I don’t think I can prove it, but inflation seems to correlate with election years. Increases in fuel prices push other prices up. Retail gasoline prices are set by the refiners, not the dealers. That is why there is so little variation between stations. If Republicans are in, power retail gasoline prices go down which makes people feel good and might encourage re-election. If Democrats are in power the retail gasoline prices go up. This makes people angry and might help the opposition. It’s something for someone with more sophisticated statistics to analyze. Republicans have been kind to oil.
There is a saying in some political circles: Republicans say government does not work, then they get elected and prove it. There are some examples. Watergate. The Tea Party branch of the Kansas Republican party along with the governor Brownback grossly reduced business taxes in 2011 believing that lower taxes would increase business volume and they would have more money. It did not work and the state went into serious financial and practical difficulties. G. W. Bush flew over New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, then praised Brownie for keeping cost low while the residents suffered perhaps the worst natural disaster in our history. His administration started two wars we did not need. One lasted 20 years. The other went on for years after he declared Mission Accomplished. Since 1962, there have been 320 criminal indictments of presidential associates. Only three were Democrats. The rest Republicans, half under Trump.
It has not always been that way. Dwight D. Eisenhower ended the Korean War and used the Army to integrate the schools. The GOP likes to remind us that Lincoln freed the slaves. Ford wrapped up the Vietnam War and rescued the crew of the Mayaguez. Bush Sr. freed Kuwait with a 100-hour war. He also sent the Navy to rescue Florida after Hurricane Andrew.
In 2020, the Republicans had the White House, both houses of Congress, a packed Supreme Court and a booming economy. The administration had control of the armed forces. Instead of defending the Capitol and the Constitutional process on Jan. 6, 2021, they stood back and allowed an insurrection. A segment of the Republican party, a small segment I think — hope — set out to retain control of the government by reversing the outcome of the presidential election. Donald Trump set the stage by inviting enthusiastic supporters to gather at the ellipse then exciting them with fiery rhetoric. There remains much controversy whether to call the event a riot. Videos of orderly behavior are promoted as evidence there was no riot. Other videos show various criminal acts that range from at least unlawful entry, to vandalism, to breaking-and-entering, to assault, battery, murder and illegal possession of weapons. Seven hundred arrests so far, possibly 350 more pending. I think the reality was not one revolution but several badly organized simultaneous riots mixed with a few lawful protests.
Multiple splinter groups, aided by extremist news media, organized multiple insurrections and invasions of the Capitol building. So far, no mastermind has been identified, although at least six Republican members of Congress have been implicated as assisting the invaders. No master plan or strategy has been discovered, except the thoroughly discredited factoid that the election was rigged, in 3,243 independent county elections.
In spite of having control of all the federal machinery they let a few hundred people shut down the United States of America for one day. The National Guard, that had been deployed promiscuously the preceding year, was nowhere to be seen. Despite having access to the awesome organizational power of the Republican party the same gang that got caught perpetrating the Watergate burglary demonstrated their incompetence to organize even a one-day event.
Should we trust them to run the whole country? Not until they purge their ranks of those whose extremism borders on mental illness. Gimme that old time Republicanism
Ken Obenski is a forensic engineer, now safety and freedom advocate in South Kona. He writes a biweekly column for West Hawaii Today. Send feedback to obenskik@gmail.com