Originally Posted by
mark blazejewski
Lee, you and I are old enough to remember George Wallace, John Anderson, and Ross Perot.
Wallace genuinely, IMHO was a bigot.
Anderson was a "tantrumatic," spoiled-sport, establishment brat, whose true intention was to pull votes from movement-conservative Reagan, in what was thought at the time to be a close race.
I did throw my dice on Perot in 1992, but knew I was throwing my vote away. (Never did like Bush '41, and to this day, I am still more pissed-off at Reagan for picking him in 1980, than I ever was for Bush picking Quayle in 1988.) In 1992, I felt that a message had to be sent, and what better place to send from than hapless, hopelessly "Blue," New York State, where my vote would not count in any event.
Trump I thought, as I have posted here on Speak Up, was the closest that America, so far, has come to electing a third party candidate. I may have been wrong. Donald Trump is the closest that America has come to electing establishment, swamp-loving, John Anderson. (Although though not a mirror image of the blatantly liberal Anderson, Trump does superficially share some of his populist characteristics: a disgruntled Republican, with some liberal leanings, appealing to some confused Democrats and many disenfranchised, restless Republicans.)
Although I have not totally given up on Trump, I am more that hedging my bets on him, and giving him the proverbial benefit of the doubt, is becoming increasingly difficult.
I do agree, 100% with you Mr. C., that a real-values based third party may be needed. Or, may I suggest, at the very least, a 21st Century version of the Whig-Republican Parties competition of the 1850s, which resulted in the death of the Whig Party, which had refused to directly confront and remedy the issue of slavery.
Lucky Whigs: they where only wobbly on slavery. The current establishment Republican Party seems wobbly on everything, except being wobbly. Such a third-party, or new major party, would well serve many, such as myself, on every level of government.
After yesterday, I am suspicious that Trump did not come to Washington to drain the swamp, but to perhaps stock it.