Independent voters forced to choose a side

He is the most hated man in America by half the country. He is the most defended and appreciated man in America by the other half of the country.

That wasn’t the case when Donald J. Trump became President of the United States in the election of 2016. At that time, only 24 percent of the nation heartily supported him. However, over the past three years, his presidency has created a wide and growing gap between conservatives and liberals with independents, like me, caught in the middle of an intense hatred between the two parties. What has become crystal clear during that time period is the party once known as Democratic has shifted so far to the left that they have eliminated people like me, independents, from voting for any of them.

Does that mean independents automatically become Republicans? Nope. It means, unfortunately, there will be elections when we won’t vote, or can’t vote, or even consider voting, for any of the politicians in either party. When we do vote, it won’t be for the person running for office. We will be voting specifically for the key issues that are most important to us and checking the box next to the politician representing those issues.

The reason independents choose to stay away from a party affiliation is so they can vote for issues or politicians that they deem to be the right choice, regardless of the party. In contrast, most of those – not all – in the Democratic or Republican parties will vote in accordance with their political affiliation. It’s an US versus THEM mentality, even though we are all Americans. Each independent voter can vote for the truth as they see it. Whereas party members usually vote for what their side determines is the truth. And on social media, each side bangs their political drums loudly in favor of their positions on issues, while railing against the other sides viewpoint.

Now in the last election, I am convinced that Donald Trump won, because so many Americans fervently hated Hillary Clinton, who is viewed as an ultra-corrupt, dishonest politician. So when millions of independents went into the voting booth, they collectively held their noses and checked the box next to Donald Trump’s name. Many of those voters were people who could have never imagined themselves voting for Trump. However, given the choices, they voted for the candidate who supported the key issues that are extremely important to them.

But that won’t be the case in this year’s election, because so many of those who held their nose and checked that box next to The Donald’s name, have become so angry with the conduct of the Democrats that voting for them is now out of the question. They have gladly let go of their noses and will be eagerly checking that box next to Trump’s name.

The Democratic Party has become such a non-entity for so many, if not most, in the middle. The liberal party’s track record over the past three years has done nothing but fuel frustration and dismissed any claim of credibility. It started with their certainty, and plethora of statements, about the misdeeds by the Trump campaign during the Russia investigation. Then, the mean-spirited and agenda-driven treatment of James Comey, Robert Mueller and William Barr during their hearings exposed the Democrats single-minded purpose: Get Trump out of office at any cost.

That was followed by their actions and false statements during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. Then, if there was any doubt left, it was erased by the controlled impeachment hearings in the House of Representatives.The Dems even went as far as to try and take over the Senate trial. All of it has resulted in a growing distrust toward the party, creating millions of ardent independent supporters for President Donald Trump.

Three years ago, who could have ever imagined that the crazy conduct of Donald Trump would be outdone by the other party? Well, it’s happened. And the only thing the Democrats can hope for is the likeability of an 77 year-old man, another unforeseen crisis, or an action by a foreign government which makes President Trump look bad. But at this point, I don’t believe any of those would knock him out of the winner’s circle.

I wrote a satirical book in 2018 titled, The Real News! The Never-Before-Told Stories of Donald Trump and Fake News! The satire was focused on the crazy conduct of Trump and so many of those in the celebrity news media who were frothing at the mouth after his election. I stayed away from any political issues. My hope was to try and bring both sides together for a shared laugh. Well, that was 2018 when it seemed some Americans could still laugh about all of that craziness. Not any longer. Those days are over. The country is so divided that any political satire had better play ONLY to those on the left or ONLY to those on the right.