Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
With the image dancing in my head of a triumphant Harry Truman holding up the newspaper headline “Dewey Defeats Truman” after he defeated Dewey, I refrain from predictions.
So I am writing two very brief columns today, the Friday before Election Day, one for either outcome in the presidential race:
Congratulations, President Donald Trump
Congratulations, Mr. President. I did not vote for you, but I accept your victory. Please prove me wrong about you.
I am shaking my head at the prospect of another four years of chaotic, impulsive mismanagement driven by childish, delusional fears and pathological hostility toward anyone who has ever hinted at any disagreement with you.
As much as your backers feared federal agents would take their guns, many Democrats, including me, fear that you will round up and incarcerate our leaders.
Paranoid? I hope so.
Your “Big Lie” campaign was based on complete misrepresentation of Joe Biden’s stated opinions on taxation, the radical wing of his party, and energy policy.
Combining that with your dedication to doubling down against all evidence makes me fearful you will exact revenge for unproven wrongs, with no one to stop you, whether or not your accusations are based on an iota of fact. Please prove me wrong.
I hope the Senate majority that fears you will find the courage in your last term to assert their power as a separate branch of government and counteract your excesses and extremes. The sooner they regard you as a lame duck the sooner they will again become independent conservatives, not merely your enforcers.
I hope you get out of the way of health experts in their battle to contain and find cures for COVID-19. You should support them, not fabricate your own self-serving science while you turn your back on the pandemic’s devastation.
Congratulations, President-elect Joe Biden
Congratulations. I voted for you. Please don’t disappoint me.
Your attempts to reach across the aisle will at first be rebuffed cruelly and completely by Republicans still under the sway of Trump and the meanness that started in the 1990s with Newt Gingrich’s “total war” campaign style.
Keep trying. Trump’s influence will wane as room is made for cooler heads at the top of the party, sobered by your election. Trump will soon be seen as a mistake they will not want to repeat.
I hope the Supreme Court continues to use precedent and well-considered reading of the Constitution to guide its decision making, even as it favors conservative opinions where it can be warranted. I think it will. Give the justices a chance.
If bias starts informing high court decisions more than thorough review, however, it is time to consider packing the court, but only with bipartisan support and bipartisan justices..
Plan, listen and deliberate as much as you can before you make decisions. Stay moderate. Defend your positions as considerate of all sides. It will be a welcome change.
When leaders begin to see that you mean it, your revolution toward mutual respect will succeed, no matter which party takes control after your term.
And on COVID-19, please support the experts seeking solutions, which may still be elusive, and the millions who have suffered from this pandemic.
Steve Hansen writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at: