The first rule of logic: Chesterton's Fence:
There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it."The second rule of logic: Hanlon's Razor
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
It's tempting to say that this will be an election like no other, and indeed, I think it is in many ways. In terms of American elections, it's the most important election, even though it's a midterm election, since the the Election of 1860. It's the election that will determine if Trump continues to rule as an insane dictator, or if the nation can begin to turn the path towards constitutional democracy.1
Things like this make this a critical election:
On the Cornell rapes:
Letitia James is a corrupt person…And I feel badly for whoever she's looking at because they won’t get a fair shake.
He later called James a "dog".
I'm an actual conservative. I am not a populist. Conservatives believe that man if flawed and that we should be careful to conserve things that have worked or are part of culture until we know what the reason for casting it aside would really be.
The sixth rule of logic: Yeoman's Gate:
Before you go through a gate to get to the other side of a fence, completely figure out, to the extent you can, where the path goes.
Conservatives believe that man is fallen and that our natures and the nature of the world, in its pure form, is dictated by an outside existential, that being God to most conservatives, and nature to some. We don't cast away easily, and we believe the Natural Law ultimately controls most things.
Conservatism has been killed by Donald Trump.
The most significant force around Trump is that of populism. Populism believes that the "will of the people" is endowed with some sort of magic virtue. The question is, who are the people? It's never all the people. Populists always regard themselves as "the people" and other people as the enemy of the people. They're easily lead by demagogues At one time they followed Bernie Sanders around like puppies, now they follow Donald Trump. The besotted populists believe that the will of the people is magically transmitted to Trump who is always right.
Trump is a dangerously sick man.
Trump has never been an admirable one. We could go into it, but people who claim he's "Godly" are rank idiots. Indeed, a significant portion of Trump supporters at this point are the absolute bottom of the bell curve. He's deeply immoral and is committing the United States to deeply immoral acts. Fortunately, the bloom is off the rose at this point, and it appears highly likely that the GOP, which has fallen down on its duties in Congress, will be tossed out. Due to weirdness of Trump's cabinet, we'll have to endure Trump for two more years, probably.
The problem for real conservatives, however, and particularly for Catholics, or indeed for Catholics whether they are conservative or not, is how to vote.
In the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation.
Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, No. 13.
In Wyoming, some of the choices will be easy. Eric Barlow, the Republican, is the easy choice over Democrat Ken Casner or Dixiecrat Rebecca Bextel. It's not even close. Effectively, the races for Governor, Secretary of State, and Superintendent of Public Education are over, and will all go to good Republican candidates.
But the candidates for the House and Senate are a nightmare.
Chuck Gray is a co-religious about whom the public knows nothing. A far right right winger born with a silver spoon in his mouth he washed up in Wyoming as his daddy, who doesn't live here, has a radio station here. He barely won the primary for Secretary of State, after having been an abrasive personality in the legislature, by running on lies. Since the moment of his taking office in that position, he's been running for something else, and the House of Representatives fell to him when Harriet Hageman decided to run for retiring Cynthia Lummis' position.
Gray has been a horrible Secretary of State and he'll be a horrible Congressman. His campaign was basically that he loves Trump more than Trump loves Trump. Trump is a horror. This is a good reason not to vote for Gray, as if any additional reasons were needed. If he wins, and he's likely to, he'll be worthless as a junior member a minority party who knows nothing about the state he's supposed to represent.
The Democrat is Lisa Kinney. I just heard her speak, and she speaks very well. She didn't have the chance to get into specifics, but they can be guessed at. I'd be surprised at best if she wasn't "pro Choice", which is pro infanticide.
The Libertarian is Shaun Johnson. I heard him speak too but he also didn't really have the chance to get into specifics. The one interesting thing I heard him say is that he wouldn't caucus with the Republicans or the Democrats.
I don't think that Johnson has any chance. I think Kinney has an off chance.
I suspect that if Kinney wins, Christensen will run against her in 2028 and likely take the seat. I think he's planning on running.
The choice this year, therefore, is between Kinney and Gray. Voting for Kinney is saying no to Trump insanity. Voting for Gray is saying yes to Trump insanity. That's about it.
At the Senate level the Democrats have a really good candidate, James Byrd. The Republicans have a really horrible candidate, Harriet Hageman, who stabbed Liz Cheney, a former friend of hers, in the back so that she could crawl over her dead political body to go to Washington, where reportedly she already owned a house. If she was voted out, she'd never come back. She's shown contempt for her own state on public lands while there, making her potentially an even worse candidate than Gray.
She received a lot of votes in the primary, in spite of being such a horrible candidate. It'll take a lot for Byrd to overcome it.
So here's where we are at. We cannot vote for Gray or Hageman. Voting for them is voting for the insanity of Donald Trump and the ongoing destruction of the American democracy. Can we morally vote for Kinney and Byrd, or do we not vote at all on those races. Not voting on them may very well be like voting for Gray and Hageman. It's an interesting, and paramount, moral question.
Footnotes
1. And save the "we're a republic not a democracy" crap. That's brainless twaddle. Our Constitution creates a democratic republic and people who say that should have their right to vote, drive a car, or speak a sentence revoked.
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