What word can true GOP conservatives use when referring to the reactionary people who have taken control of the Republican Party? Trumplicans would be an accurate term. That way they could criticize without attacking the Republican Party that still contains some real conservatives.
Donald Trump didn’t start the hate filled wave, but he is riding it to make money for himself. Before the 2000 and 2022 elections he pulled in millions, but gave very little to the toadies that he “supported” in the election and nothing to his party. For he alone can save America. How do we know? He told us so.
Trumplicans are like termites attacking the structure of our democracy especially voting rights, never building, just removing material to be carried back to the queen Donald nest egg.
Trumplicans have spread to smaller structural members of our society like library and school boards. They frighten bureaucrats to quit our election commissions using personal verbal and physical threats.
Seems Trumplicans have learned from the German National Socialist Party of the 1930’s and the destruction of civil society and education during the “Great Leap Forward” by China. Violence and threats can change America, but never for the better. Violence always begets violence with revenge becoming the prime motivator for continuing the fight.
Voting is the core of democracy. When it is no longer trusted and available, democracy is dead.
A healthy environment, owning AR-15s, abortion, foreign policy, justice, having a job, health insurance, all can be changed through Americans voting. If voting is gone, what civil and peaceful means exists for changing things? This is why voting is the core of democracy and the most important freedom that we have.
If the majority of people don’t vote then a small, extremely motivated group will set the rules. It doesn’t matter what area is involved north or south, red or blue, urban or rural. When voting doesn’t matter to you then you don’t matter to them.
In most places we have all or nothing voting practices. I vote for my person and if they don’t win then I have no say in who is elected. This is especially true in local elections when several candidates are campaigning. Let view an example.
My town’s population is 100,000 and we have several groups who recently moved in, a loud party demanding they be heard and an older population who like things just the way they were.
The election is getting heated over several months so there is a huge 10% (10,000) turnout for the school board election for one position.
A great fire brand speaker “A” gets 3,000, but most people don’t trust and some fear him.
B is friendly and a former teacher and gets 2,000.
C is a former mayor who doesn’t want things to change and gets 2,500.
D wants to represent a new group and gets 1,500.
E is running just to ridicule the other candidates and gets 1,000.
Under our current system A wins because a plurality takes all, but the majority don’t want A’s ideas and actions. With Rank Choice Voting (RCV) a majority is needed to win, not just a plurality. A one minute explanation here. A very useful 4 minute justification here.
Now with Rank Choice Voting all voters chose 5 candidates putting their favorite as #1. The next #2, then #3, then #4 and most disliked #5. This way if your favorite doesn’t win a MAJORITY, you are still effecting the results and making it less likely for your hated candidate to win.
With Rank Choice Voting, the candidates that are extreme and alienate large groups of voters become #4 or #5 for most voters.
Move to the next round where E had the fewest votes and is no longer considered.
E’s voters second choices are added to the other candidates vote totals. Resulting in.
A has 3,100.
B has 2,400.
C has 2,900.
D has 1,600.
Since there is no majority, D is dropped and D’s voters 2nd choice is added to remaining candidates. So the least favorite candidates bare out and D’s 2nd choice are added. Resulting in.
A gets 3,400.
B gets 3,500.
C gets 3,100.
Sill no majority so next round and C is out of the running. C’s 2nd choice are used.
A great fire brand speaker “A” gets 4,200, but most people didn’t trust him.
B gets 5,800 and is the winner.
So RCV selected the most acceptable candidate for the majority of voters. Each voter influenced the final election results. Second and third choices are important in the final selection. The vocal extremes were eliminated. The winner was the most acceptable and the least hated. The results could be tolerated and accepted by the majority of voters.
RCV is specially important during national primary elections because outside money will create motivated voters, but few billionaires will pay enough to buy the majority of votes.
Rank Choice Voting eliminated the extremes and elected on a majority acceptable person.
Here is a thorough description so of course it’s longer.