Dubbatrubba would like to yield the floor to the gentleman from Michigan. Paul Mitchell is “disaffiliating” himself from the Republican party because of their alleged “leaders” refusal to grow a backbone and, as he calls it, #stopthestupid.

He kept trying to talk some sense into them…

… and to the Cheeto-in-Chief:

Finally, about a week ago, he threw in the towel and walked away from the Republican party, because more clowns kept joining the circus.

Mitchell noted that Republican leaders had been “collectively sit(ting) back and tolerat(ing) unfounded conspiracy theories and ‘stop the steal’ rallies without speaking out for our electoral process,” and the last straw for him seemed to be “the leadership of the Republican Party and our Republican Conference in the House actively participating in at least some of those efforts.”

From this CNN article.

He got fed up with too many Republicans caring more about power than they do about principles. Here’s a 60-second excerpt from his televised interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper.

The full article and interview can be found on CNN here.

It’s not just a Republican problem. This quote from Rep. Mitchell really rang true:

“In my opinion, the extremes of both parties are dragging their parties and this country off a cliff. The majority of Americans are in the middle. The majority of Americans want solutions to problems — want us to address them and not see who can have a political win. Not see who can grab political power for all it’s worth and actually do something to solve a problem for the American people. And frankly we haven’t done enough of that — haven’t done enough the last two terms. And this election simply confirms for me that it’s all about power first and that, frankly, is disgusting and demoralizing.”

Representative Paul Mitchell (I, formerly R), Michigan

He’s right. “We The People” want solutions to problems. That sometimes involves compromise, not stonewalling. Good-faith collaboration, not grandstanding. True respect for those with opposing views, not blind allegiance to the party line. Putting the people first, not power.

Paul Mitchell has already announced he won’t run for another term. I hope his parting words to his former party don’t fall on deaf ears, and his appeal to his colleagues in both parties will help them usher in an era of more civility and cooperation. But I’m not holding my breath…