Based on the two candidates who ran against Rep. Eric Swalwell in the primary, I will compare political stereotypes of the two political parties and why they can't get along.
Democrat Ellen Corbett has a warm heart. She was bothered because Eric Swalwell has no empathy for his constituents. Corbett believes that representatives must be personally involved in handling the problems of their constituents. She will go that extra mile.
When I told Republican candidate Hugh Bussell that Corbett said Swalwell "has no empathy," he made a face, like "why does that matter?" He criticized Swalwell for "not being too bright," and "full of sound bites." Bussell believes in analysis and logic and not getting all warm and fuzzy over political issues.
Now there's nothing wrong with caring about people and their problems and wanting to help them. And there's nothing wrong with analyzing what works and what doesn't and using the best way to get the best results. However, when carried to extremes, we wind up with "bleeding heart liberals," and "keep your Government hands out of my pockets conservatives."
The sad thing is we need both. We need to move each of those strengths closer together to get a blend of the two, instead of an up or down seesaw ? my side is right, no my side is right ? like we have now.
Tom Cushing wrote his blog this week on 50 ways to say NO to political fundraising emails but he only gets one side of them. I'm on the email list for both Republican and Democrat fundraisers because I supported candidates on both sides at different times.
The Democrats are very strident ? of course, they are the emotional ones. "Koch Brothers are trying to buy the election!!!!!" Did you read what so-and-so said about President Obama!!!! "Stand with the President or the Republicans will destroy (a) Obamacare (b) a woman's right to choose (c) voting rights (d) all of the above. Send $3 or $5."
This is especially offensive to me because often they are squeezing this money from the people who can probably least afford even $3 a week or whenever these fundraising emails come out.
Republican emails tend to be less hyper but ask for more money, usually starting at $25, but both sides use scare tactics to wring money out of their followers, which only makes the divide greater.
Two years ago I joined No Labels, which was supposed to bridge the gap between Republicans and Democrats to work together to solve problems. A recent article on Yahoo News basically said that No Labels is a flop at getting anything done except raising money for itself. That sounds like just another organization out to grab my wallet.
So now I'm totally disillusioned with the two party system. Republicans in Congress just voted to sue the President. Really! Of course that will be an even bigger fund raising scheme for both parties. The more the Republicans attack Obama, the more money Obama and the Democrats rake in. The Republicans will of course demand more donations to finance this crazy scheme. It's all about the money folks, and I'm not paying or playing any more.
