We now have listened to a couple of candidates running for the 3rd District Congressional race and I have to ask myself, is there nothing else to offer except what the left is saying versus what the right is saying?
I realize that candidates need to reflect the party they belong to, but we are never going to get anything changed in this country if we don’t find some middle ground to work with.
Why does it have to be either or on health care? Why can’t we put together a plan that addresses preventative health care as well as the catastrophic emergency care? Why does it have to be either free-market or single payer with no mingling of ideas in between?
Why can’t we say that there is some medical benefit to marijuana and admit that this drug is way less addictive than a whole lot of other drugs we use and find some compromise that will help people. We don’t have to legalize all marijuana use, but to close the door on medical uses of this drug is not helpful. Where is the middle ground?
Why don’t we admit that there are times when abortion is a choice that is needed and is the right thing to do? But we also need to believe in the sanctity of life and hold tight to moral values governing life that define us as human beings. Why does this subject have to be either one side or the other? Where is the middle ground?
Why can’t we have and enjoy the low costs of clean, much improved, fossil fuel electricity and continue to look for viable alternatives without legislating this low cost energy source and all the jobs associated with it out of existence? Can’t our elected officials see how much people will suffer when you go from paying 9 cents a kilowatt hour to more than 35 cents a kilowatt hour that customers now pay in California? Where is the middle ground and why can’t we openly talk about this?
There are all kinds of other issues that we can’t seem to get member of Congress to drop the party lines and vote for something that will benefit American citizens as a whole.
I am raising this point because after meeting with John Curtis and Kathie Allen, I am not seeing much middle ground from either candidate as they pretty much stick to party line politics as they are meeting with the voters. Wouldn’t it be nice to get back to a system that is driven by logic, data and give and take?
Voting along party lines and the vilifying of politicians who vote their conscious and want to pass something they feel is better for the majority of citizens is not an effective way to run government. I would encourage our own candidates to be a little more flexible to our needs.
Where is the middle of the road in politics?
Kevin Ashby