doing is not working? How can we change it? Who can start the change?
There is one organization that is trying. Maybe you have heard about it. It's called No Labels. They were successful in forming the Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress, consisting of 64 representatives, evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. No Labels is not a political party, but an organization laser-focused on uniting the political landscape in our country, and they will start at the top, if necessary.
If the big two parties force an unwanted Biden/Trump rematch for president in 2024, they are working on creating a "unity ticket" on all 50 state ballots. A unity ticket would have a Democrat and a Republican on the same presidential/vice presidential ticket.
And, as you may have guessed, the Democrats and Republicans are fighting them every step of the way.
Why? The Democrats and Republicans don't want you and I to have a third choice.
How low can the two parties go?
I can hear you now. You are saying a third party can't win. You are saying voting a third party is wasting your vote.
I disagree, for a couple of reasons.
One, what we are currently doing is not working and we need to change. Two, based on the current dysfunctional division in Washington, I believe reelecting them again is wasting our vote.
Think about it. How refreshing would it be to have a unity ticket as another choice?
Of course, it will all depend on whether No Labels is successful in getting ballot access, and, of course, who the No Labels candidates will be.
If ever there was a time for a sea change in the United States, it is now. No Labels have scheduled their convention in Dallas in April to nominate a common sense ticket, if necessary.
Folks, I am not down on America. In fact, quite the opposite. I love our country. I see opportunity everywhere around us.
We are still a relevantly young country who for the last 250 years has come so far. Our founders were visionaries who believed in individual freedom and that people could govern themselves in a representative democracy.
No, they weren't perfect, and we have corrected much of what they did wrong -- slavery, voting rights, land ownership, equal rights etc. Yes, we still have work to do -- work that is not getting done -- but just imagine if we could work together how much better life would be for all of us.
How low can we go? I hope no lower.
Hey, I don't have all the answers, but, if you, too, are looking for solutions, believe in a brighter future for America, all I ask is that you give No Labels a look. Check them out at NoLabels.org and let me know what you find at gregawtry@awtry.com.
Greg Awtry is the former publisher of the Scottsbluff (Neb.) Star-Herald and Nebraska's York News-Times. He is now retired and living in Hubbard Lake. Greg can be contacted at gregawtry@awtry.com.