This episode is dropping less than a week after the Trump Insurrection of January 6, 2021. Joining us for a discussion of all the news and the state of the Republican Party is Richard (Rick) Hodges. Rick has a career of public service. He has been the Fulton County (Ohio) Treasurer. He served three terms as a State Representative for a conservative district in NW Ohio. He has been the Executive Director of the Arizona Truckers Association.  He returned to Ohio to join the administration of Governor John Kasich as his Director of the Ohio Turnpike Commission. A second position he held was as Kasich's Director of Health. 

Rick was raised in a liberal/progressive home but found his own way to being an active conservative from the 1980s to the present. Rick and Steve have a lively discussion on why we all witnessed an insurrection in the first place. Spoiler Alert: the mob is culpable for its violence, but has true grievances that Trump exploited. Violence is never acceptable, but we need to discern whether the grievances manifesting themselves or real, imagined or a bit of both.  One thing Rick and Steve agree on: the label of conservatism has been used and abused to the point where it means something different to everyone. One thing is for sure, they agree that the Make America Great Again tribe does not fit any realistic definition of "conservative".  They have less confidence knowing what is to come for the Republican Party. Rick thinks the two party system is here to stay, but that the Republican Party may be a significant minority, if not a regional party for some time. Steve thinks - or maybe hopes - there's a way for traditional conservatives and the Trump crowd to get a divorce. Both parties seem to want it, so why not make it amicable -- haha. 

Listening to Hodges, its interesting to hear his take as a public servant/officeholder what its like in many of the situations we are watching in real time. Its apparent that even though he has been out of the intense spotlight for some five years, he is adept at understanding why people feel as they do -- and to validate (nearly) all opinions  in the kaleidoscope that are Americans political views. Such tolerance isn't as raucous as the political mud-wrestling you find on talk radio, but it is an example of the tolerance and forbearance we all need to practice with our fellow Americans if we're gonna hold the world's oldest democracy together.  The dirty little secret is acceptance of the absolute right of everyone to their own views is not a sign of weakness as portrayed in the current intolerant stew that is our political climate today. In fact, just the opposite. If you think its not hard to consistently be tolerant of others  -- give it a try.  It is the stronger one by far who  appreciates his polar political opposite -- and maybe even thinks well of them personally.