I am disgusted at both political parties in the USA. We elect legislators to solve the problems of our nation. We expect them to be responsible and respectful of disagreements, but to work effectively to resolve the many complicated issues that come before them.
I believe that appropriate civil dialogue between people who are in opposite political parties must take place to solve our many challenging conflicts. No one person or party has all the right answers. I have said many times that neither political party has a monopoly of good ideas. We all must listen carefully to what is being said, asked and discussed, and think thoughtfully before we put our own mouth in gear.
I have been a moderate Republican most of my life. I am proud of the term “moderate” and was elected after running for the state Legislature three times, twice unsuccessfully, because Democrats decided they would take a chance with me and reasonable Republicans knew that a right-wing fanatic could not win in my district.
I enjoyed serving for 12 years as a representative and senator from Vancouver’s 49th District. I served in both the minority and majority and was co-chair of the Higher Education Committee in the House of Representatives when it was tied 49-49, in 1999-2001.
I tried to be responsive to all who communicated with me, both in my district and statewide, as the committees I served on affected the whole state.
Shades of Hitler
But the rhetoric of the current Republican presidential candidate is appalling. I cannot and will not support a person who preaches hate, anger, bigotry, racism and isolation from the world’s problems.
I taught history for 31 years in our public high schools. I studied and taught about the rise of Adolf Hitler in the 1920s and 1930s. I have read “Mein Kampf,” authored by Hitler, and I have read many books about this era. Trump’s words and language remind me exactly of how Hitler sounded. I fear for the survival of democracy in general and America’s principles, specifically, if he is elected.
Make no misunderstanding. I am not a Hillary Clinton supporter. I find her deceitful, untrustworthy and manipulative.
What an awful dilemma. What we need is a truly unifying third political party: “The Liberty Party.” This would be a party that reminds us that you look to the government last to solve your problems, not first. It would emphasize the individual initiative to solve problems.
Yes, that is the free enterprise system. We must recognize that we cannot spend money that we do not have and that legislators elected to our national capitol should work five days a week, not just Tuesday to Thursday before going home to “campaign.”
We will use the Liberty Bell as our symbol since we do not want to disparage ethnic groups, animals or plants. We must “look forward, not back,” “keep hope alive,” and believe that we will “make life better for our future generations than the present.”
Don Carlson was a state legislator representing the 49th District for 12 years until 2004. He lives in Tacoma.
