Hillbilly version: The two major sides or divisions of the eligible voters are the democrats and the
republicans, they collectively represent the two extremes of the voters of America. The two sides of the
coin. The real choice is A or B. Take it or leave it.

“There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each
arranged under its leader,and concerning measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble
apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our constitution.” John Adams, the
second president.

Not the John that lives down the street. I fear that Adam’s apprehension has come to
pass. Nothing can be accomplished as long as the game is being conducted under the rules set by the
combined extremes. A combined cost for the 2024 presidential election was a reported 15.3 billion.
This isn’t a rule but it keeps the rif raf out. For the past half century the business of the federal
government has been administered by either the Democrats or the Republicans. They have enjoyed an
equal number of turns. The pendulum swings back and forth as control shifts between the two. In the
first 100 days of the election cycle, the winning party sets or attempts to set the agenda (executive
orders). The winner then defends this agenda and brags about how well everything is going. Any and
all problems are inherited and not the their fault. This is a straw man argument. It is meant to distract
you from the issue. Does it matter who created the problem? Do your job. Excuses do not improve the
situation.
Consider for a moment, a different dichotomy. What if the two parties in question are on same side of
the coin, working together, taking turns leading the country, moving forward incrementally but never
getting too far left or right (as this would benefit the losing party by increasing the base. Biden got 81
million votes to defeat Trump in 2020. The largest popular vote to date. Four years later Trump is back.
Maybe short term memory loss on behalf of the electorate?) The party in charge brags and the other
party bitches. It’s like sports. There is the offense side and the defense side but there is only one game.
Do they take their guidance from the same masters? Is it nothing more than a game to them. Their
performances are certainly entertaining and rewarding. The game has a very nice payroll package- lots
of perks and you can give yourself a raise because you did so well usually an eleventh hour decision
after everyone has gone home. And your “opposition gets one also. This is one of the times that they
can agree. There also appears to be a positive correlation between public service and wealth
accumulation. It’s a good job if you can afford to get in.
The other side of the coin, around forty percent of the voter eligible, are spectators.
The spectators are not blameless. By abstaining from voting (registered but not voting) or absent (not
registering at all) from voting the spectators enable the other side. Spectators pay the admission price
but the conversation, the agendas, and the priorities are defined for them. This system is working or the
people would change it. The spectators could support a third party; vote for a write-in candidate; or
vote for none of the above. The last two opinions are either not currently available or never have
existed.
In theory, Arkansas citizens can initiate legislature by placing their concerns on the ballot. In practice,
this happens less and less. Petitioners will need to examine the identification of the signer of proposed
legislative changes if current proposals are passed into law. The citizen activated legislative
amendments have had problems with signatures in the past. The signatures are, without fail, challenged
by those opposing change. Other citizen initiated legislation has been removed from the ballot because
the title of said legislation is unclear. Give me a break. Maybe instead of removing public television
from the airwaves, it could be utilized as a means of informing the public. That is if you buy the
argument that it is unclear and assume you want input into the process. But, I’m just a spectator?