Do Ultra Conservatives Love America?

Bobby Jindal, Ted Cruz, and their many supporters, are like husbands who praise womanhood while beating their wives.  They preach love of America, and fidelity to the Constitution, but lash out at the first hint of discord.

Bobby Jindal has called for eliminating the Supreme Court, while Ted Cruz, the voice of moderation, has merely called for retention elections.  Both seek to neuter the Constitution.

The Supreme Court Justices are intended to be different than elected politicians dependent on majorities within a district, state, or in the case of the President, the nation.  James Madison feared the "tyranny of the majority."  The most important role of the Supreme Court is to protect individual and minority rights from the occasional perils of majority rule.  That is why justices serve for life.

Protecting rights of gays fits squarely within the role of the court.  Of course the court is not infallible.  The greatest failures of the court are when it has refused to protect a persecuted minority, as with the interred Japanese Americans during WWII.

On the right, and on the left, we must live with the occasional teeth gnashing decision to uphold the purity and purpose of separation of powers.

Jindal's proposal is an obvious non-starter, but Cruz' proposal of retention elections for justices is also insidious.  Imagine Supreme Court Justices beholden to Big Pharma or Big Oil, or even Big Labor, for campaign contributions.

In a rage over recent decisions, Jindal and Cruz, are throwing out the baby with the bathwater.  Save the children.

Conservative Half Baked Religious Freedom Frenzy

Religious conservatives, and the Republican presidential candidates who pander to them, are selling a soufflé that will not rise.   God fearing bakers will not be layering cakes for gay weddings.  Ultra conservative photographers will not capture the first kiss of two brides.  These specters must be taken with a few hundred grains of salt.

Marriage is a magic and singular moment.  Being of Jewish heritage, I did not seek out an anti-Semitic photographer to share that special day.  My rule in commerce is:  Nazis need not apply.  My wife is black.  When I sought a trainer for one of my race horses, a subtle racist remark by a candidate ended his chances.

Gays will seek out, and easily find gay friendly, or, at worst, gay neutral vendors.   Vendors will be climbing all over each other, but not in a sexual way, to enter this expanding market.   To claim otherwise is fear mongering.   Gays, like heterosexuals planning weddings, will rely on recommendations of friends. Friends do not recommend anti-gay wedding vendors to gay friends.

Issuing wedding licenses, and performing courthouse non-religious ceremonies falls within the, "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's," exception."  Government employees are performing ministerial (clerical not religious) acts.  Ministerial acts, require, and allow, no discretion.  If I meet the criteria of the State of California and pass a test, I get a driver's license.  Only in third world countries are routine government actions  discretionary, (and also a source of discretionary income).

Republicans are serving a salty, sugary, syrupy mess and calling it creme brûlée.  Let's torch it.  At least then it will be caramelized.

Lincoln Chafee's Response

Governor Chafee graciously responded to my blog entry:

Hi Larry, thank you for your excellent blog post about our great visit in LA. To think I walked by the Baffert Stables shedrow thanks to you! Pharoah looked so relaxed on the lead the whole backstretch and into the final turn. Much the best on Saturday! I hope your ponies are healthy and can get in the gate and run well!   Best, Linc

Straight from the Horse's Mouth: The Case for Lincoln Chafee

I spent time with Governor Chafee when he came to Los Angeles for an appearance on the Bill Maher Show.  He is a soft spoken genteel man, as keen on listening as on speaking, a contrast with the  auditorium filling egos of many of his competitors.

He checks all of the necessary boxes-- executive experience as a Mayor and Governor, national legislative experience as the Senator from Rhode Island, well educated (Brown University).  His expertise in foreign policy includes service as Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on the Middle East.  Like some of the top tier candidates, he even hails from a prominent political family.

Based on his family background, you might think that his understanding of the daily toil of most Americans is intellectual, not personal.  You would be wrong.  He spent a number of years as a laborer in construction.  Seeking a trade he became a horseshoer at a race track for the princely sum of 75 dollars a week.  So not only has he walked in the shoes of a working man, horses have run hundreds of miles in his.

The courage it takes to work under a 1200 pound animal carried over to his political career.  He was the only Republican to vote against giving President Bush the authority to invade Iraq.  As the Republican party moved to the right, Lincoln held his ground.  He abandoned the long family connection to the Republican party.

Lincoln has two distinct advantages.  He is scandal free.  The thousand small media cuts of scandal stories,whether real or created, bloodies the message of the steps necessary to attack income inequality and to secure America through a sensible foreign policy.

Second, Chafee occupies valuable political turf.  For many of us noninterventionist foreign policy and privacy concerns are a siren call, but we fear the craziness of the brand of Paul.  Chafee shares those concerns while maintaing progressive positions on women's rights, gay marriage and other social and economic issues.

Although his days as a farrier are over, Lincoln's love of horses continues.   On the day after the Bill Maher Show, we went to the races at Santa Anita.  No hint of scandal, Lincoln is a 2 dollar bettor.  In the last race he bet on a horse that was 14-1. He won.  Sometimes long shots do come in.