OPINION:
As a voter, I find watching the Democrats’ continued loss of public trust troubling, but not surprising. So many of my formerly Democratic friends have left the party and chosen to be independents, or else are no longer interested in taking part in the voting process, which is even more disheartening. They seem shocked by the Democrats’ priorities and disturbed by their unwillingness to work with Republicans on commonsense issues.
The contrasting narratives between two major political parties both experiencing social ills remind me of the Charles Dickens novel “A Tale of Two Cities.” You have one side trying to restore public trust and the other side eroding it. President Trump is making real efforts to remove criminals from the streets, revive businesses in our neighborhoods throughout Washington, clean up our parks so people can enjoy them without fear of criminal attacks and offer innovative approaches with public-private partnerships that yield tangible results.
The other side, however, continues to embrace the failed agenda of the previous administration, deny that their social, judicial and economic policies have failed and generally show little regard for the public by responding to concerns with contempt.
It’s time for the Democratic grass-roots voters to demand a shift back toward centrist positions. I encouraged my friends to have more courage to stand up for what benefits all of us. Unfortunately, they believe that the Democratic Party is so out of touch that the public’s trust in it will never be restored.
GREG RALEIGH
Washington
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