I forwarded the following letter to my newspaper editor. Hopefully, they will publish it. I also forwarded it to some folks in an email. Please feel free to adapt and use.
As an independent voter and former member of both parties, it was good to see a significant number of election deniers and Trump sycophants defeated in the elections last week. While a few got elected in, the voters seemed to be saying enough of that storytelling and let’s move on.
I do feel the Republican Party needs to get back on track and move away from those who feel they must lie to curry favor with the former president. We need a conservative voice in our country and the current vintage of the GOP is not it. They could begin with cutting the lines to the anchor of the former president’s deceitful and allegedly seditious behavior. They could cut a few lines to his sycophants as well.
The sooner they do this, the better it will be for our country and their party.
musingsofanoldfart 
I wonder if losing Trump really erases the problem. Seems to me there is an underlying agenda that moves the country backwards rather than forwards.
VJ, true, but the lesson that needs to be highlighted is the purposeful lying going on to support the deception of the former president. If a party lies about this, how can they be trusted about anything? They should learn that lesson by the number of Trump sycophants who were defeated in the general election. Keith
I hope you are right, Keith.
Me too. The flip side is gaslighting is a powerful force to overcome.
When I heard about Trump wanting to go for another presidency again, I thought, maybe that is what could even help the Democrats. Even the Republicans are divided on this. Those who had to cope while he was president don’t want that history repeats. If they have more candidates (like Pence) that could push Trump offsite for good.
Thanks Erika. The announcement was met with a lukewarm response. The lack of attention unnerves him more than the average politician given his narcissistic tendencies. I disagree with this statement, but his former Chief of Staff said Donald Trump is the only Republican that could LOSE the presidential election. There are others that could lose, as well, not just Trump. Trump will likely have lost at least two court cases and may be others. He also may be held in contempt for blowing off the House committee. And, that is all before the Georgia election meddling and alleged seditious actions leading up to and on January 6 insurrection and the taking of classified documents. Keith
He left too many bad impressions… to say it nicely.
That may be the kindest way to phrase it.
Sadly, the spine of the GOP seems to have dissolved. They have forgotten when it means to be an American and unless they remember, they will never “fix” the party. They are so afraid of not getting elected, the crumble as soon as someone looks at them. It’s such a pity for both parties because to make democracy work, you need at LEAST two parties.
Marilyn, I won’t argue with you there. Now that the GOP caught the proverbial bus in the House, we will witness the lack of governance over issues to help people. We will see more of committees to denigrate people for political gain, we will see the attempt to unwind things that benefitted the many to benefit the higher ups and we will see a lot of in-fighting between the strident right and the conservative right, as the moderate Republicans are outgunned and vilified. To me the answer has always been a moderate third party in the middle. It would force both extreme ends to play better together to garner their votes and actually may drive out some of the strident and mean-spirited folks. Today, it is too hard for an independent to get on the ballot. Keith
People are too scared to even TRY to create a new party. Also, as someone who lived in a parliamentary country, centrist parties don’t work well because the inherent nature of centrism is NOT being driven by politics. We I remember we formed centrist parties and everyone sort of drifted away because the only this we had in common was not be extremely anything — and that, unfortunately, isn’t enough to make a party work.
I think we need a party that’s like the very first — EARLIEST — Republican party was. It didn’t last, not in that form very long. Just a few years and Lincoln knew it wouldn’t last. He said said. Gradually each party has drifted. It’s rough being American right now.
There are so many typos in that last comment, I think I will go get some sleep. It’s late. Too late for writing anything.
Thanks for your comment. I appreciate your experience and perspective. I think another reason is moderates don’t sell as well as they are too boring. Back in 1988, Paul Tsongas would have been a great president, but he was perceived as too boring and lost the nomination to a poor candidate who was waxed in the general election. I would love to see boring competence in a president.
No worries on the typos. Between autocorrect and sloppy typing, I leave those notes all too often. Thanks for commenting. Keith
Yes. The centrist parties WERE boring, but that was what we liked about them. I’m seriously ready for some tedious politics!
Note to Readers: My local newspaper printed an edited version of my letter to the editor from above. Here is a copy of what was printed today.
“The GOP
While a few election deniers and Trump sycophants got elected, voters seem to be saying enough of that storytelling, let’s move on.
I do feel the Republican Party needs to get back on track and move away from those who feel they must lie to curry favor with the former president. We need a conservative voice in our country, and the current vintage of the GOP is not it. They could begin by cutting the lines to the anchor of the former president’s deceitful and allegedly seditious behavior. They could cut a few lines to his sycophants as well.
The sooner they do this, the better it will be for our country and their party.”