Let me start by acknowledging my long-standing opposition to President Trump, and to my absolute horror when my countrymen elected him to the highest position in the land.
I will also openly argue that Trump’s impending impeachment in the House is good for my country, because his continuing reckless, underhanded, immoral self-dealing is not. No one is above the law.
Nevertheless, I am most frightened by the deeply rooted, party-over-country state of our political affairs. This tribalism, for lack of a better word, is true despite the very many issues that impact all of us, regardless of the political party whose ideas we most closely adhere to.
We find ourselves in a world where tariffs promise to worsen the slow destruction of the agricultural lifestyle we lead here in Montana. Those of us from both political parties have a common critical interest in reversing that slide. Indeed, according to Politico reporting, 60% believe tariffs will raise prices and that a recession is on the horizon.
We have watched our education systems go from the world’s best to, in some cases, third rate. What made this country great was the large pool of well-educated Americans of all backgrounds. But instead of increasing our commitment to public education, we are losing that lead as our education systems become increasingly elitist.
We are in a place where if you have to work, you are likely unable to afford to live in town as the cost of living continues its upward march and our wages are stagnant. And unless you happen to fall within the top 1%, your economic position is made more tenuous as our neighbors are employed at multiple jobs that pay below poverty-level wages.
Consumers of medical care have suffered as costs have risen and the number of providers is reduced. Nationwide at least 85 mostly rural hospitals have closed. In Montana the major population centers are enjoying a thriving increase in medical service capacity while rural areas struggle to keep their providers in business.
Over the last three years, in spite of promises, our national debt has been continuing its inexorable rise. Tax cuts touted to help the middle class have instead had a large, favorable effect on the wealthy and made our deficit spending even worse.
And even those ideas that are nearly universally supported by both parties, such as spending on infrastructure, have not been addressed as all forms of transportation supporting our commerce engine fall into disrepair.
All of these things are concerns that affect each of us equally. And all of us, arguably, have a common interest in dozens of ideas that would lift all of us up.
I am saddened by the tribalism because all of us, Republicans and Democrats alike, are patriots that want our country to thrive. I hope the terrible crisis we face will not drive us further apart, and encourage us to consider those issues that we all share. I hope that we can all work together to make changes that will benefit us all. – John Getty, Chair, Jefferson County Democrat Central Committee, Whitehall
