Continental Divide

Pop Quiz

What political commentator said: “You know why there’s a Second Amendment? In case the government fails to follow the first one.”

Who said: “The First Amendment doesn’t give anybody the right to be heard. People don’t have to listen to you.”

What observer of our political scene said: “Capitalism is always evaluated against dreams. Utopia is a dream. It doesn’t exist.”
Answers at the end of the post.

I called a friend on February 18 and asked simply: “What the hell do I do at noon today?” I knew The Pretenders popular guitar riff would be played, that Johnny Donovan would handle the daily introduction and the golden EIB microphone would be in place but I also knew that the voice of Rush Limbaugh would never be heard live again. I was confident that the bitter, nasty, small minded, misanthropic leftists would drool vitriol all over his memory, positively giddy that the “big lovable fuzz ball” was now broadcasting on WGOD. The talent he had been loaned by “Gawd” had been returned with interest. The conundrum now is…how do we fill the gaping void in the Conservative firmament? Newt Gingrich said it all when he noted that we should not even try to “replace Limbaugh” because he is, well, irreplaceable. Limbaugh bent the curve of history and we will see later in this post that there was at least one other American who also bent the curve of history and the effect then was quite the opposite of what Limbaugh accomplished.

Rush Limbaugh RIP.

Perhaps it is for the best that he will not have to bear witness to the embarrassment that is the Biden Reign of Error. It is bad enough that he lived to see the most simple-minded President in our history bring his personal gaffe machine to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But we will miss what would have been his incisive commentary on the future of a seriously divided country. And surely we will miss his unwavering optimism that the American people will not only survive but we will prosper.

Someone asked me other day if our country had ever, in its 230 year history, been as divided as it is now. Would we remain the shining City on the Hill or would we become Portland writ large? Our research team has concluded that this is the second time the country has been divided right down the middle and the problems seemed, on that previous occasion, to be insoluble. Yet here we are.

H.W. Brands has written a wonderful book entitled Heirs of the Founders which covers the period up to the Compromise of 1850 as seen through the eyes of three great statesmen of the era, Daniel Webster, John Calhoun and Henry Clay. Brands tracks the various issues facing the country from the Missouri Compromise of 1820 through the admission of California into the Union. California statehood was a catalyst for the events that followed up to and including the Civil War. The lesson is that we must avoid such a tragic turn of events even as our Constitution is, as it was then, under assault.

Economic Issues

In the 1850’s the North had an industrial based economy which was in its infant stages. They were being forced to compete with an established European economy which was, not surprisingly, seeking to profit in the growing US markets. The North wanted heavy protectionist tariffs to ensure their businesses could grow and prosper. The South had an agrarian economy dependent on the ability to export cotton to Europe. The South suffered from retaliatory tariffs by Europe and was forced to pay higher prices for Northern products and imports that were subject to the higher tariffs. The South was in an economic vice that threatened its entire way of life.

Today we have a government that is driving the export of jobs and the importation of cheap labor. Trump saw the problem and addressed it as he had promised during the 2016 campaign. His most understated accomplishment was the repeal of a large number of regulations (defined by Noah Webster Obama as “protections”) which removed many constraints on American manufacturing. The result was the return of production jobs to our shores. He also freed up the energy industry so we became, for the first time in years, energy independent. Apparently this did not sit well with the leftists on team Biden which began dismantling the Trump economic renaissance 5 minutes after the inauguration. Result: increased unemployment, higher energy costs and a new wave of illegal immigrants to take US jobs and depress wages (you can safely ignore the proposed increase in the minimum wage as it will have no positive impact).

The progressive elite have nothing but disdain for those “deplorables” who make things in our country believing that they can all land computer coding jobs next Thursday.

Political Issues

The country was for the first time in 50 years a delicate balance of regional interests. The South always insisted that there be an equal number of free and slave states. As the US expanded westward this gave rise to conflict each time a new state was to be added to the union. The admission of Texas was hotly debated. The South wanted the Texas admitted as four or five separate states which would give the South control of the Senate for the foreseeable future. When California sought admission it had already enacted a constitution that banned slavery. The balance would be tipped.

