So much of our public debate has been about the role of government; how big is too big, how small is too ineffective. Constitutionalists define the responsibility of central government to maintaining our basic infrastructure and to “provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States.” Pretty loose guidelines, actually, and allows…
Category: Gary Kroeger
A Cannonball Running
Let’s see…Republican front runner, Donald Trump, gives another weak debate performance, but continues to inspire the conservative base of his party, while Marco Rubio gives a strong performance and poll numbers drop in his own state. Meanwhile in the undercard debate Rick Santorum rambles, but shows up onstage for the 11 candidate group shot (until they shooed him away) where a…
Anger Management
Very disturbing videos have been in the news: They show high school football players assaulting referees because they were unhappy with a call made. It must be pointed out the young men were ejected, suspended from the team, denounced by their coach and could be facing criminal charges. The consequences for this inexcusable behavior could…
For the times they are a-changin’
It is interesting to look back to our fairly recent history to analyze how our political parties have changed. My father called himself an “Eisenhower Republican” which confused me as a boy because he never liked the Republicans. My earliest memory of his politics was seeing him mourn the assassination of President Kennedy, although, he explained to…
House of Cards
The Republican economic plan has been the same since 1980. It is derived from neoliberal (not to be confused with social liberalism) economics, once called laissez-faire economic liberalism, and has evolved from supply-side to “trickle-down” (inspired by the Laffer Curve) or Reaganomics. Convoluted by titles, perhaps, but the common threads have always followed these principles: 1) Lower income taxes for the highest…
Iowa, A Place To Grow
CNBC, along with several business analysts, including the National Association of Manufacturers and the Council on Competitiveness, have ranked the state of Iowa #11 in terms of Top States for Doing Business. That is down two places over the past two years. Although, ranking #11 is not bad, we aren’t going in the right direction. It…
And to the Mob for which we stand…
Today, I read two things in the “Opinion” section of the Waterloo Courier that reinforced a concern that I’ve had for quite awhile now. That concern regards a fundamental misunderstanding that many Americans have as to the nature of our Republic (a representative democracy), and that misunderstanding is corroding our nation. A columnist wrote: “People are…
The Wrong Direction
If you’re a political speechwriter the easiest thing to write for your candidate to say is, “I don’t like the direction America is heading.” It’s a chestnut we hear every election cycle because a lot of people never seem to like the way we’re heading. It’s what candidates generally say when they’re running against a…
“My name is Oil”
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: “I don’t hate oil. I don’t hate Big Oil and the contribution that industry has made to our economy, and for the jobs that continue to be created. What I don’t like are dangerous emissions and hazards from the procurement, processing and burning of oil.” The…
Run, Gary, Run!
I’ve been running for office for 9 days now. What have I learned….? I’ve learned that everyone knows what you need to do to win. I’ve learned that county central committees don’t call each other to determine if they overlap. I’ve learned that being a candidate means that, sadly, you can no longer write a…