Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/636783
When Huck Finn asked Tom Sawyer what a Moslem is, Tom said a Moslem is some- one who is not a Presbyterian, which is true, but not the whole truth. Don- ald Trump says he is a Presbyterian ("I drink my little wine ... and have my little cracker"), which apparently was not good enough for enough of Iowa's evangelicals. One person who left Iowa having earned the nation's gratitude is Ne- braska Sen. Ben Sasse. He cam- paigned with three Republi- can aspirants (Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina) in order to advance this year's most urgent task, which is to ele- vate the Republican race by removing the Trump distrac- tion. Given Trump's sexual boasts ("If I told the real stories of my experiences with women, often seem- ingly very happily married and important women, this book would be a guaranteed best-seller"), Sasse tweeted: "You brag abt many affairs w/ married women. Have you repented? To harmed children & spouses? Do you think it matters?" Noting Trump's evident intention to replicate Barack Obama's anti-constitutional execu- tive authoritarianism, Sasse tweeted "You talk A LOT about 'running the country' as tho 1 man shld 'run Amer- ica.' Will you commit to roll- ing back Exec power & undo- ing Obama unilateral habit?" Finally: "These r sincere questions & I sincerely hope u answer rather than insult." Trump responded: "@ BenSasse looks more like a gym rat than a U.S. Senator. How the hell did he ever get elected?" Iowans who made up their minds in the last month broke heavily against Trump, perhaps a harbinger of voters everywhere recoil- ing from the prospect of this arrested-development ado- lescent sitting in Lincoln's chair. Cruz's theory of the race, including the general elec- tion, is that he can locate and motivate voters who, having concluded that voting is futile, have turned away from politics. The 2008 and 2012 pres- idential elections were mo- mentous because they em- powered a progressive pres- ident to vastly expand the administrative state, often by unilateral executive ac- tions. But the 2010 and 2014 off-year elections also were momentous. Although they substantially expanded the congressional strength of Republicans pledged to re- sist progressivism, subse- quent events convinced a significant portion of the Republican electorate that those pledges were point- less — that only presidential elections are significant, be- cause congressional power is insignificant. Monday's record turnout for the Iowa Republican cau- cuses may be a sign of civic health. Or not. Lincoln's 39.9 percent of the 1860 popular vote is the lowest in history for an electoral vote winner, but the 81.2 percent turn- out of eligible voters in 1860 is the second-highest in his- tory: High turnouts can co- incide with high anxiety about irrepressible conflicts. Distributional conflict is written in the arithmetic of economic sluggishness. Monday's beginning of the 2016 nomination process came one week after the Con- gressional Budget Office is- sued its 10-year outlook, pro- jecting cumulative deficits over the next decade at $8.5 trillion, resulting in a 2025 debt-service cost of $772 bil- lion. And Iowans voted three days after the government announced the economy's fourth-quarter growth rate of 0.7 percent, completing a lost decade — 10 years with- out a year of even 3 percent growth. Time was, Republicans preached realism about the demographic pressures on the entitlement state as every day 10,000 more baby boom- ers become eligible for Social Security and Medicare. This year, the subject rarely enters the political conversation. Time was, the Democratic Party was at least thoughtful about its Keynesian econom- ics. Today, the intellectual tone of the world's oldest po- litical party is set by Bernie Sanders, who thinks Amer- ica has one problem, or per- haps 536: That, according to Forbes magazine, is the num- ber of Americans in what Sanders calls "the billionaire class." Sanders, a sandbox so- cialist, promises a "revo- lution" but actually repre- sents dreary continuity with the current president, who has said ATMs and airport ticket kiosks cause unem- ployment. Sanders has simi- lar economic sophistication: "You don't necessarily need a choice of 23 underarm spray deodorants or of 18 different pairs of sneakers when chil- dren are hungry in this coun- try." The connection between childhood poverty and multi- ple deodorants is as unclear as the reasons Americans should be unhappy that Steve Jobs became a billionaire by producing Apple products that make Americans happy. It probably is too late for the Democratic Party to get what it needs, which is a third candidate, someone somewhat likable and some- what plausible. It is not too soon to hope that Republicans will soon get what they need, which is a contest without Trump, who is a negative illustration of Emerson's axiom that "the force of character is cumu- lative." GeorgeWill'semailaddress is georgewill@washpost.com. GeorgeWill InIowa,there are signs of civil health Cartoonist's take On the front page of the Daily News, was a story about the largess of the Paskenta Band of the Nom- laki regarding their donation of a rescue squad to be stationed at the Corning Rural Fire Department. However, buried down towards the end of the article was the sentence "Immediately after, approval was sought to put the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. logo on the water tender stationed in Min- eral that was secured through a donation from the utility. " Now, this seems a reason- able response for donations that do much to benefit Tehama County, thus saving taxpayer's money. However, letting this camel — and others — get its nose under the tent is a harbin- ger of donation recognition to come. If continued I foresee, for example, a police dog wearing a saddlebag proclaiming "Train- ing provided by US Bank" or some such. Tsk, tsk. ••• An actress of note visited our fair city last week, and learning that she preferred to remain anonymous, I asked our big bull-mastiff pup, All That Jazz, to interview her. They decided on referring to her as Lady M. Jazz: I've never talked to an actress before. Lady M: And I've never been interviewed by a dog before. This is a first for both of us. By the way, we refer to male and female performers as just ac- tors. Jazz: Right, but moving on, you are very pretty. Are all ac- tors pretty? Lady M: Thank you. Well, most young actors have to get by on their looks, but character actors often deviate from the mold. Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz, for example. Jazz: She was the witch, wasn't she? She scared me. Lady M: I've heard that thun- der storms were the only thing that scared you. Jazz: Uh, sometimes. Anyhow how did you get your start in show business? Lady M: I acted in plays at a west coast school while major- ing in Theater Arts and Math- ematics, and finally made the big leap and auditioned for act- ing at the graduate level. Later, I received my Master of Fine arts from Yale in Acting. Jazz: Did you ever aspire to the legitimate theater, the stage? Lady M: Well, yes and no. Acting in a theater puts some prestige in a resume, but doesn't pay as well as the mov- ies or being in television series. Jazz: Have you been in both venues? Lady M: Venues? Where did you learn that word? Jazz: I didn't go to college, but I get around…and all that jazz. Lady M: Seems that I've heard that expression before. Jazz: But enough about me. As they say in show business, what have you done lately? Lady M: I got my big break in television and became a series regular on a cable TV show. Jazz: I wish I could see that show, but my folks won't let me stay up late. Lady M: How old are you? Jazz: I'm two, but they say I'm big for my age. What about movies? Lady M: I was in a summer blockbuster recently with an ac- tion star. Jazz: Speaking of movies, did you hear that some stars will boycott the Oscars this year be- cause there are no nominations for people of color? Well, what about dogs and pets? None of them were nominated either. Would you protest on our be- half? Lady M: Sure. If I'm ever nominated for an Oscar, I'll put in a good word for you in par- ticular, you handsome devil. Jazz: "You talkin' to me?" Al Pacino, right? Lady M: No, the other guy, Robert De Niro. ••• In case you keep track of these things, we are driving a different automobile lately. In the old days, your auto may have been referred to as your "fliver" or your "whoopee." I don't know the origin of the expressions and neither does Google. This Internet firm did suggest that whoopee means "wild fun" and that driving a car many years ago earned that accolade. It also indi- cated that court jesters in olden times would insert an inflated pig's bladder under a chair cushion to simulate flat- ulence from the sitter, hence a "whoopee cushion." I mention this because we are now driving a "nearly new" car, which is a euphemism for a used car. "Previously owned" or "prior owned" is how the sell- ers gently put it. It lessens the stigma when a buyer cannot af- ford a new car. However this stigma is resolved by the buyer indicating that he or she is buy- ing used because a new car looses a lot of its value in the first year. Anyhow, this whoopee has so many added attractions that even after studying the man- ual I still don't know what all the buttons on the dash board mean, or even if it has a dash board. The last time I referred to same was the old doggerel about "footprints on the dash- board upside down." One button would have come in handy in our skiing days — it activates seat heat. Jump in on the coldest morning and before the regular car heater comes on, you have hot buns. Amazing technology. In conclusion, I find it sat- isfying to drive a previously owned vehicle. I recommend the Ford "Edge" to all prospec- tive buyers, but as we no longer have a Ford dealer in Red Bluff, Corning is where you might have to go. ••• In George Washington's day, one's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Wash- ington showed him stand- ing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are limbs, therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, "It'll cost you an arm and a leg.'" ••• From a US Golf commen- tator: "Arnold Palmer is hav- ing trouble with his long putts. However, he has no trouble dropping his shorts." Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine and author of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be reached at rminchandmurray@ hotmail.com. I say From the Department of Oh, oh! Iowans who made up their minds in the last month broke heavily against Trump, perhaps a harbinger of voters everywhere recoiling from the prospect of this arrested- development adolescent sitting in Lincoln's chair. GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIAL BOARD How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@ redbluffdailynews.com Fax: 530-527-9251 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS George Will StateandNational Assemblyman James Galla- gher, 2060 Talbert Drive, Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 895-4217, http:// ad03.asmrc.org/ Senator Jim Nielsen, 2634 For- est Ave., Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 879-7424, senator.nielsen@ senate.ca.gov Governor Jerry Brown, State Capital Building, Sacramento 95814, 916 445-2841, fax 916 558- 3160, governor@governor.ca.gov U.S. Representative Doug La- Malfa, 507 Cannon House Office Building, Washington D.C. 20515, 202 225-3076 U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, One Post St., Ste. 2450, San Fran- cisco 94104, 415 393-0707, fax 415 393-0710 U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, 1700 Montgomery St., San Fran- cisco 94111, 510 286-8537, fax 202 224-0454 Local Tehama County Supervisors, 527-4655 District 1, Steve Chamblin, Ext. 3015 District 2, Candy Carlson, Ext. 3014 District 3, Dennis Garton, Ext. 3017 District 4, Bob Williams, Ext. 3018 District 5, Burt Bundy, Ext. 3016 Red Bluff City Manager, Rich- ard Crabtree, 527-2605, Ext. 3061 Corning City Manager, John Brewer, 824-7033 Your officials Robert Minch OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, February 5, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4