The South saw their way of life threatened both economically and on the issue of slavery which was the key component of that economy. In 1856 Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina together with another Democrat member of the House beat Senator Charles Sumner with a cane on the Senate floor. It took Sumner three years to recover and it became evident that the issue of slavery was reaching a crisis point. (For the record there is no evidence that Trump incited this attack)

There were a number of events that further exacerbated the already precarious political situation: (1) the Dred Scott decision in 1857; (2) the election of James Buchanan who was our most feckless President, a man of terminal indecision; and, (3) John Brown’s attack on Harper’s Ferry. The conflict over slavery began to crystallize and it became clear that the country was divided right down the middle on the issue. The nomination and election of Abraham Lincoln brought the situation to a boil and seven states seceded before Lincoln was even inaugurated. The denouement of this confluence of events was the Civil War. A repeat of that tragedy must be avoided.

Today we have a country divided along political and emotional lines that seem beyond the ability of our political structure to resolve. There is a complete lack of adult supervision in the Capitol. We have one political party that favors censorship and a cancel culture. We have an electronic media monopoly that perpetuates fear and ignorance. We have a media that engages in vilification rather than debate and describes any differing opinion as “disinformation” but never bothers to explain what that means.

Slavery was the major source of the antebellum conflict but today we are acrimoniously divided over almost every issue: immigration, capitalism, generation of energy, climate and, sadly, race. What makes the present situation worse is the monolithic hatred the left has, not only for former President Trump, but for anyone who supported him. The “deplorables” are the subject of unending and mindless depredation. A representative of PBS suggested sentencing all children of Trump voters to reeducation camps for deprogramming. This would be worse treatment than children illegally crossing our southern border receive. Bill Maher has pronounced that the cause of the Trump phenomenon is nothing less than “religion”, by which he means Christianity itself. It would appear that Maher believes atheism is a synonym for genius even though he is Exhibit A for the counter argument. Time magazine has an article which argues that Trump is “autocratically inclined”. This despite the fact the Trump rolled back hundreds of government regulations that were strangling US businesses. Washington is under military occupation and Trump is now a resident of Florida and is no longer our Commander in Chief.

Two Representatives from the People’s Republic of California want to deplatform Fox news. The Ministry of Truth is shutting down anyone they disagree with…Trump is banned but the ayatollahs of Iran can tweet to their hearts content. Amazon will not sell One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish but you can order up the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf by the case. Impeaching Trump twice is the political equivalent of Brooks beating Sumner senseless.

It could be argued that this vacuous scorched earth policy toward Trump and those who supported his election and Presidency might alienate half of the US population. It is foolish to engage in political payback which has the effect of treating anyone who disagrees with you as an untouchable. Did we not learn this lesson in the 1860’s?

The other person who bent the curve of history was John Wilkes Booth, appropriately a member of the Know Nothing political party. Read Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address to better understand the damage that Booth did with a single bullet.

Things to think about:

Did you know that Mexico had strict immigration laws barring Americans from entering Texas in the 1830s? No evidence yet of children in cages.

How about the fact that the last year Black unemployment was lower than white unemployment was 1930? What changed? First minimum wage in 1938?

Suggested press inquiry to Psaki: “Does the President wear boxers or depends?

Eisenhower on deficits: “We, you and I, and our government must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow.” See e.g. the latest stimulus package to bail out profligate states like New York and California, to subsidize teacher’s unions and, incidentally, to provide a few scraps for the victims of the governmental response to COVID.

Shouldn’t we post a warning at the border explaining what a horrible racist country America has become? Just as an act of kindness.

To support Black History Month Amazon pulled an excellent documentary on Clarence Thomas from their Prime programming. Racism?

Where is Reagan when we need him? In 1981 the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) went on strike. Reagan summarily fired them all. Wouldn’t the same logic apply to today’s teacher’s unions? Tell them if they fail to report to work they will be replaced the very next day. Win/win!

The world banned DDT which was used to control mosquitoes. Mosquitoes carry malaria. Following the ban malaria came back with a vengeance in sub-Saharan Africa. Was not the ban an act of elitist racism?

When Andrew Johnson was inaugurated as Vice President in 1865 he gave such a long, incoherent speech that a Senator from Michigan admitted: “I was never so mortified in my life”. Is it true that Biden studied that speech to prepare for his inaugural?

After assuming office following Lincoln’s assassination Johnson said: “This is a country for white men and by God as long as I am President it shall be a government for white men.” This reflects the position of all Presidents named Johnson. Note that Andrew Johnson was a Democrat.

We are still puzzled by Biden’s statement that one problem during the American Revolution was “the lack of airports”. Don’t waste your time trying to understand this. Just remember Biden graduated 68th in a law school class of 75.

On a lighter note: Sign in a local restaurant: Unaccompanied children will be given an espresso and a free puppy. Will this work at the border?

Pop Quiz: All quotes are from Rush Limbaugh. He is already sorely missed!