POINT OF VIEW

We need to clean up the GOP's mess in Washington

Posted

There would be little to contend with the statement that we live in troubled times, politicizing each and every aspect of our lives and society. 

Enough is enough. Complaining about an angry, incompetent imbecile who happens to reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., is no longer a viable option. It’s time to address the sad stressful scenario on multiple levels.

• It’s time to stop getting outraged at Donald Trump. He lives for the outrage, it’s fuel on his fire. Like any person with the mentality of a small child, it’s the attention that drives the man. Attention is his oxygen — it’s time to deprive him of it.

I can hear the argument now: He’s the president. You can’t ignore him. You have to respect him. I have news for you: Not only can he be ignored, he must be ignored. Paying too much attention to what this man does in office is giving the office too much power in our tripartite form of government.

And because he is so dense, his executive actions can and will be undone by the next occupant of the White House, just like he has done to those achievements by his predecessor.

As far as respect, it’s a two-way street. It is not an entitlement. When he shows respect for the office, I will show respect for him (I am not holding my breath). Until then, we move on to Step 2.

• The Constitution of the United States: Our federal Constitution provides for a system of checks and balances of each of the three parts of government on the other. When this fails, as it currently is doing, then there is a straightforward remedy: Vote to throw the miscreants out of office.

That is to say, because the Republican party is spineless, and has kowtowed to every lobbyist under the sun; because it has made political all that in our history has been apolitical (i.e., the census), it is time to vote out of office every single member of the Republican Party at the local, state and federal level. 

Those who have not taken action to protect the people — that is us — should be forcibly retired by the ballot box. 

No excuses. No whining. If that sounds like I’ve declared war on the Republicans, as a former Republican in my misguided youth, I certainly have. Go ahead, Fox News, make my day.

My patriotic duty is to challenge the feckless money grubbing power-grabbing miscreants by the short hairs, and show them the one-way exit.

When U.S. Rep. Chris Collins of Buffalo whines that he “must get something passed in Congress to help his donors,” or they will not give him money, then that is the perfect example of the cesspool that the Republican Party has become. Mr. Collins: Who votes to put you in office? Your donors or your constituents?

• Boycott every entity surrounding Fox, from Channel 5 here in New York, to sports programming, to their propaganda machine that calls itself “news.” By the way, is there a question that such a biased and misogynistic organization is currently reeling from hundreds of millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements? Fox’s attitude toward their audience is astoundingly hateful; toward those it targets as opponents: unspeakably offensive.

Bring back the “fairness” doctrine which imposed on media outlets the task of presenting in equal doses, differing viewpoints, as part of their being given a broadcast license. Tell your cable provider, who is likely your ISP as well, that if they continue to offer Fox without this as a caveat for being carried, then you will switch providers. Once one ISP takes notice and folds on the issue, the pressure will be great on the others to fall in line.

Fox is making big, big money on the pain it causes the American people. Sean Hannity alone makes $35 million a year dividing the country — not solving issues that can bring us together, but inflaming the hysteria they whip up. No more. Take away the profit incentive.

Take note Democratic Party: Running against something even as unpalatable as this arrogant nasty imbecile and his enabling sycophantic opportunist is no platform to win an election. The Republicans are imposing a national agenda on local areas that will suffer from it.

They must be held accountable. Run with local concerns in mind, and address the issues that bother people locally — and some national ones — like health care and Social Security.

And so should the Democratic party be held accountable, especially the local New York units like the Benjamin Franklin “Reform” club, which has amounted to not much more than an old boys club, where “paying one’s dues” is the qualification for their endorsement (and often tantamount to election) rather than what best represents their constituents. 

So “take it for granted” officials from Jeffrey Klein to Eliot Engel should watch their political rearview mirrors. The sentiments expressed here are as applicable to you as well.

Yes, we are angry, but we have the power of the vote, and it will change this stressful, overbearing oxygen-sucking scenario. With everyone, everywhere.

Remember, it starts with channeling your energies to vote. In the primaries and the general election. That is the best use of our time. 

Nov. 6 cannot come quick enough.

Adam Stoler,

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