Because Congress is broken! There is no need to look further than the obvious level of dysfunction in Washington to realize this. With a dismal approval rating of only 13%, it is clear that our current two-party representative system in Congress is not working.
For the first time in generations, Americans are worried about falling behind economically and that their children may not enjoy the American Dream of prosperity that has existed for the last 100 years or more. The generational wealth gap is only worsening, and many are understandably feeling bitter. Only the top 1% seem to be doing well. For many young voters the future does not look bright as they suffer increased costs of living, stagnant wages, unaffordable healthcare insurance and an honest inability to pursue home ownership. Many of those younger voters increasingly feel as if they have no political home – and older generations are now feeling many of the same pains and anxieties. We need to collectively heal as a nation.
Both the Democratic and Republican parties are responsible for this poor performance. Both sides act like obstinate bullies, or worse. Neither party makes any significant effort to work with each other, as opposed to simply fighting or arguing. Nearly all congressional votes are now along strict party lines – there is no real effort towards consensus building, or moderation of more extreme positions. One party (either party) simply pushes it through, and that’s it. But that is not healthy governance. And it’s not representative government. Instead, it very often misrepresents or perhaps ignores the silent majority; those like-minded people who are somewhere in the middle.
And yet, both parties create and strengthen significant barriers against Independent or third-party candidates for office – and they do that on purpose – because they are nervous and indeed know how dysfunctional they themselves really are, and take great comfort hiding behind their current two-party duopoly.
An Independent Representative for Montana is far better positioned to best represent the needs and desires of Montanans, if only because he or she will only have one master to whom they must answer – the people of Montana. An unshackled Independent Representative will not be manipulated or forced to follow either far-left or far-right leaders that may represent east- or west-coast elites or intellectuals, let alone the directives of majority or minority political party bosses that are designed purely to be confrontational or combative.
This campaign is not for or against the current President; it is about the best possible representation for Montanans in the US Congress. Don’t get me wrong, President Trump has done some good things for our country that I clearly support; things like enhanced border security to curb illegal immigration, support for Israel in their battle against Hamas (the organization, not the people of Gaza or the West Bank), fighting against biological males in women’s sports, and reducing endemic waste, fraud and abuse in government spending. But occasionally his approach has been more authoritarian or short-sighted; he complains about negative lawfare against his own interests, but then engages openly in vitriolic and revenge-driven lawfare and retaliation against his own opponents. Nobody in the unified Republican Party dares now to question President Trump for fear of becoming outcast (or worse). His patterns of verbal or written denigrating language towards anyone he sees as ‘less than perfectly loyal’ are disappointing and distinctly un-American.
At the same time, there were many policies from the Biden administration that made little sense and contributed to years of high inflation and economic distress; his one-time forgiveness of $167 Billion in student loan debt in reality just transferred that debt onto the backs of working-class taxpayers, and his exorbitantly large economic stimulus programs post-pandemic were poorly monitored and generated much fraud and abuse. The decisions in failed border control and the abrupt withdrawal of US Forces from Afghanistan were embarrassments to many. President Biden’s inability to recognize the natural effects of aging within a heated political environment were disastrous, and cheated Democrats from having a real primary to select their best candidate.
The bottom line is this – an Independent Representative is better positioned to be a problem-solver, as opposed to being part of the problem. An Independent Representative can deliver on issues important to his or her constituency and contribute positively to solutions. And that’s good for Montana.