Sh*t Richard Says

…the following commentary is his and his alone

Editor’s note: This column was written by Julie Gammack’s husband, Richard Gilbert, and does not reflect the view of the Potluck management. In fact, expect a rebuttal soon.

Got your back Chuck!

My friend and Iowa Writers Collaborative colleague Chuck Offenburger has been getting some serious fan mail, or should I say “fang mail” after his column endorsing Nikki Haley went up this past weekend.  

Let me say to Chuck: Hang in there! If only some readers would support the First Amendment as much as they cling to the Second.  

I confess I’ve been thinking about what I want to do about her.  Nikki Haley, that is.

Here’s why (and this may seem a little convoluted, but stay with me.)

Being an Iowan is a special privilege not bestowed on people in most other states.  We have a chance in January to put our thumbs on the scale when it comes to the Presidential election outcome in November.

I’d bet everyone reading this has at least prior to one presidential election said some version of this:  “You’d think with about 300 million people in this country we could at least come up with better choices than we have on this year’s Presidential ballot.”  

I know something about voting for President.  Never missed a chance. At most recent count, I have been going into the booth to cast a ballot for president 15 times since 1964.  I’ve picked the winner 10 out of those 15.  

I picked Barry Goldwater over Lyndon Johnson in my first vote back in 1964. He said he was a “choice, not an echo.” The campaign slogan was “In your heart you know he’s right” and he sure was.  A majority said if you voted for Goldwater we’d get into a big war.  But I did vote for Barry, and his opponent Lyndon Johnson did get into a big war.  Voted for Nixon…twice.  Even though his nickname “Tricky Dicky” should have been my first clue. He resigned before he could be impeached.

My vote for Gerald Ford was prompted by his wisdom in pardoning Nixon because he feared putting the former president behind bars would have torn the country apart.  I think he got that right, but Jimmy Carter denied Ford his own shot at the presidency.  

I voted twice, ‘80 and ‘84, for Reagan. Even though there were early signs of Alzheimer’s before his second term. Then I pulled the lever for Bush The First (twice) when he won in ‘88, then lost to Clinton in ‘92.  By that time I actually knew the character of both George I and Bill Clinton so I chose Bush for a second term, but Clinton won anyway.  Voted to give Clinton a second term however, because I thought his Republican opponent was just too cranky.  Which he was. That was before Clinton started “dating” his intern.  Besides it was hard back then to break the inbred habit of voting GOP.  Stayed with the GOP for two terms for George Bush The Second even though it was never easy to get excited about him.  

By this time I was living in Chicago in 2008, when friends told me there was this young guy in the Illinois State senate who really was impressive and could some day be a president.  I thought that was mostly hyperbole given that his last name could get confused with Osama (as in the guy who had masterminded the 9/11 attacks.)  I voted for him anyway.

So even though the next two Republican candidates (John McCain and then Mitt Romney were decent and honorable men and the third wasn’t, I cast votes for Democrats ( Obama, Hillary and Biden) in four of the last five presidential elections.

So my track record as cited earlier in 15 trips to elect the next president is 10 winners, five losers.  

Which brings us to the current conundrum.  This is the first election where I truly fear the outcome. Granted, Nixon had some character flaws and Clinton was a philanderer but I simply dread the thought of waking up the morning after November 5, 2024, and see that the 45th president will now be the 47th.  

Unlike most of the voters on November 5 we in Iowa have a tiny bit of opportunity to prevent that nightmare. Surprise the pundits with an upset in the GOP caucus that has her coming out an even more formidable competitor in the Republican presidential .

I assume you’re familiar with the label:”Bob Ray Republican”.  I am one of those. I served in all or most of Governor Ray’s first four terms.  But a couple years back I joined a lot of my fellow Bob Ray Republicans and registered as a Democrat so I could vote in the primaries to support candidates who came closer to sharing my values.  It was not an easy thing to do.  I grew up a Republican.  My status as a registered Iowa Republican dates back to work as a volunteer for Goldwater who my friends then described as somewhere to the right of Attila The Hun. If Goldwater was alive and running today he’d likely be seen as a liberal.

I’ve met and shaken hands with every Republican president since Nixon (with the exception of number 45). 

Which gets me to the endorsement of Nikki Haley by Offenburger. 

Chuck, I have been thinking of caucusing for her.  It’s more of a process issue, but I don’t have a choice (I’m pretty sure) of who the Democrats will nominate for president. While he doesn’t deserve the savaging some partisans have been dishing out, Joe doesn’t fit my idea of a charismatic leader. 

Smarter political minds than mine say the incumbent Biden would likely defeat his predecessor in a rematch which I would cheer, but I just don’t want to risk it even if it’s a remote possibility that guy would get elected.  For sure even if it was a landslide in Biden’s favor his opponent would claim it was rigged.  

Nikki’s no shoo-in, but it would be better than a long shot to win if she comes through the primaries.  And painful as this sounds, I’d rather see Nikki Haley in the Oval Office than risk the return of the chaos that came with 45.  As far as her saying she’d pardon him, I saw what happened to Ford when he kept Nixon out of an orange jumpsuit and the country was probably better off avoiding that situation even if cost Ford the presidency.  A pardon to that ex-president would assure Nicki would be a one-term president.   

So, I’ve told my friend Dawn Roberts, as in card-carrying, go-to Republican, former state-wide Republican candidate for Secretary of State and now a co-chair of the Nikki Haley campaign here in Iowa. I want to know how to find my caucus location and the corner of the room where the Nikki Haley supporters will be hanging out. It’s the way this Iowan can have what’s even a remote shot of having some say in the 2024 election of the next president.   

And thanks, Chuck, for lighting the spark.

---

Opinion writing is important. So important, we have workshops on how to write Op Ed pieces that will be taking place during the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat, September 22-25, 2024. Even when we disagree, we think it is vitally important in a Democracy for a free and open exchange of ideas, wrong as you might think they are.

If you want to feel confident writing letters-to-the-editor, or essays, or even start your own opinion column, consider coming to the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat. It is open to all skill levels.

https://okobojiwritersretreat.com

The early bird discount ends January 15!

---

Do you read the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative roundup column on Sunday mornings? You’ll find thoughtful commentary about a range of topics of interest throughout the state. You can subscribe for free, and have on email with over 40 professional, Iowa columnists in one place.

Spread the word, please.

Perry tragedy, and GOP presidential candidate endorsement by one of our members

---