Political Thoughts of Timothy A. Raty

The following article appeared in the " DP International Newsletter " (Vol. 1, Issue 1; 2 June 2025) . It is re-published here (with minor edits) because, while it focuses on Luxembourgish politics, the underlying message is applicable to all democratically-based societies. More accurately, why should anyone be involved in politics? What is the purpose and is the purpose motivation enough? Most people will make the case that the premise of the prime purpose is a duty that is owed to someone else (for example, “it is your civic duty”). I wish to make the case purely from a selfish perspective, leaving aside arguments from duty and focusing exclusively on why politics is of value to you, the individual. Chances are extremely high that if you are reading this, you live in a country. A country is comprised of individuals who interact with each other on a daily basis in a wide variety of activities which, ideally, are based on mutually agreeable terms. We buy and sell goods and se...

Events of the past month have turned the most boring Presidential race since 1956 into a historic one. Former President Donald J. Trump (R) was nearly assassinated and a major pressure campaign has been launched to convince President Joseph R. Biden (D), who gave the worst televised General Election Debate performance in history, to end his campaign in favor of a (hopefully) more electable replacement. Rumors are that President Biden, while recovering this weekend from Covid-19, is seriously contemplating ending his campaign. Time will tell the validity of such. Prior to these events, I believed that this election would be as close as in the year 2000, when Vice President Al Gore (D) beat Governor George W. Bush (R) in the popular vote by 0.5%, but lost the Electoral College 271 – 266 – 1. Biden was likely to win the popular vote again, but flipping a coin to guess who would win the Electoral College would have been appropriate, as everything would come down to turnout. The only diff...

As widely anticipated, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed to obtain the votes necessary to be elected Speaker of the House. His main obstacle are prominent members of the so-called House Freedom Caucus, who are holding out support in order to obtain more concessions which will grant them more power and influence in the 118 th Congress. While the failure to obtain the Speakership showcases the fine, thin line the GOP must walk with having a slim majority in the House (218 are needed for a majority and the GOP has 222 seats), it is also a testament to the moral principle that when you sanction evil, evil will sanction you in return (and not in the way you want). After the January 6 th Attacks (some call them a soft coup, others call it a domestic terrorist attack; I call it both), McCarthy had contemplated asking President Trump to resign . Ultimately, this did not occur and McCarthy voted to acquit Trump during his second impeachment. Since that time and, in particular leading up...