Partisan battles don’t serve the nation or We the People

My last few columns have received a lot of comments.

It surprises and pleases me to have so many folks reacting to my writing. Most of the comments make me smile.

Some don’t.

There are some people whose method of disagreement is name-calling and smear language. It’s a free country. Like me, they can write what they wish.

However, those tactics don’t solve anything. Don’t get us anywhere.

For the record, and I have written this several times: I am a former Republican who became an independent. I have never been a Democrat. Don’t plan on becoming one. My party change happened during the second year of the first term of Barack Obama. I didn’t change because of him. 

I left the Republican Party because Sen. Mitch McConnell who was the Republican leader in the Senate at the time, told the world his job as a U.S. senator was to ensure that Barack Obama did not get a second term. I was sitting in my living room watching the evening news when I heard it.

The leader of the Republican Party in the Senate telling us he was abandoning his constitutional responsibilities and his oath to solely focus on partisan politics. He said it with a straight face. He wasn’t kidding.

Here is what I heard: “I am quitting my job as your senator. BUT I am going to keep getting paid with your tax money, so I can focus on party politics.” Not a quote, but that is what I heard.

That was the final straw for me. Many other straws had come before it. Like the camel in the fable, the final one broke my back. The party left me. It had become mean-spirited towards anyone with a different opinion or idea. Doesn’t make for good governance.

McConnell’s effort failed. Obama won a second term.

Partisan conflicts have been going on for decades. Until recently it has been about public policy. Now it has become about personalities. Finger-pointing and insults are now the norm.

Our first president, George Washington, wrote in a warning to us on the dangers of political parties. Other presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt, have done the same. Their warnings have proven to be true. Political parties create and thrive on sustaining conflict. They need it to keep money coming in.

Hence, my independent registration. 

A friend created the “Trump Tornado” I have used in other posts. I am going to ask him to create another one. This time a whirlpool. As a country we are caught in a whirlpool of not just murky but polluted water.

The current president is a huge part of that reality. He insults. He lies. He acts illegally. He allows his minions to do the same. He removes minorities and women from both history and today’s involvement.

Like us, Congress is caught in the whirlpool. It seems most of them don’t know it. They are going along for the dark, murky, smelly ride.

The courts, most of them, are at least stopping the most blatant, illegal behavior. It takes time to get decisions from them. Understandable but frustrating.

In our state, South Dakota, our elected leaders have all pledged their loyalty to the man pushing us into the whirlpool. Both our senators. Our congressman. Our governor. Our attorney general who wants to be our next congressman posed for a photo with Trump. Both giving the “thumbs-up” hand gesture.

All of them putting party first.

“We the People” are a distant second.

Back to the beginning. I appreciate the responses. Even the negative ones. I wish those comments offered substance rather than insults.

I am going to keep writing. I know we can get out of the whirlpool. It will not be easy. It may get messier. It WILL take lots of effort from each of us. We The People.

Participate. Speak up. Vote.

The independent Rick Knobe is a former Sioux Falls mayor and a regular contributor to The South Dakota Standard.

The South Dakota Standard is offered freely and is supported by our readers. We have no political or commercial sponsorship. If you'd like to help us continue our mission to advance independent political and social commentary, you can do so by clicking on the "Donate" button that's on the sidebar to your right.

Follow us and comment on X and Bluesky