As those of you who regularly read this blog knows I live in Pahrump, Nye County, Nevada.
The guy on the left is Dan Schinhofen. Notice I put his picture on the left side. I did that to annoy him because he is a right wing conservative Republican.
I’m of the Democrat persuasion politically. I’ve lived in Pahrump for six years. Am retired and got myself involved in local politics to keep me out of pool halls, bars and casinos.
I have had the good fortune to meet a fellow who also lives in Pahrump. He is a died in the wool Republican. His name is Dan Schinhofen. We are like daylight and dark, at opposite ends of the pole, politically. We both like to write. We both like to write about politics. We each write a column in a weekly newspaper called The Pahrump Mirror. Dan’s column is called Ramblings of a Madman; mine is Nye-Gateway to Nevada’s Rurals. Dan has a weekly local TV talk show. I write this blog. We’ve had a beer together. We’re friends.
The photo above on the right is me. It was taken while I was canvassing door to door in Precinct 28 of Pahrump for Barack Obama. I’m a left-wing Progressive Democrat.
Dan and I are living proof Democrats and Republicans can co-exist. We are about to launch something which doesn’t exist in Pahrump. We are going to write and argue politics with each other in our weekly Mirror columns. Then we’ll go have another beer together. Dan will buy when we go because I bought the last time.
Related posts:
Considering that I know both of you this should be very interesting … and I get to add my 3 cents now and then =)
Jack is correct on some things, and as we all are, wrong on others. I am a conservative, but not a “died in the wool” Republican. I do need to buy the next round and that may be the middle or late July when I have him on the show again.
I believe that Jack and I can co-exist as friends and political opposites because we both value free speech and each recognize that the other is speaking the truth as he sees it. That is what is missing from most political conversations. While we want to be able to speak our minds we do not want that same freedom for those who do not agree with us.
Maybe we can bolg this stuff once a week or once a month for those who do not live in Pahrump or do not get the paper.
We have and will continue to argue many things like Health Care, Government Spending and FREEDOM. But for now I am still waiting for one answer to the question that should end the Health Care debate and Republican Vs Democrat question:
WHAT DOES THE GOVERNMENT RUN WELL? If any one on the left can tell me what has run better since being taken over by the Feds Please let us all know. Until I can see that they have run something within a budget without having to raise taxes or costing us more and more, then I will not want them to run my health care or give them any more money.
And yes Jack it does come down to money as in the end; that is what makes the world go round and wins elections. You should know this because Obama spent more in his campaign than anyone in the history of the world. Is this what I want or is it ideal? NO, but it is true.
One last thing, “Died in the wool” is really not descriptive of me as I want a much smaller government then the Republican Party does. I am a small government conservative and that goes all the way into our personal lives. They should not tell us who we can marry or what we can do to our own bodies. Some of the right would not agree with me, but I have always spoken my mind and will continue to. After all I am a Rambling Madman. ( I didn’t use spell check so parden my mistakes.)
Sorry Dan about my error in writing you are a “died in the wool” Republican. First mistake I’ve ever made. Forget about buying the next round, I’ll buy in an effort to redeem myself for the mischaracterization.
Yes, we can “co-exist as friends and political opposites.” I don’t agree with your observation “we do not want that same freedom for those who do not agree with us.” I prefer people speaking out about their views of things that may disagree with what I think, or you think. There are many issues upon which there can be three or more points of view.
Your question of “What does the government run well” has been dangling in my mind since you asked it some weeks ago. My tardiness in answering it is, perhaps, explained by how hard it is to answer. I’ve never pondered the question before and have resisted an off the cuff response. I’ve never really explored an answer. But with some trepidation I will toss all caution to the winds and offer a couple of things off the cuff anyway. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
From my personal view the government’s Social Security Program has proved itself, to me, as being run well. My wife and I retired a decade ago and our social security checks have unfailingly arrived each month in a timely manner in all this time. Never had any kind of disruption or difficulty with it. One of my goals in life has been to recover every dime we paid into social security all those years we worked.
The second thing I think has worked well for us is Medicare. Medicare coupled with private insurance has, as we’ve both grown older, has consistently provided us with adequate medical coverage. I think that government system runs well. As to the private insurance aspect it has helped as well. However, the private insurance company balked in paying a $30,000+ hospital bill a couple of years ago. Their basis was that I had entered a hospital for surgery by choice rather than having done so upon the advice of a physician. Therefore, they reasoned, it was an “elective” surgery and they were not contractually obligated to pay the bill. That wasn’t the case at all and after some back and forth discussion I was able to convince them I had been sent to that hospital by a cardiologist. Had the insurance company prevailed we’d be bankrupt like millions of others. Over the years I’ve learned one has to watch out for private insurance companies. They are in business to make a profit, not see that you are medically provided for. They will endeavor to cut their costs at every opportunity. I’ve wondered about how many others might have let my insurance company avoid their obligation because they were too timid to assert their contractual rights.
I’m sure my view of the current healthcare reformation effort is colored by my experience with insurance companies. As a former trial lawyer I have seen, first hand, how they operate. I don’t trust them at all.
Thus, I do think that two government-run agencies, Social Security and Medicare, operate quite well, based upon my personal experience rather than an objective measurement.
As to your dismay that Obama “spent more in his campaign than anyone in the history of the world” I saw that in a different light. For a long time I have viewed campaign financing as demonstrating our government is owned, possessed and controlled by corporate America through their huge contributions to politicians. Obama’s was different because the vast majority of his campaign finances was contributed in small amounts by hundreds of thousands of individual contributors rather than corporations. I had written before that if the American voter ever wanted representation in government they would have to buy their government back from the corporations. That is what I perceived those small financial contributors as doing. That was the trigger that induced me to sign up and support Obama’s election. I became one of those financial contributors and personally worked in his campaign. I saw in his Campaign for Change a real move toward real change in the way politics is conducted. I have not yet regretted my support for Obama. So far he has been the most intelligent, articulate, and determined President I have seen in my lifetime. Considering the range, depth and tangled problems he is confronting I believe he is on the right track.
We appear to agree with each other in one thing. It was stated last weekend by Colin Powell. He said he would like to see a government as small as possible, as effective as possible and at least cost as possible. I can concur with that.
I also agree that government has no business intruding into our personal lives. I thought the intrusions in the Schiavo matter, and attempts to control who can marry who, and such are far beyond the power of government. Those areas, which seemingly are so important to the Republican Party, are to me, none of their business.
Thanks Dan for the comment.
Congrats Dan, you made it (Commish). And you and Jack are going to become Pahrump’s Point-Counterpoint team. Best!
Frank – “It’s the Pitz”