July 16, 2019
Hubris and I decided it was time for us to take a break from our efforts to reform our broken and
dysfunctional political system. We needed to catch up on ranch work. It had taken a back seat
while we ran back and forth between Lefty’s and Jack’s place of business trying to get a handle
on what was happening “in” the new left and what had happened “to” the old right. We had
totally wasted our time trying to talk some sense into Bernie, Howie and Kamala and when
Lefty’s insider bunch pulled old “Uncle Joe” out of the closet and pushed him onto the street we
had to realize that the time for any significant reform wasn’t here yet. Worse was the problem I
faced in trying to explain all of this to my friend I called “Owl Man”. Nothing is sadder for a
Native American to hear than the old refrain, “Politics as usual.”
I wasn’t too surprised by the little one-liner news item that caught my eye a week or so ago. Howie announced that his “back problem” was going to sideline his campaign for the Chief’s office for, probably, a month or two. Perhaps our meeting and my telling him that he didn’t qualify for the Chief’s job caused a shift in his spinal alignment? He told me that I was the cause of his pain but he didn’t say that pain was in his back, he said it was a bit lower. I wouldn’t be surprised if he formally withdrew from the competition, he shouldn’t have entered in the first place. Notice that his name isn’t in the first two democrat nomination debate lists. It’s very likely that “formally” won’t be necessary.
And, Bernie continues to disappoint me. Why he wants to proclaim and re-proclaim his membership in a political party that has gone to great lengths, even an illegal one, to destroy him is beyond me. The 2016 race should have taught him a lesson; don’t trust a system you know to be corrupt. His latest campaign twist is an effort to re-define his position as a “Democratic Socialist”. If that means, as the name implies, no Constitution and the electorate makes all the rules—we would be in big trouble! Or, maybe his campaign staff really did read my proposal for a new party and this is the first step in his evolution to becoming the “Responsible Social Democratic Party” and really cut the cord of our corrupt two-party system? If you believe that—Hubris and I have a bridge over the Rio Grande we would love to sell to you.
Perhaps I haven’t read carefully all the position reports published by the self-nominees (or by Uncle Joe who would be best described as a very reluctant, party inner- circle nominee) included in the first two debates but, as best I remember, none of those candidates has used the word “responsible” in any of their platform outlines. Maybe I’ve found the basic Achilles’ heel of today’s politician— “irresponsibility”? Given the performance of our Presidents, Congress and Judicial system over the last several decades and the resultant level of our national debt and social instability, which I had concluded was due to the loss of our moral compass and a tragic failure of leadership, I continue to believe that my assessment is and was correct. However, I’ve now found the key word to identify “failure”. Our leaders have failed to take responsibility for their actions, and their lack of action. I nominate Mitch McConnell as the poster boy of irresponsibility.
And how better to sum up the lack of a moral compass plus irresponsible leadership than in the persona of Donald Trump! If ever there was just one person alive today in the United States whose words and actions defined the concept of immorality he would have to be our first pick. What he is doing in destroying relationships with our allies and trading partners is totally and dangerously irresponsible. Yes, weak and timid leaders have put us into unfair trade relationships and very bad “leaders” have en-snarled us in dangerous and forever damaging world conflicts but Trump’s approach to matters of geopolitics is like a fireman trying put out a smoldering world conflict by throwing gasoline on the ashes. The corruption of the Presidential office by Donald Trump is much more dangerous to the welfare of the United States than the cowardice of “W” Bush in relinquishing his power of office to the two ego-maniacs, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.
Hubris and I are planning a week of ranch maintenance. We are going to muck the cow barn, rake the horse biscuits out of Hubris’ corral, put new straw in the hen house and fertilize the vegetable garden. Maybe next week we will explain the difference between socialism and social welfare. As Grannie said, “Hope for the best, expect the worst—and take what comes.”
Lou
Copyright 6/16/ 2019, Louis J. Christen