Dad took me to see General Eisenhower the day he came to Kankakee. Being the Supreme Commander who won "The War" I expected a giant; He and Dad were eye to eye in height. General Eisenhower counseled: "In all those things which deal with people, be liberal, be human. In all those things which deal with people's money, or their economy, or their form of government, be conservative."

Illinois is "Bipolar." About half of all Illinoisans live in the Democrat Party controlled Greater Chicago Area. The other half live in Republican Party controlled "down-state" Illinois where I was raised. Down-state Illinoisans equate Chicago with gangsters and never go there. We believed Chicago politicians would control the entire state if we didn't keep them at bay by voting Republican. Governors from both the Republican and Democrat parties have been sent to prison for corruption. Party affiliation is less important than personal character.

Since 1865, when Abraham Lincoln used The United States Army to keep the states of America united, the Republican Party was the northern state home of protestants, professionals, businessmen, prosperous farmers, college professors, teachers and former slaves where ever they lived. Republicans led economic development and modernization across the entire United States of America, until the end of reconstruction stopped economic decelopment in former slave states in 1877, then off and on across the rest of America until today.

Economic development was good for America. Railroad, iron and oil tycoons created a "Golden Age" with a very few super wealthy "haves" lording it over a myriad of "have nots". Despite his generally pro-business Republican outlook President Theodore Roosevelt so disliked the corruption and arrogance of the super-rich he promoted income equality by breaking up monopolies. Competition was good for everyone, industrialization soared and most of the nation prospered.

Addiction to gambling led to disaster. First wealthy investors, then anyone with a little cash to invest, bet on get-rich schemes instead of investing in solid economic development. Gambling for easy money led to the catastrophic Great Depression. Misguided Republican leaders then made things worse.

Franklin D. Roosevelt saved the nation when he won the 1932 election by a landslide. His "New Deal" provided relief for all Americans instead of only providing relief for people with excess money to invest. He led promotion of government intervention in ways that made it possible for working men to earn enough to feed and house themselves and their families. He prevented civil unrest here like what led to the takeover of authoritarian fascists in many nations around the world. New Deal policies remain the foundation of the Democrat Party.

Disparate Democrats united. White Southerners, still angry over having lost the Civil War and their slaves, became a "Solid South" block that consistently voted for Democrat Party candidates. Northern Democrats voted Democrat because Franklin Roosevelt saved the nation by sponsoring government programs that favored middle-class Americans. The Democrat Party became the home of labor unions, blue-collar workers, racial and religious minorities (especially Jews, Catholics, and African Americans), rural white Southerners, and intellectuals.

Dwight David Eisenhower was revered. Republicans won in 1952 by nominating him for President. They took the House and the Senate on his coat tails. Since Republicans only won narrow majorities in both houses of Congress it was possible for President Eisenhower to end the Korean War but not much else. Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate in 1954.

President Eisenhower's personal popularity was demonstrated by reelection of him President in 1956. He launched development of the Interstate Highway System that united fifty states into the interconnected gasoline powered colossus that exists today.

Dramatic events awaken us. Anyone alive in November 1963 remembers exactly where they were when they learned President Kennedy had been assassinated. Televised real violence awakened Americans to the fact that it could happen here then images of violence became everyday news. The Vietnam War was televised as were assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy and now local violence leads most nightly news.

Televised news casts of Jim Crow laws being violently enforced, against peaceful Black Protestors and children in the South, as they tried to regain basic human rights, alerted people to what was happening there. Murders of idealistic young white college students and Christian pastors, who traveled south to support Blacks, alerted Americans to the menace of Apartheid.

The effect was cumulative. President Lyndon B. Johnson was finally able to secure passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He appreciated the political significance of what he had done. In his words…

'Well, I think we may have lost the south for your lifetime - and mine" and he was right.

The "Solid South" flipped. Black voters switched from Republican to Democrat as white voters switched from Democrat to Republican. Since whites control southern state government the "Solid South" is now firmly Republican.

Democrat Party leadership flipped. Blue-collar workers, farmers, Jews, Catholics, and African Americans, who comprised Democrat Party membership, sent their children to college. Their children graduated, are now middle-aged, and in charge. College changes people. When reproductive age women and men intertwine in a free environment, with everyone equal, relationships develop. Most college students learn that an intelligent and attractive young man or woman is enjoyable to be with regardless of race, gender or culture. Most believe that while this nation is an amazing place to live it could become even better. The Democrat Party is now controlled by college educated progessives who want to use government service to make life better for all Americans.

