A Headless Moment for Magic Valley Liberty Alliance

Election Day approaches, and the screaming banshees are back. I won’t back the devious in their ranks. They like to shout that I’m not really a conservative, but when I was growing up, the word was personified by William F. Buckley, Jr. He had no use for the crackpots on the right. If you’re in a contest of ideologies, I would prefer someone along his lines to a couple of barely literate thugs from across the river. Years ago, I had lunch one day with a Republican candidate for Governor in Delaware. He wanted me to be a bridge between his campaign and the Tea Party brigades.

They were mostly receptive, I explained, but I worried about some who were always spoiling for a fight and who only wanted to fight. He thought for a moment and said they could still be helpful, and that they weren’t “sophisticated”. Nice euphemism for Larry, Darryl, and Darryl!

There are a Few Areas Called Agreement

I share an important viewpoint with these people. There’s too much special interest money in politics, but it goes both ways. Modern politics can’t survive without money. Even during the early days of the Republic, a candidate had to provide picnic lunches, whiskey, and bunting. You don’t see poor people running for office. Richard Nixon, though not a wealthy man, was backed by some big money, and the trend continued in the decades that followed as campaign costs and media platforms both grew exponentially. Once you admit you can’t succeed without money, we can discuss how we can get the best outcomes from a legislative body. Yes, you can elect a malcontented loudmouth from Eden, Idaho, but if his 104 colleagues won’t talk to him, what’s the point? I wrote about him last week a couple of times in another forum. Here and here.

They Complain about Noises They Say Nobody Hears

As I’ve pointed out in the past, the man and his small band of bullies insist nobody listens to me, then turn around and harass me when I won’t back their guy. The Nazi SA is an apt description of this crowd. The left has its commies, and we have our clowns. They aren’t interested in being governed in a representative form. Their goal is to browbeat everyone into their idea of utopia. At worst, they’re totalitarian. Also incompetent. I’m reminded of some late scenes in one of my favorite films, Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence’s army had just taken Damascus, then looted the city and left without any attempt at governing. Revolutions are often like that, too. Burning things down isn’t the same as making the trolleys roll.

One other thought.  One of the banshees demanded I give it a rest.  Is that an acknowledgement that your candidate isn’t electable?  Then why do you support the fellow?  Funny, I still criticize Governor Little for his COVID response.  That was six years ago, and I haven’t given it a rest.  Lyle’s buddies haven’t given the Governor a break either.  By their logic, they should.

A similar version of this essay appeared at Substack.