As I’ve mentioned before in these pages, I frequently talk to my dogs. They are always around and make good sounding boards for thoughts and observations that strike me as brilliant, if not seminal. Perhaps, they are best when it comes to venting my spleen about politics, saying things that I would never put to paper, certainly not in the Potlatch Tertulia.
This morning they were both present during my morning ritual of reading the news. And they got an earful. Like many old duffers, I talk to myself plenty and when writing, I sometimes play both sides in crafting arguments. This morning was particularly rich.
Shelby and Rucker* got excited when I went on and on about Texas, how that state has seemed to go off the deep end with its clearly unconstitutional attempt to outlaw abortion in the state and the more recent actions by Greg Abbott the governor. Why I asked them, would a conservative Republican tell private businesses that they couldn’t mandate vaccines as a matter of employment? Apparently, conservatism is only conservative when it sanctions conservative behavior and actions, the Constitution be damned.
The big story the last two mornings has been the defection of loyal Republicans from the party of Trump. Christine Todd Whitman, Republican governor of New Jersey, 1994-2001, and former Homeland Security official, Miles Taylor, have both urged “rational” Republicans to vote for Democrats until sanity returns to their party. They express fear that if the current Trumpers win the House of Representatives in 2022 and possibly the White House in 2024 that it will mean the end of American democracy. The same theme was trumpeted by Max Boot, a Russian-American specialist in foreign affairs, who urged fellow conservatives to vote for Democrats until the GOP no longer posed an existential threat to American freedom. In calling out fellow Republicans, Whitman, Taylor and Boot** were appealing to a higher loyalty, a patriotic, unconditional loyalty to the Constitution and our democratic republic as Americans. Unconditional loyalty is something that Shelby and Rucker understand.
About this time, both Shelby and Rucker had dozed off to sleep by my desk; like many Americans they simply did not want to hear or talk about politics anymore. I can’t say I blame them. Just the same, we must realize that the noise and continued disruption by Republican extremists helps them undermine democratic and constitutional government.
Shelby and Rucker like most of us have short attention spans when it comes to the infighting and caterwauling of politics. Like us they prefer their routines, where everyday is predictable with time to enjoy life.
*Shelby and Rucker are black Labs.
**Christine Todd Whitman and Miles Taylor, “We Are Republicans With a Plea: Elect Democrats in 2022,” New York Times, October 11, 2021. Max Boot, “I’m No Democrat—But I’m Voting Exclusively for Democrats to Save Our Country,” Washington Post, October 11, 2021.
I seriously doubt any reasonably informed person paying attention to what is going on in contemporary America can believe conservatives are the real threat to democracy. The neo-marxist termites have been chewing away at the foundation of this country long before Trump and are doing so at a faster pace with the Biden administration running the show. The FBI and the Department of Justice have been politicized and weaponized to go after those with dissenting views. Democrats want a permanent majority by packing the Supreme Court and granting statehood to District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. They want to make some 20-30 million people in US illegally citizens and likely democrat voters. They want to take control of elections from states. I perhaps have a perspective different from many Americans being from a formerly communist country. Believe me, US is heading down a perilous path.
Thanks for your comments. I can’t relate to your experience given your background, but I do understand how our personal experiences drive our opinions and politics. I have many friends from Latin America who feel strongly about politics as a result of living in Cuba, Mexico or Venezuela. Some like the Cubans share your view while those from Venezuela frequently embrace the Democrats. Just let me say that you might want to study the history of the United States a bit more to help you understand American political culture better. Thanks again. Robert
I would like to say that I probably know as much or more about American history than the average American, and certainly more than the millions of illegal immigrants here in US. I became a citizen the legal way, and in that process studied history and civics. The trend in this country, as I already stated is steady progression to the left of the political spectrum. All major social media platforms are leftist – Google, Facebook, Twitter, MSN, Yahoo etc. Most major newspapers are leftist as are broadcast networks. Google representatives met in the Obama Whitehouse at least weekly during his time in office. Do you think the selective ordering or omission of search results favorable to anti leftists were by accident? The bias and “cancel culture” in this country is too obvious for any rational person to ignore. Donald Trump had an opportunity to slow up the slide to neo-marxism, but he completely blew it. His crazy antics, and narcissistic and egotistic behaviour predictably resulted in the election of an equally incompetent individual, a mere puppet of the Obama cartel.
No, the “existential threat to American freedom” is not as Whitman, Taylor and Boot would have you believe. That is like saying the real threat to a hiker is the flea on the back of the bear that is chasing him/her.
Presuming you are correct, who instigated and took part in the attack on the Capitol Jan 6 and who is orchestrating the idea of the “stolen election?”