Norman Sherman
Oct. 10, 2022 7:00 am
“The sky is falling … the sky is falling.” Those words are not in the voice of Chicken Little as you thought, but the translation of the views of a couple of far-out conservatives in Florida. Here are the words from an article about the devastating Hurricane Ian. “Far-right pundits suggested that the ‘deep state’ is targeting Gov. Ron DeSantis and other red states. DeAnna Lorraine and Lauren Witzke said a shadowy government group is using ‘weather manipulation technology.’ The duo said the ‘deep state’ is targeting Florida for lifting vaccine mandates. “
Deep staters, and we have some in Iowa, see the military, both uniformed and secret police, and intelligence agencies, manipulating the weather. We might ordinarily ignore them, but we can’t. They have found a home in the Republican Party, certainly an affront to those who are usually reasonable.
It is true that Democrats and Republicans somehow look at the same country and world and see vastly different problems and solutions. It’s a cosmic Rorschach test. Same spots; different interpretations. But we at least are viewing the same landscape even as we disagree.
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We differ on most issues. That’s what distinguishes parties from each other — liberal or conservative. I think most Republicans are wrong on most things and misinterpret what is there. They think the reverse is the truth and I am the deluded one. But we agree that the world is round, all that wind and rain is part of nature, and not created by some invisible deep state.
The Republicans have an immense problem
With an increasingly powerful far-right wing, they expel Liz Cheney. They attack Mitch McConnel. They deify Donald Trump. Their asylum has emptied and there are microphones on the lawn in the hands of the inmates. The far far-right in the Republican Party functions in a netherworld of absurdity, hallucinations, and ultimately destruction of reasonable discourse within the party.
The far-right sees shadows where there is only sunshine. I don’t remember ever hearing a serious Republican in office, running for office, or already retired who talked of a “deep state.” At least not until Trump. I should have been ready for it. I lived in Arizona for 20 years and there is a lot of nonsense uttered, but I was surprised when Mark Finchem, the Republican candidate for secretary of state said he didn’t believe anyone died at Sandy Hook, that the election was stolen and guns should be stored in anticipation of civil war. He was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. His political relatives live here.
The Chicken Littles, often paranoid, right-wing conservatives (a generous label) is a national problem with only a parochial solution. Real Republicans, like Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell must speak up. Have the courage and integrity to say “You are not Republicans. You have no place in our party.”
Norman Sherman of Coralville has worked extensively in politics, including as Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s press secretary, and authored a memoir “From Nowhere to Somewhere.”
www.thegazette.com
Oct. 10, 2022 7:00 am
“The sky is falling … the sky is falling.” Those words are not in the voice of Chicken Little as you thought, but the translation of the views of a couple of far-out conservatives in Florida. Here are the words from an article about the devastating Hurricane Ian. “Far-right pundits suggested that the ‘deep state’ is targeting Gov. Ron DeSantis and other red states. DeAnna Lorraine and Lauren Witzke said a shadowy government group is using ‘weather manipulation technology.’ The duo said the ‘deep state’ is targeting Florida for lifting vaccine mandates. “
Deep staters, and we have some in Iowa, see the military, both uniformed and secret police, and intelligence agencies, manipulating the weather. We might ordinarily ignore them, but we can’t. They have found a home in the Republican Party, certainly an affront to those who are usually reasonable.
It is true that Democrats and Republicans somehow look at the same country and world and see vastly different problems and solutions. It’s a cosmic Rorschach test. Same spots; different interpretations. But we at least are viewing the same landscape even as we disagree.
Advertisement
We differ on most issues. That’s what distinguishes parties from each other — liberal or conservative. I think most Republicans are wrong on most things and misinterpret what is there. They think the reverse is the truth and I am the deluded one. But we agree that the world is round, all that wind and rain is part of nature, and not created by some invisible deep state.
The Republicans have an immense problem
With an increasingly powerful far-right wing, they expel Liz Cheney. They attack Mitch McConnel. They deify Donald Trump. Their asylum has emptied and there are microphones on the lawn in the hands of the inmates. The far far-right in the Republican Party functions in a netherworld of absurdity, hallucinations, and ultimately destruction of reasonable discourse within the party.
The far-right sees shadows where there is only sunshine. I don’t remember ever hearing a serious Republican in office, running for office, or already retired who talked of a “deep state.” At least not until Trump. I should have been ready for it. I lived in Arizona for 20 years and there is a lot of nonsense uttered, but I was surprised when Mark Finchem, the Republican candidate for secretary of state said he didn’t believe anyone died at Sandy Hook, that the election was stolen and guns should be stored in anticipation of civil war. He was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. His political relatives live here.
The Chicken Littles, often paranoid, right-wing conservatives (a generous label) is a national problem with only a parochial solution. Real Republicans, like Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell must speak up. Have the courage and integrity to say “You are not Republicans. You have no place in our party.”
Norman Sherman of Coralville has worked extensively in politics, including as Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s press secretary, and authored a memoir “From Nowhere to Somewhere.”
GOP conjures a fantasy ‘deep state’
From left, Kristina Karamo, candidate for Michigan Secretary of State, Mark Finchem, candidate for Arizona Secretary of State and Jim …
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