Today is the day that the Electoral College meets all across the nation to formally cast votes for president and vice-president according the the constitutions of the states they represent.  This is the formality that along with the tallying of votes on January 6, 2021, finish the the election in the United States.  For every other election in our country's history, these are generally unheralded events.  This year however it is far different.  Trump and his Republican allies have tried as hard as they can with dozens of lawsuits all across the country to try and prevent this from happening or to have the electors change their vote to him instead of how their state mandates that they vote.  In over 50 attempts, all but one have been dismissed by the courts, with the Supreme Court dismissing two of them.  Ironically, several of the federal judges involved in these decisions have been appointed by Trump.  But our justice system, however flawed it may be, still works on evidence to dictate merit for a case to be brought to trial.  Despite the stories online, full of conspiracy theories and sometimes just pure fiction, no evidence has been brought in any of these cases that meets the standard our system of justice demands.  You would think that for many, that would be the final say in putting this election behind us and looking to the future again.  But many in the Republican party don't seem to care any more about what is legal, what the state and federal constitutions say, even though they are the backbone of our country.  No, they want to believe the fiction being presented as truth and circumvent our laws and simply declare Trump the winner.  The fact that the code of ethics that our judicial system operates on has been the only beacon of rationality this fall is comforting, but also scary in that things had to come this far.  And these rulings have not changed how many Republicans see this election.  That's what has been the latest among so many eye-openers for me this past year.  The Republican Party that I grew up agreeing with for the most part has gone.  In place of it is a group of wild anarchists who are desiring to "burn the house down" so to speak if they don't get their way.  Laws be damned, they're right and the world must bend to their will.  My own representative in Congress, Cathy McMorris-Rogers has joined that group.

I remain a conservative person believing that less government is better than too much government.  But the party that I used to agree with for the most part has disappeared.  I've always been an independant voter - that's not going to change.  But the Republican Party needs to return toward the center from the reaches of the far right that they find themselves.  I know my friends who agree with the current GOP will disagree with me and probably disown me, but I agree with an article I read four years ago that the party needs fumigation.  It has succumbed to it's baser, more course elements and as such is completely unrecognizable to those of us who cheered on the "compassionate conservatism" of the 1980s.  I've never been one to get involved in politics.  I applaud those who do, but to me it is a slimy necessary evil.  You have to have the skin of a crocidile to put up with the personal attacks that come your way.  Regardless of those who might think I'm indulging in wishful thinking, I will still vote for candidates who show intelligence, compassion for those in need, and good stewardship of the public whom they serve.  But in the main, I believe that our culture has passed the point of no-return and that the desire for an equitable society that the founders of our country attempted to create is gone.  I'm still proud to live in the United States, but the moral high ground has been lost by half of our country.  It remains to be seen what will happen in my country during the remainder of my life.  I fear for my children and future grandchildren.  May God be merciful and protect them.