Republican Party leadership flipped. Traditional Republicans, who often held the same elected offices for decades, are no longer in charge. It takes votes to win office and they are a minority. To obtain enough votes to win they recruited newcomers. The newcomers are very different from the highly educted and informed professionals, businessmen, prosperous farmers, college professors, teachers, government employees and officials who until recently were in charge of the Republican Party.

Most newcomers are less educated and less serious about traditionally conservative issues like economic development and national security. Many feel disrepected by their college-educated peers and are angry about societal changes like religous freedom, racial equality, sexual equality, taxpayer subsidied health care and the idea that anyone would want to limited their access to guns. The Republican Party is now controlled by white social issue newcomers who want to return this nation to an ideal past when life was better for people like them.

The 2017 Charlottesville riot was a surprise. Election of Donald Trump President freed white Christian supremacists to unleash pent-up anger in ways that mirror emergence of Hitler. What happened in Charlottesville should have been a wakeup call but wasn't. Most people are too busy caring for family, home and career to pay attention to politics. We take good government for granted and only pay attention when something personally impacts us or someone we care about.

The January 6th insurrection was worse. The attempt to violently overthrow our democratic republic was instigated and led by Donald J. Trump who faces multiple felony indictments and is embroiled in civil cases that are likely to bankrupt everyone associated with him or his businesses. What is disturbing is most newcomer Republicans, and even some traditional Republicans, want him to be the next President of the United States of America. Worse, some have stated they would welcome the end of our democratic republic government, as long as he is the President.

Our Founding Fathers were aware of the danger of populism. They created a government with Executive, Congressional and Judicial branches as a way to control less than honorable, human behavior. Recovery of normal democratic republic governance is currently complicated by loss of confidence in The Supreme Court of the United States. Legitimacy is based on the belief decisions will be based on a rational apolitical interpretation of The Constitution of the United States of America. Distrust is logical as long as the court is staffed by identifiably Republican and Democrat judges but there is an even more divisive issue.

The Supreme Court of the United States is currently dominated by Federalist Society vetted judges. It is a widely held belief that the Federalist Society is closely associated with Opus Dei, a very small secretive organization that promotes religious authoritarianism. When Federalist Society vetted Judge Alito struck down the national right to abortion he said "Doing so was consistent with The Constitution of the United States." What seven of ten Americans heard was "Religiously zealot Republican judges are determined to impose their personal religious beliefs on a citizenry that believes in separation of church and state".

George Washington warned us. In his Farewell Address George Washington warned that political parties are dangerous. In late 2023 five radically extremist Republicans are making it impossible for The United States of America to pay its bills. Millions of Federal employees, to include deployed active duty soldiers, will not be paid until after these miscreants' tantrum has run its course. In the words of George Washington…

"However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government,"

Tribalism is dangerous. A Senator, who never served in the military and was elected because he was famous for coaching the child's game of football, is weakening the United States of America's military by not allowing promoted military officers to take assigned posts. His concerns are that female members of the United States Military have access to health care to include abortion and that military members must be vaccinated against preventable diseases.

Another Senator of the same tribe has prevented installation of Ambassadors to score points with his tribe as Israelis, Palestinians and Ukrainians are struggling to survive. Extremely partisan newcomers have made it impossible for Congress to govern. Populist newcomers have usurped the reins of government.

People are starting to pay attention. Independents, who do not align with either party, are now the largest single group of voters in Arizona. In a rational world this would be a wake-up call for Democrats and Republicans that want to win elections.

Political Party run primary elections are a problem. When only party members are allowed to vote the candidate who most strongly promotes that party's extreme positions is most likely to win. Independent voters may find it impossible to find a candidate to vote for that represents them.

Open primaries, wherein voters do not have to be affiliated with a political party in order to vote, are one solution. In a Top-Two Open Primary election all candidates running in voter-nominated contests appear on a single combined ballot, with the two candidates who receive the most votes running in the Final election regardless of party affiliation.

Bottom-line, ability of the electorate to elect representatives they trust is basic to survival of this nation as a democratic republic.

Politics is not a boring reality show. Living in a democratic republic, that includes checks and balances, has served us well. Populists use elections to gain power, turn into dictators once elected, remove anyone who challenges what they are doing then loot the public treasury.

I am nostalgic for the recent past when traditional Republicans and Democrats worked in bipartisan ways for the welfare of our nation. Our survival depends upon keeping dicators from being elected.