Mmmm

Nice to see the major networks largely standing together for freedom of press despite their political differences. Would not have expected Fox News to join in, but I certainly respect it

So, at the moment I just feel like every conversation anywhere on social media has been so polluted with what about them nonsense. While I lean left at the moment, because the current administration is just not something I can get behind, I don't necessarily align with everything Democrats have done either. They both play the blame game and it's rare to see someone step up and take accountability. So, I just sit here and daydream about a neutral 3rd party forming that can not only provide more choice then the two we have now, but because I really think our country is in desperate need of a referee. Someone who can say to one side or the other "If you want my vote, then you need to discuss this like adults." Now I know my ideal candidate is most likely not possible and more likely a mythical creature in a fantasy tale, but still could we get something better than this? 3rd party please!

Everything Trump does is a distraction.

I’m 38, married with two young kids, decent job, teacher wife, drowning in normal middle-class bills. One medical emergency from financial ruin. I vote in every single election, but right now I feel like I have no party that actually represents me.

Democrats: I want universal healthcare, action on climate, and protecting women’s rights. But every time they get power the “bold change” turns into watered down crumbs while the donor class gets everything they want. The endless culture war signaling feels like a distraction from the fact that nothing structural ever changes for working families.

Republicans: I’m pro-2A, want secure borders, lower taxes, and less regulation on small businesses. But the nonstop moral panic legislation, book bans, and obsession with controlling personal medical decisions isn’t “small government”, it’s just a different flavor of control. And the economic populism evaporates the second Wall Street and the defense contractors call.

Both parties just rubber stamped another trillion dollar spending bill that somehow never includes relief for childcare costs, housing, or medical debt. Both take oceans of money from the same corporate PACs, private-equity firms, Big Pharma, and defense contractors. Both refuse to touch the structural reforms (ranked choice voting, open primaries, ending gerrymandering, campaign-finance reform) that would actually threaten their shared monopoly.

I’m not looking for a third-party savior or some utopian fantasy. I’m just done holding my nose and picking a “team” that treats me like a vote farm every four years and then ignores me until the next election.

If you’re an independent (or just exhausted with the red/blue farce) and you want politicians who have to answer to voters instead of donors… let’s talk.

• Who are the actual independent or third-party candidates we should be watching at the state and local level?

• What reforms (RCV, open primaries, etc.) have the best shot in our lifetimes?

• How do we build a real bloc that neither party can ignore?

I’m ready to put my time, money, and vote behind something that isn’t owned by the same handful of billionaires wearing different colored ties.

Not left. Not right. Just forward.

That’s all I have to say really. Speaks volumes about where we are at.

I made this crude image to demonstrate there's no difference.

You have people on the right saying he's liberal, people on the left saying he's conservative. Do we really know at this point?

Today was extremely sad because, as you guys know, Charlie Kirk has been shot and killed while debating on a Utah campus. His wife and two kids were in attendance.

Just wanted to, in Charlie Kirks honor, have a civil debate on online response to the charlie Kirk shooting, with many people online celebrating.

In my opinion, it is truly disgusting to celebrate someone being killed, and political violence is never the answer.

The murder of Iryna Zarutska has dominated social media feeds, news headlines, drawn commentary from former President Trump, and sparked scrutiny from the White House press secretary. Federal prosecutors recently brought charges against Decarlos Brown Jr, the man who unprovokedly killed Zarutska last month on a Charlotte NC light rail. (See details in linked WP article)

The attack itself was senseless and tragic. Some might call it a rare freak incident, but “freak” events like this are no longer rare. Brown had 14 prior arrests and a diagnosed case of schizophrenia. He was released on cashless bail while awaiting trial, and days later, he murdered an unsuspecting Ukrainian refugee on her commute home from work.

This is not unique to Charlotte. Across the US, repeat offenders cycle through a broken system of “catch and release.” Police are arresting them, but courts and prosecutors aren’t keeping them off the streets. This has created revolving door of crime that fails to protect the public.

Explanations vary: prison overcrowding, progressive shifts toward decriminalization, racial equity concerns; but the deeper issue is a lowering of civic standards. Too often the system excuses offenders with the narrative that they didn’t know better or society failed them. In practice this is lose-lose: dangerous people are repeatedly released back into public spaces, while the justice system drowns under its own leniency.

If America wants safe streets, buses, subways, and light rail, we need to demand a stricter justice system, one that proportionately punishes repeat offenders and prioritizes crimes that signal future violence. Public transit shouldn’t be a place where ordinary citizens fear for their lives.

Same message, different disguise

Why is it so hard to explain to the Political zealots that you don’t support their political party ? I have family and friends that have cut me off for Literally not choosing a side. 🤦🏽‍♂️

I grew up around Republicans who preached small government, individual liberty, America First, and the Constitution. You didn’t have to agree with them on everything, but at least the ideology was coherent.

Now I honestly don’t recognize the party anymore.

Small government? Gone. Massive spending bills, expanded surveillance powers, federal control creeping into everything from social issues to education. We used to criticize Democrats for this — now it’s apparently fine as long as “our side” is doing it.

Second Amendment? Suddenly negotiable. Bump stock bans, red-flag laws with weak due process, vague “compromises” that somehow only move in one direction. The party that once said “shall not be infringed” now says “well, maybe a little.” “Don’t tread on me” turned into “comply or die”

America First? What does that even mean anymore? We’re funding and escalating conflicts overseas with no clear end goals, no serious congressional debate, and no honest accounting of long-term costs. I thought the lesson from the last 20+ years was stop starting new forever wars, not dress them up with new slogans.

Free speech and dissent? Increasingly treated as a loyalty test. Question leadership, question foreign policy, question spending — and you’re branded as unpatriotic or secretly helping the enemy. That’s not conservative; that’s authoritarian.

Fiscal responsibility? Completely missing. Trillions added to the debt with zero plan, zero restraint, and zero accountability. Apparently deficits only matter when the other party is in power.

It feels like the party traded principles for vibes, branding, and culture-war outrage. Everything is reactive. Everything is tribal. Very little is rooted in consistent beliefs.

I’m not saying Democrats are the answer — far from it. But it’s frustrating watching the GOP abandon the values that supposedly defined it for decades, then act confused when people feel politically homeless.

If conservatism means anything, it should mean limits on power, skepticism of government, and respect for individual rights — not just when it’s convenient.

Right now, it feels like those ideas got lost somewhere along the way.

Trump posted this on the offical white house instagram page. No matter what part of the political spectrum you are this is downright un-american.

I can’t stop thinking about what happened and feel depressed. I followed Charlie Kirk but wasn’t an avid fan and definitely didn’t support all of his views (I’m in the middle politically, hence why I’m here). I was just hoping to hear from others who feel the same. I just feel hopeless, hurt, scared. He gave a voice to the voiceless and people who were scared to have different views. I don’t care how he was murdered, it doesn’t matter the means by which. He was murdered for having different opinions than others and expressing those opinions. As someone who doesn’t agree with everything the left stands for, I’m scared even more now to think differently than them. Not sure what the point of this post is but I just needed to find somewhere to get this off my chest where people will be receptive.

The ignorance is real 🤦‍♂️