My wife and I were visiting the local cider mill yesterday when it was quickly obvious that preparations were underway for a political rally for the Republican Congressional candidate in Michigan’s new 7th US Congressional House district. After a few inquiries I learned that the Republican Barrett would be joined by former traitorous Vice President Mike Pence.
The rally was clearly intended to be a small venue of only a handful of supporters. It looked to be more photo-op than rally. After rushing Jane home, I returned to a crowd of maybe 200 people.
A few impressions. I was impressed with how lax the security was for this event. Given the crazy affairs that election cycles have become combined with the recent Paul Pelosi incident I estimated that security for these kinds of events would be over the top. Not so for Barrett and Pence. No security check-points. No ubiquitous security people roaming around. Frankly, if someone had showed up with ill intent they would have had few barriers.
It is interesting to me that the politicians, the journalists, and the advance people all have the same oily used car salesman look and feel about them. With a few exceptions they all dress the same way, are manicured the same way and have that same “we are superior to the little people” lean about them. You can spot them blindfolded. They were in the back nattering around their camera set up with their little “I am a journalist” name-tags around their necks. To think this was just the local media and advance people. I shutter to think what it must be like to be around National media, political aides, and politicians with any regularity. Of course, the reader will realize how bias I am against what I count to be perhaps the greatest group of liars and malefactors that walk the glob. I suppose it is possible that only those incarcerated or maybe clergy who may outstrip the journalist/politician/political aides class of people in terms of the oily used-car salesman feel.
The rally was supposed to start at 2:30pm but of course important people always run late. I suppose we should be thankful that Pence deigned to only make us wait in the rain for an hour.
While waiting they pumped out the music — most of it Boomer rock-n-roll. (You know … Warren Zevon, Led Zepplen, Steve Miller Band, The Spinners, etc.) I was enjoying the music until I realize that this music had probably been poll-tested as to how it gins up the people to get them excited for the candidates. The thought of being manipulated like that made me determined not to enjoy the music I would otherwise have enjoyed.
The photo op included setting up a kind of flatbed trailer that the candidates could stand on to speak to the sparse crowd of groupies. On the trailer they positioned mostly children but also some Moms, elderly, and veterans as well. (The vets were wearing their little ballcaps that work to self-identify the wearer as a vet.) Of course all of this was for the cameras. One funny incident was that the lead advance lady for the politicians was cajoling another advance guy to stay up on the trailer when the candidate came. He would then become part of the photo op background. What was funny is that advance guy that the lead advance lady was trying to position on that trailer was black. I thought to myself … “yeah, lady, we all know why you want the black guy in the otherwise sea of white faces for your photo op.” Every white Republican likes to have a token he can point to. In the end the black chap did not end up being on the trailer when the candidates showed up but it wasn’t for lack of effort on the part of the main advance lady.
After a bit of rain it cleared off. Pence showed up and the show got rolling.
They trotted out some former speaker of the Michigan house to warm the crowd up. He was unimpressive. Clearly, just a cheerleader. Following that they made a point to introduce the host of the event who being a Roman Catholic opened in prayer to a God I do not know. Following the prayer, being good Republicans, they turned around and with hands over hearts, and full of midwestern sincerity they belted out the pledge of allegiance. Murican bears always feel better about themselves after saying the pledge of allegiance. Now, as the pledge of allegiance is against my religious scruples I don’t do the hand over heart swearing fealty to this pagan country thing. After all I don’t believe that this country was ever intended to be indivisible, and I most assuredly don’t believe that this country has liberty and justice for all (indeed it is hard not to crack up laughing at that line) and this country is most certainly not under the God I serve unless they mean that the country is under God’s judgment. My refusal to go all “pledge of allegiance” earned me a few stares from the people around me. It’s ok … I’m stare-proof.
Following these preliminaries, Tom Barrett was introduced. Tom strikes me as an affable guy. I’ve met him only briefly a couple times in the past. I’m sure that Tom is well-intentioned, and I’m sure that he thinks he is doing his bit for God and country. I do wonder if Tom realizes how the party system works in Washington in terms of party discipline in the House and how it is that the vote is whipped so that individuals with convictions don’t often get to stick with their convictions. Anyway, Tom told us some interesting tidbits;
1.) Lansing Michigan is the 9th most criminally violent city in America
2.) This congressional race that he is in vs. his Democratic opponent has become the most expensive congressional race in America.
