[Old School Hound]

I married a democrat.  I would estimate that 95% of the time, we voted the same way.

Politics and politicians are a disaster.  Few are fighting for their constituents; most are only interested in increasing their profile, wealth and attention; personal gain as opposed to representation of the people.

My best friend is also a democrat.  We oftentimes discuss our different perspectives.  She has changed my opinions sometimes, and sometimes she has changed her's.  But about half the time, neither of us have changed our minds.  That's okay.  She's an intelligent, active and trustworthy individual and I respect the views that she has even if I don't agree with them.

It all boils down to individual perspectives.  She considers me a conservative; my daughter (who would make Hoot look like a liberal) thinks I'm a liberal.  I think of myself as a moderate leaning toward the conservative side.  But at the end of the day, what do these opinions change?  Nothing.

I remember you mentioning that a couple of years ago, Gran. .Sadly, today, I think you are in the minority.  As I've pointed out with several examples, even our politicians used to be able to talk to one another civily and actually get some work done for the American people. Even within the past year or so , McConnell and Biden(who apparently have a good relatonship) have done work together. Tip O' neil and Reagan were very close. Fought like wolverines for their ideas until 6pm and then were good buddies the rest of the day.  As you mentioned, our politics in this country have become a disaster. The goal seems to be to "destroy" one's opponent, when, in fact, it is our country that is being destroyed.