AOC, look, I think she’s very nice. But she’s very low-IQ, and we really don’t need low-IQ. Between her and Crockett, we’re going to give them both an IQ test to see who comes out best.
Now, I took my test. I took a real test at Walter Reed Medical Center, and I aced it. I got every one of all those questions right. Now it’s time for them to take a test.
[It should be noted that Trump was given a cognitive test that checks for dementia, not IQ. I had this very test myself a few years back. As far as Representatives Accacio-Cortez and Crockett are concerned, the former graduated cum laude with duel-degrees in economics and international relations, and the latter has a law degree and passed the bar.]
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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Our Toddler King (Donald Trump) and his playdate friend (Elon Musk) are spatting again over Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill — which financially harms the working class and poor, throws millions of people off of Medicaid, and reduces or cancels numerous programs that demonstrably help the “least of these” among us. Musk doesn’t care about any of these things. Remember, much like Trump, Musk has no empathy. Both men care about two things: power and money. Musk is upset because the bill increases the federal debt by trillions of dollars and ends several subsidies that help Musk’s companies financially.
According to news reports, Musk has started a new political party — the America Party. Should we be concerned about Musk’s new party, or is this whole issue nothing more than a playground fight between two men who are bullies? And if we know anything about bullies, they cannot abide threats to their dominance. Trump threatened to deport Musk and stop government subsidies for his companies. Musk, on the other hand, not only wants to destroy Trump, he wants to destroy the Republican Party.
I am all for Musk’s plan to start a new party. First, he will peel off scores of Republican voters, likely handing Democrats victories across the United States. Now we just need someone from the democratic side to do the same. It’s time for an old-fashioned political food fight.
Let me be clear about my position:
Our two-party system is broken beyond repair. Neither party seems capable of competently governing.
Multiple political parties on the ballot are good for American democracy.
I support the end of corporate and PAC donations to candidates.
I support limiting political campaigning to the ninety days before the election.
I support term limits for all candidates — two terms for senators, four terms for representatives, and two terms for presidents.
I previously wrote that I was done with the national Democratic Party. Please read An Open Letter to Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin. As I expected, the Democratic Party voted David Hogg out of its leadership. This was the last straw for me. While I will no longer support Democrats nationally, I intend to continue to support the local Democratic Party as long as their views align with mine.
This has been a simmering issue for me for at least ten years. In 2016, I wrote An Open Letter to the DNC:
Dear Democratic National Committee,
I write to express my outrage over recent revelations detailing how DNC officials attempted to derail Bernie Sanders’ 2016 Presidential campaign. It is evident, based on released internal emails, that Deborah Wasserman Schultz and operatives within the DNC were working behind the scenes to marginalize Bernie Sanders, paving the way for Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic candidate for President. Earlier this year Bernie Sanders complained about attempts by Wasserman Schultz and the DNC to keep him from becoming the nominee. The DNC dismissed Sanders’ claims, categorically stating that both candidates were being treated fairly and equally. Thanks to Wikileaks, we now know better.
I am a diehard Bernie Sanders supporter. As a liberal, democratic socialist, I found Sanders’ policy positions to be the closest to my own. Sanders is the voice of progressivism; Hillary Clinton is the voice of centrist Democratic politics. Sanders is a man of principle; Hillary Clinton is a political opportunist. Bernie Sanders didn’t take a dime from Wall Street; Hillary Clinton made millions off of private Wall Street-sponsored speeches. Bernie Sanders opposes war in the Middle East; Hillary Clinton will continue the blood-spilling policies of the Barack Obama. It is for these reasons (and others) that I support Bernie Sanders.
I am also an atheist. Offensive revelations that Wasserman Schultz and the DNC considered tarring Bernie Sanders with the atheist label suggests to me that the DNC doesn’t realize that most atheists are political liberals who most often vote Democrat. It is also clear that the DNC doesn’t understand that scores of millennials are non-religious. These millennials generally skew to the left — good news for Democrats. Good news, that is, if the DNC stops treating non-religious people as if they have some sort of communicable disease.
I am pleased that Wasserman Schultz has been removed as the head of the DNC. But that action is not enough. Every DNC operative who thought labeling Bernie Sanders an atheist was a good idea should immediately be fired. A failure to take such action shows that Democratic leaders don’t value fairness. The DNC should also publicly apologize to the atheist community for their shameful use of the word “atheist” as some sort of pejorative term. A full-page apology in the New York Times and personal letters to the major atheist groups will suffice.
I plan to vote for Hillary Clinton come November. I will do so for one reason and one reason alone — Donald Trump. I cannot in good conscience do anything that will increase the likelihood of a Trump presidency. These are perilous times, and I must do what is best for my country. Quite frankly, if a centrist Republican was running for President I would likely cast my vote for Jill Stein. In doing so, I would be telling the Democratic Party that until they value me as a voter, they have lost my vote. I want to do this now, but I can’t. I know that if Donald Trump is elected he will fundamentally and permanently harm our Republic. It’s Hillary Clinton’s lucky day. She will get my vote, not because I think she best represents my views, but because Donald Trump is a real threat to national security and social progress. If Clinton wins the election, the DNC might want to consider how to keep my vote come 2020. If liberal, democratic-socialist atheists aren’t welcome in the Democratic Party, then perhaps it is time to start seriously considering third-parties that value people such as myself.
