General Discussion

SharonClark

(10,014 posts) Sun Oct 25, 2020, 12:11 PM Oct 2020

Des Moines Register Editorial: Republican incumbents should be cast out, and open seats awarded

to Democrats.
Editorial: An overwhelming repudiation at the polls will drive home to GOP members how far they have strayed from the noble principles of their past.

Most Iowans were probably raised to vote for the person, not the political party. A thoughtful citizen casts a ballot for the better candidate.

At least that used to be the right way to approach an election.

In this election, the most important consideration for a voter might be the party of the candidate.

That’s because political parties have become so tribal, so lockstep, so power-drunk, so top-down, that the individual merits of officeholders don’t matter much. With rare exceptions, they all vote as a bloc, even to the point of putting party above country.

That has led Republicans down a treacherous path of steadfast loyalty to a president who has coddled dictators, demonized immigrants, wavered on denouncing white supremacists, run the White House like a family business, routinely ignored science and witnessed over 215,000 Americans die in a pandemic on his watch. And the worst may be yet to come, since he has not committed to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election.

That's why in this particular election every Republican incumbent should be voted out of office and every open seat should be awarded to the Democratic candidate.

The Democratic candidates for Congress in Iowa have much to offer. But make no mistake: Elected Republicans' actions have been so poisonous that removing them from power is as important a goal as sending thoughtful public servants to Washington.

The GOP has spent a decade trying to destroy the Affordable Care Act — 10 years of complaining about it, voting to dismantle it and mustering court challenges against . Yet never has the party offered a replacement that would provide health insurance and protections for Americans as comprehensively as this law does.
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