Two Thoughts About Republicans

I recently shifted (in my own mind) from being a Democrat to being an independent voter. This doesn't mean I have given up on the Democrats; it does mean that, to get my vote, they will have to earn it. Mike McGuire, for instance, has earned my support many times over. I hope that there are people working inside the party to get it to listen to workers, Latinos, angry non-voters, Black Lives Matter and so on. Democrats should find out what people really want and then give it to them. That's how Democrats can win. (The majority of people do not sit around hoping for tax breaks for billionaires, for larger aircraft carriers or to see Latino families broken up.)

I have two thoughts about the Republican Party. The first is really a question. Why do they keep electing Presidents who are mentally ill? Nixon was paranoid. Reagan was senile in office. Now we have Minority President Trump, a malignant narcissist. Why do Republicans pick bobbleheads to lead western civilization? (My guess is that the hodge-podge of bad ideas guiding Republicans can't even be considered unless you first abandon reason.)

My second thought is that Ryan's current Republican health care plan will kill people who get cut off, abruptly, from lifesaving medicines and treatments. I doubt if a plan this savage will pass, but how can Ryan, who maintains he's Catholic, ignore the Pope and just bump off a million people to save money, money that will be converted into a tax break for billionaires who don't need it?

I can see why Trump would back Ryan's plan. Trump is mentally ill and neither sees nor cares what happens next. Ryan's excuse is that he is a Republican.