Political Grudges Run Deep

Former Speaker of The House Paul Ryan is not one of my favorite politicians. His one quote that “my faith informs every aspect of my life”, is a statement that I can admire. I have always been interested in “process”. One of my organic chemistry teachers Howard Curry whenever a student asked a question, would go back several steps into the derivation of the equation that was causing confusion. He wanted to know where the student had become lost in “the process”. It was a great teaching technique. The predicate for the question was established before the question was answered. That discipline and the consistent application of a teaching process saved lots of time and mental anguish for both student and teacher.

I am intrigued by “the process” so many of us use when we choose our political leaders. Many elections it seems to me are more like high school student council elections where the prettiest girl and the quarterback of the football team always receive the most votes. I attended a “student council debate” at St. Marks School in Boise where one of the candidates promised to change the selection in the food machines to more tasteful fare. In the same debate the promise for pizza once a week and a modernization of the dress code were offered as an incentive to vote for a candidate. I have followed both of those candidates over the past 15 years. They have both become lawyers and they both are active in the Democratic Party in their States. Not surprising. “Quid Quo Pro” must be in the new Catholic Catechism

We have talked before about the differences we can have that are of a “prudential nature” Issues that don’t necessarily require a Natural Law or Biblical standard as a predicate and foundation for how a decision will be made. Building roads, funding the police may or may not involve Providential insights. Issues about self-protection, Right to Life, CRT teaching in our schools, and parenteral rights all require an application of a Providential predicate in my opinion. I am very interested in understanding how our politicians will apply those principles when issues come up before them.

There have been a group of moderate Republicans in Idaho who have tried to leverage the power structure that has been their master for decades—(IACI)(IEA)(IHA) and (IMA) who after the Republican primary are trying to undermine the conservatives that prevailed over the candidates that they supported. That certainly is their right and maybe even their perceived duty. You don’t even have to explain to me what motivates you to stab your colleague in the back ET TU BRUTE. But please explain to me why you are taking such a position. Are you more aligned philosophically with the Democrat or are you just motivated by spite? In some cases when I look at the group of “Roomiest” I believe there is even an element of hate involved. Political grudges apparently run deep.

I noticed that many in the group “of 50”, who said there were even 50(?)—and I have now seen three different lists, are like me “rounding third and heading for home” —we aren’t spring chickens and maybe some of us are trying to remain relevant. Old grudges are never relevant. People like Jim Jones and Lori Otter need to tell us if they are pro-life or pro-choice. Many on the list have been responsible for an increasingly bloated state budget. They have resisted outside audits of government agencies and have resisted insisting upon outside audits of the recipients of transfer funds over $100million—large hospital systems with CEOs who make over $18million their last two years of employment. I hope I am wrong, but I believe the reason that such accountability is lacking in our state government is because the very people who are charged with regulating the process of budgeting and dispersing of State funds (the same people), receive campaign contributions from the people they are charged with regulating. and have not insisted on accounting for how those funds are spent. Let’s take a dive into the State Health Information Exchange Bankruptcy and we might expose some problems. We often know where the money is going, but we have never insisted on finding out how it is spent! May smart politicians who run business, farms, and ranches would never run their private accounting ledgers the way they “reckon” a State Budget.

My point is that many of the people sitting outside of the State Capital three days ago and who call themselves Republicans don’t agree with conservative Republicans on Providential Issues. They are also the same people who have been kicking the can down the road regarding a proper auditing of State funds—half of which are now transfer payments from the Feds—many times with strings attached and making State budgets captive to matching formulas that should they change could be catastrophic for the people of Idaho—both those who have become dependent on benefits, and those who have to pay for them (tax payer- citizens).

Like Donald Trump, Raul Labrador is a threat to the Idaho status quo. The corporatist, government symbiotic relationships that have been the life bread of Idaho politics and government are about to be exposed. In the end, there are four reasons why the elitists are afraid of the conservative agenda in general and Raul Labrador in particular.

1. They are still harboring grudges and “hateful hearts”
2. They aren’t conservative themselves—prove it and tell me where you stand on Providential issues.
3. They are afraid that the cronyism is going to be finally exposed for what it really is.
4. They may not be able to have lobbyists pay the tab at the Governor’s Cup next year

Grudges hurt all parties to the grudge, but the one holding the grudge is always hurt the most.