Sincerely,
Bruce Gerencser A Former Right-Wing Evangelical Republican Turned Liberal, Democratic-Socialist Atheist
While my political views have changed somewhat since 2016, one thing is clear: I can no longer support the Democratic Party. I refuse to be bullied into voting for the “lesser of two evils,” so don’t bother trying to badger me into voting for the Democratic standard bearer. It remains to be seen whom the Democrats stand up for in the 2028 Presidential Election, so I may vote Democratic depending on the candidate. We want to blame stupid MAGA Republicans for ‘blessing” us with the worst president in American history, but the Democratic Party certainly played a part in Trump’s re-election by fielding unwinnable candidates (Joe Biden and Kamala Harris). As of today, I am unsettled as to who Democrats should field in 2028. But mark my word, if they trot about another “seniority” candidate as they did with Biden and Hillary Clinton, the Party will hemorrhage voters by the millions. I agree with most of Bernie Sanders’ positions, but he is too old. I’m a big fan of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) — what a firebrand! — but I suspect that many voters will consider her too young for the job. I like Elizabeth Warren, too, but it is unlikely she will run due to her age. Today? I would love to see people such as Katie Porter or Pete Buttigieg run for office, though Buttigieg being gay will likely hurt his electability. What are your thoughts about who the Democratic Party candidate should be in 2028?
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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Ken Martin is the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The Party is facing conflict over David Hogg, an officer in the DNC, saying that he intends to raise and spend 20 million on primary challenges of some Democratic congresspeople. This, of course, outrage establishment, centrist Democrats.
In a May 15, 2025 Zoom meeting, Martin said:
I’ll be very honest with you, for the first time in my 100 days on this job … the other night I said to myself for the first time, I don’t know if I wanna do this anymore.
Addressing Hogg, Martin stated:
No one knows who the hell I am, right? I’m trying to get my sea legs underneath of me and actually develop any amount of credibility so I can go out there and raise the money and do the job I need to to put ourselves in a position to win. And again, I don’t think you intended this, but you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to. So it’s really frustrating.
Mr. Martin,
I am a registered Democratic voter. For the past three presidential elections, I held my nose as I voted for Hilary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris. None of these candidates were my first, second, or third choices in the primaries, but come the general election, I played the part of the dutiful son, voting for candidates that largely did not represent my values. All three candidates were centrist, corporate Democrats, much like Barack Obama and Bill Clinton before them.
In the 2016 presidential election, the DNC deliberately scuttled Bernie Sanders’ attempt to be the Democratic candidate for the highest office in the land. I almost left the party over this, but decided not to, hoping that change and reform would make the DNC more aware of the poor and working-class people they have largely abandoned for 30 pieces of silver from corporate donors.
It’s 2025, and now you and your fellow board members are trying to remove David Hogg and Malcolm Kenyatta from their respective DNC offices. You tried to suggest that board members should be neutral, but it’s hard for me not to laugh considering what the DNC did to Bernie Sanders in 2016. Here’s what I do know, if you vote Hogg and Kenyatta out of office, I’m done with the Democratic Party. And I know that I am not alone when I say this. You are misreading the lay of the land if you think that removing them from office will be inconsequential.
Hogg is right when he says the Democratic Party needs a spring housecleaning. This was clear to me when Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attempted to become the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee. Ocasio-Cortez’s attempt was turned away, and the seat went to a 75-year-old man with cancer, Gerry Connolly. Months later, Conolly died. Why was Connolly given the seat? Seniority. He was next in line, the thinking went.
Enough of the seniority nonsense and waiting your turn. We need young, fresh candidates to successfully run for office. We need these same young people to shake up the good old boys network that currently controls the Democratic Party. Until we stop being the “nursing home party,” we can expect to continue to lose elections and, worse, lose congressional seats. If Democrats want to retake the White House and Congress, they must stop trotting out the same ancient politicians, thinking that the American people won’t notice who ISN’T running for office. Well, count me as someone who IS paying attention, and unless there is a big turnaround, I have no intention of spending more of my time and money supporting a clueless political party that has lost its way.
I have bitten my tongue numerous times over the years, as Democrats promoted policies and agendas I disagree with. I have screamed and cussed as Democrats supported the military-industrial complex and gave tacit approval of Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people. Time after time, I wondered why I support a party that has largely abandoned liberal, progressive values. And what do some Democrats want the party to do? Move to the center or even right-center. Are you fucking kidding me? We need to own these values, letting the American people know that Democrats are on the side of poor and working-class people. Of course, this is hard to do when most Democrats are sucking on the teat of corporate and big-money donors.
Let me be clear, Mr. Martin, if Hogg and Kenyatta go, so do I. No, I won’t become a Republican. Republicans are wholly given over to fascism and lawbreaking, supporting the toddler king, Donald Trump. That said, it is evident that our two-party system is broken beyond repair. MSNBC can keep telling me that Republicans are the problem — and they are — but the Democratic Party has more than enough blame and culpability to go around.
Sincerely,
Bruce Gerencser
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
