Politically, I’m a lifelong centrist.

I believe this nation survives and thrives based on the good people in the “middle” who are willing to talk sensibly across the aisle, and who understand, as with all things in life, solutions to complex problems require compromise.

Over my 45 years of voting, I’ve pulled the lever for Republicans at times, for Democrats at other times, and even for Independents when I judged both parties were going the wrong direction.  I have always sought the candidates who respected the rule of law, the rights of individuals, and who pursued responsible fiscal policy.

And I’ve always selected candidates who tried to elevate us as a people, who respected the vital contributions of hard working folks to our nation’s fundamental mechanics. Finally, I gravitate towards candidates who are committed to upholding our nation’s place of respect and leadership in our vital military alliances.

As I said, no party has had a lock on my vote, because no party has a monopoly on good ideas or good candidates. My philosophy is, and forever will be, “Country over party.”

I believe…as George Washington wrote in his 1796 “Farewell Address,” that political parties are “likely…to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men [are] enabled to subvert the power of the people…”

We can see no better example of such a “potent engine by which [a] cunning, ambitious and unprincipled” man has been “enabled to subvert the power of the people” than the current Trumpian Republican party.

Gone are the days of the respectable Republican Party of Ronald Reagan. I look with nostalgia at the era of John Danforth, John McCain, and Bob Dole. I respected those men and honor their contributions.

As this current Republican party of Trumpian sycophants has gone off the rails, the party who appears to still have a grasp on reality is the Democrats.  Their message is coherent. For this election, they appear to be a party committed to moving us forward and working for the broader good — not holding us back, stuck in old grievances and crazy conspiracy theories.

In all honesty, had the Republicans selected a reasonable candidate…say, Niki Haley…and had the Democrats kept Joe Biden as their candidate, I’d likely be voting Republican this year.

I would not have agreed with everything Niki Haley had to say, nor will I agree with all the policies of Kamala Harris. But, with Harris, I can vote in good conscience, knowing the person I “pull the lever” for is NOT a whining, self-absorbed, self-admitted sexual predator, who does not respect the Constitution. My vote will reflect my personal ethics. I believe Kamala Harris is, fundamentally, a good person, AND she is highly qualified to serve as President of the United States.

And I appear to be in good company, seeing this week’s NYT headline “111 Former G.O.P. Officials Back Harris, Calling Trump ‘Unfit to Serve.’”

Enough said…This year, I will lean left-of-center. 

Jim Meier, Hermann