An independent can be defined as someone who votes for candidates on issues rather than on the basis of a political ideology or partisanship.
Let’s think for ourselves.
Why rely on a political party with its lobbyists selecting a position on a list of issues from healthcare, military spending, gun control, income gap, or climate change? What if you love your guns and are also worried about our response to climate change? Why are these issues tied together? Because that is how the money lines up behind the political parties?
According to a Pew Research study conducted in 2019 voters who claim independence and mythically are above the political battle are mostly not independent at all. Less than 10% of the American voters has no political bias. This group also is less politically involved than the affiliated.
Our current political divide has all fifty Republican senators against the “Build Back Better” bill passed by the House 220 – 213 mostly along party lines. Not one is willing to step out of line.
The bill contains:
- $555 billion to address climate change
- $400 billion for universal pre-K for all three and four year olds
- $200 billion for child tax credits of $300 per month per child under age six
- $200 billion for a permanent national paid leave program that provides four weeks of paid family and medical leave
- $165 billion to reduce premiums under the Affordable Care Act and increased Medicare benefits
$965 billion is intended to help people who are the least economically secure. In other words, the people who live in the poorest states would benefit the most.
New Mexico’s Representatives Fernandez and Stansbury and Mississippi’s Thompson voted for the bill and every other representative from the five poorest states voted Nay.
The Senate is divided in similar fashion and the Senators from four of these states have something else in mind other than helping their constituents. With the exception of New Mexico, the five poorest states don’t seem to be well represented by their respective senators. These elected public servants need to be challenged and if necessary, voted out of office.
Senators:
| Mississippi | Roger Wicker | Cindy Hyde-Smith |
| Louisiana | Bill Cassidy | John Kennedy |
| New Mexico | Martin Heinrich | Ben Ray Lujan |
| Kentucky | Mitch McConnell | Rand Paul |
| West Virginia | Joe Manchin | Shelley Moore Capito |
We have many issues to solve: getting guns under control, helping families and action on climate change but our political parties need a wake up call.
Think independently!