Time for holiday cheer or jeer?

By Daniel P. Cortez

It will be difficult depending on which political blowhard one chooses to listen to, as to how exuberant independent voters should be in the New Year.

Like many, I remain jaded when Democrats and Republicans firmly suggest they exclusively remain “the light and the way.” Especially if they suggest divine providence ordered their political involvement … and some have.

But I acknowledge some exceptional folks on both sides of the aisle. Presidents John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and father and son Bush are at the top of my chart. Plus former Senator George Allen and Senator Diane Feinstein remain two of the more civil and dedicated politicians I’ve had the honor to work with closely.

Sadly, their ability to reach across the aisle is not shared by their contemporaries. And the collective political failure of both parties has allowed the once dominant U.S. military to be decimated by an administration bent on unilateral appeasement through sequestration.