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"Americans need to stop thinking about themselves as conservatives, liberals, libertarians, etc, and begin thinking of themselves as individual citizens capable of forming their own set of diverse views."

I'm not any of the labels you list in the quote. I think for myself but I do skew liberal on most issues, and have little use for the current MAGA conservative folks. From what I can see there is no talking to them much less compromising - it "can be reduced to something so simple." Lib224 is right that there is one side that is wrong and that "sidism" is a copout.

That said, our local politics aren't really left versus right. They are really wealthy versus regular folks. Follow the money as the saying goes. The local "haves," developers and other corporate interests, control who governs us with their contributions to the local, state and federal politicians that run Manatee County. And, I hate to say that "elections are rigged" like a certain former president, but the closed party primaries make it easy to keep control.