I’m astounded that America’s two major political parties are espousing positions that decrease their respective chances to take control of the government after the mid-term elections. Who is setting priorities for our political leaders?

For Republicans, their opportunity to gain a majority in both houses of Congress is being diminished by their continuing support of Donald Trump (referring to him as the leader of the party) and by dredging up the abortion issue just as voters are  heading to the polls.

Trump is a menace. Every average American should know by now that Trump is not capable of governing the US, and his very presence will either deny a victory for Republicans in the impending elections or decrease the number of seats that changeover from liberal to conservative.

It’s clear that the vast number of Republicans see Trump for what he really is- a liar, a self-promoter, a narcissist and a misogynist. He’s responsible for the bad blood among Americans across the country. Real Republicans don’t want Trump to represent them. Republican politicians are afraid to address these feelings because they are concerned about personal attacks from Trump. I believe there is widespread appreciation that Republicans feel Trump is detrimental to our country and a complete embarrassment.

The second miscalculation is promoting a debate about women’s rights to choose at this particular moment in time. The Supreme Court, even though they did not actually change the laws that enable women to seek out abortions, are being criticized for making it more difficult get an abortion. SCOTUS merely said that abortion is not addressed in the Constitution, a debatable point. And abortion laws should be the responsibility of individual states.

I support a woman’s right to choose wholeheartedly. Yet, I cannot ignore that a huge number of Americans disagree with this perspective. Both sides cannot ignore each other’s political perspectives and influence, if we are ever going to put this issue behind us. Republicans should not be pushing the Roe v. Wade conflict at this time. They should be considering reasonable compromises regarding abortion after the presidential elections.

The deck is stacked against Democrats. They have nearly every issue working against them. Crime is increasing in every urban area, and they had to walk back defunding of cops. The southern border crisis is getting worse every day and is exacerbated by fighting between governors in border states and those miles away from illegal entry points. Inflation has devalued the net worth of all Americans. The status of the US globally is at a nadir. And so on.

Biden and his followers cannot compete against Republicans on these on these issues. Nevertheless, both parties continue to practice stupid politics.