It was a very newsworthy week in both the nation and along this, the most conservative stretch of Old Route 66. Yes, we had a visit from a GOP Presidential hopeful in Tulsa this past Thursday. Dr. Ben Carson, who has surged past Mr. Donald Trump in some polls, was on hand at a local Barnes & Noble bookstore for a book signing. A fellow blogger, Mr. Ray Pearcey, attended that event and gave his take on the candidate, his background and position on the issues in his post The Ben Carson Conundrum Part I.
It was duly noted that Dr. Carson has also made some seemingly extremist comments this week as to how he would use the Department of Education to squelch liberal free speech on college campuses. In an interview with Chuck Todd on Meet The Press this morning, Dr. Carson was pressed on his statement. To my amazement, the doctor said something with which I actually agreed. He articulated his authentic sentiment that he thought taxpayer funds should not be used for propaganda. Oh, boy! Candidate Carson really struck a nerve with that one!
As I stated above, I also don’t think taxpayer funds should be used for propaganda. When Candidate Carson was signing books and pressing the flesh along the reddest most segment of the Mother Road, inside the Beltway of our Nation’s Capitol in a committee room on Capitol Hill nothing new was discovered in the eleven hours Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton testified before the latest Congressional inquest into the deaths of four American diplomats in Benghazi in 2012. That said, let us place the purpose of this committee into appropriate perspective:
Forget the fact that the previous seven Congressional investigations into the Benghazi embassy attack found no wrongdoing by then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Propagandist-in-chief committee chairman Congressman Harold Watson Gowdy III (R-SC), who has to date blown some $4.5 million taxpayer dollars on this endeavor, was going to get his “GOTCHA” moment his party needs so bad for the forthcoming Presidential campaign. I must admit that I had a hard time taking Mr. Gowdy seriously before this (when word gets out that you sip wine from glasses embossed with the words “Glacial Pace” you make a mockery of yourself) but now the guy’s credibility is shrinking publicly before my very eyes. Is it my imagination or do I really hear Dueling Banjos every time I see his face?
What came of her eleven hours of testimony was an image of Hillary Clinton being Presidential and the GOP members of the panel looking petty. Indeed, Rep. Gowdy and company are going to regret this particular round of testimony.
The real star of this particular Benghazi testimony however was Democratic committee member Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD). To say Congressman Cummings ripped the GOP witch hunters a new one is an understatement. Check out what had to say in this video: Elijah Cummings slams Republicans on House Benghazi Committee
In addition to Candidate Clinton withstanding such grueling scrutiny from opposition politicians with a vested interest in making her look vulnerable and less than competent, the field of candidates seeking her party’s nomination shrank significantly this past week. On Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden announced that his window of opportunity has closed for him to make a Presidential bid. This news that Biden will not enter the race likely had more of an effect on Clinton’s poll numbers than did the announcement by Candidates Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee that they are dropping out of contention for the Democratic Presidential nomination. That narrows the Democratic field to three. Martin O’Malley is still polling a distant third and Senator Bernie Sanders is still viable as anyone who vividly remembers this time in 2007 and a junior Illinois Senator by the name of Barack Obama can attest, regardless of what any critic may say or think. From my vantage point all I can see is the popularity of Bernie Sanders increasing daily.
Yes, the Democratic field is taking shape for Primary season which is now less than 100 days away. For all the troubles which beset the GOP field, it is obvious there is still much more debate and soul searching among conservatives before they settle on party favorite, popularity of their outsiders notwithstanding. Let it never be said we do not live in interesting times. This forthcoming campaign will be very telling about the character of the nation moving forward. The whole campaign will at very least be entertaining as such displays of authentic Americana usually are.
Thinning of the herd
The problem with all of the Republican ‘outsider’ candidates is that they all are narrow-based technicians, with extremely limited expertise and experience. Two business people and a surgeon – with no previous background in either government, or politics – does not bode well for their success as even potential office-holders.
And the problem with all the Republican ‘insider’ candidates is that they are all so extreme in their viewpoints and policies that they are simply not electable, thanks to the shifting of US demographics.
What the pundits fail to recognize, in trying to account for the rise of ‘outsider’ candidates in the 2016 campaign, is that American voters are not stupid.
Conservative voters understand that they are doomed to failure if they simply accept any of the same old tired Republican faces as their standard bearer… hence the increasingly desperate search for ANY alternative choice, no matter how flawed they may actually be.
And likewise, Liberal voters are just as aware that the winds of change are blowing strongly in their favor… they can clearly see that the time is right to strike a blow for radical change in the country – either by selecting the first Socialist as President, or by electing the first Woman President. Either Democratic choice will be one for the history books.
So the primary difference between the two parties in this election cycle is that Republicans have no good choices, and Democrats win no matter whom they eventually select.
Which is just as it should be, for those who fail to accept change as worthwhile and meaningful are usually unable to move forward with any real grace or dignity. Because dragging one’s feet is always a crude and dirty endeavor…