This suggests to me that Barrett’s opponent is being groomed for bigger and better things in Washington. Why else would DEMS pour the kind of money they are pouring into this relatively obscure congressional district unless they had a plan for their girl here?
3.) The Republican Liz Cheney actually came to town to campaign for Barrett’s opponent.
In doing so Liz Cheney is becoming a caricature of herself. She is become the female version of Harold Stassen. The Republican Liz’s campaigning for the DEM candidate suggests that Liz considers Tom Barrett to be a “election denier” (insert sound of loud cackling laughter) since Liz has made it clear that she was going to campaign against Republican “election deniers” (insert sound of loud cackling laughter).
The one thing that gave me hope regarding Barrett is that he communicated that he is opposed to sending US troops to fight in every conflict that pops up on the screen. On this issue, Barrett echoes the sentiments of Trump when Trump was in office. Many if not most Republicans are full of war fury wanting to aide and assist the Military-Industrial complex by sending American soldiers to die in far away countries so they can enrich themselves through the kickbacks received from the Arms industry. Maybe Barrett understands the maxim of Maj. General Smedley Butler; “War is a Racket.”
Barrett, like Pence after him, was wrong on the Ukraine vs. Russia issue. Both politicians wanted to blame Putin instead of fixing the blame on NATO and Washington who have poked the Russian bear repeatedly with their policy. This is reason enough not to vote for Barrett or anybody who supports Ukraine. Putin is no saint but when one looks at matters from a realpolitik viewpoint it is clear that what is going on in this theater of war is that the New World Order is seeking to expand their hegemony over that part of the world. Both Barrett and Pence seem to support that.
Pence followed Barrett and provided the standard Republican stump speech for this election cycle. DEMS love crime. DEMS love inflation. DEMS love insecure borders. DEMS bad. Republicans good. Pence doesn’t bother to mention that when Republicans have had majorities they have been only marginally better. Trump/Pence spent like a drunken sailors thus stoking inflation (though granted Biden has made them look like pikers). Trump/Pence did nothing about the George Floyd riots (crime). I will grant that Trump/Pence tightened up borders but only in the context of Trump saying how he wanted more legal immigration. Pence also didn’t mention the complete flustercuck that Trump/Pence’s pushing of the unsafe and not effective Deep State Virus vaccine. But of course political campaigns are all about accentuating your opponents failures while forgetting yours.
It greatly saddens me that the best the American people can have for their magistrates are the tweedledum and tweedlestupid that are the Democrats and the Republicans. However, clearly that is what the Murican Bears want. There is not a snowballs chance in hell that Muricans would ever vote for a genuine conservative and so what we get is the choice to vote for the left side of the left or to vote for the right side of the left.
Some choice.
Strong words, for our cowardly time, as you point out.
I don’t think we ever had all Americans thinking like you, but it seems like we had enough to salt the country and be a light, in which case, your position used to be not strong, but just normal.
Your take on the vaccine would be considered too divisive and a distraction to following Jesus at my church for you to be an elder.
That always makes me wonder, do my elders think that a gratefulness for the first and second amendment is unChristian? They act that way, and they are losing those rights so maybe by not fighting for them, they are showing us sheep that we should do the same.
Kurt,
You’re correct on my views once upon a time being during a time long ago were just normal … indeed complete boring.
I know enough about your Church and Elders to say without hesitation that what is taught up there is a very sub Christianity if Christianity at all.
Think about … Your church is suggesting by its silence that being a good shepherd in the Church of Jesus Christ is to allow one’s flock to be murdered. That position is mind numbing.
Keep in mind that the 2nd amendment is clearly taught in Scripture.
You need to get out of that Church because of its unfaithfulness to the truth.
Slotkin leads Barrett by 10,000 if I add the libertarian vote to his, but in Ingham County, she beat him by 45,000 votes. That’s an indictment of the churches IMO.
Maybe next time we need to be more winsome? That’s the ticket! More events with Pence and scrubbing websites of prolife messages will get him the win next time. I wonder if that’s what he is thinking? Michigan Republicans seem to think they can act like California Republicans about 20 years ago but get better results. And they think I’m the dumb one.
I know this about Michigan Republican leaders (I know a chief of staff, very nice man, for a recent gubernatorial candidate), they think it’s all about raising money and dismiss a ground game. Like it’s a board game, where right strategy guarantees right results. So they don’t openly despise us, but they do believe we are very ignorant of the ways it has to be, and they see themselves as martyrs at the hand of an ignorant mob whom they think they are helping.