Although my politics have always been left of center, I’ve often split my ticket for one reason or another:

• I find the candidate on “my” side loathsome for some reason
• I find the candidate on the “other” side personally appealing
• The candidate on the “other” side lines up with my views as well as or better than the one on “my” side
• I don’t like to have lopsided majorities in legislative bodies or commissions

Unfortunately, those days are gone. The parties are so polarized, their actions so juvenile and spiteful, that I feel obliged to vote purely along party lines. I know that whichever party is in the majority will not be willing to listen to any good ideas from the minority, and that they will do their best to ram their own agenda through.

This is a state where the typical Republican is to the left of the party on many issues, and they often campaign on a promise to be independent. I don’t doubt that they are sincere; what I doubt is their ability to be effective. They are much more likely to get their teeth kicked in than to get any of their ideas advanced.

I find this tragic. Even if a Republican candidate for Senate agreed with every jot and tittle of my views, I couldn’t vote for them in the current environment. Doing so might put the Senate under Republican control, and “my” Republican would be bound and gagged in the name of party discipline.

I’m sure that many Republicans share my feelings about this. I offer my condolences to them.