Jason Lewis fits mold of Trump sycophants

Jason Lewis (mpr image)

Not one but two photos of a smiling Jason Lewis appear on the screen this morning. There are two stories posted on the radio station website. Marshall is pretty reliable doing this work. Will he be staying here long-term? There are reports he may not. Too bad. But perhaps he could have done a little more digging when writing about the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.
Lewis is matched against Tina Smith. I have a local friend in business who was approached about having a courtesy visit from Smith recently. Not sure if it happened, but this individual told me he would not want to appear in a photo with Democrat Smith. He was concerned it could actually hurt business because his sense, probably accurate, is that the local business community is ardently anti-Democratic Party. A shame we have such a firm line drawn between political parties these days.
The Democrats are not crowded out in the lawn sign derby, if you want to call it that. But I am concerned that a plurality of the business and opinion leaders in the Morris area are quite "red" in their sensibilities. None of the scandalous news coming out about Trump phases them at all. They are completely programmed in their attitudes. No point in even trying to challenge them on their views. And they seem to project sharp enmity toward those differing with them. That be me.
This is different from what I experienced through much of my life. It's as if the Republicans believe they are crusading for the literal survival of America. If they believe that, no wonder they show such sharp, almost dangerous disdain toward dissenters from their views. It's like they feel we no longer have a two-party system - it's simply good vs. evil. And so these people would be disposed to like Jason Lewis.
Marshall has this headline on the KMRS-KKOK site: "Jason Lewis says pandemic response a 'big blunder. ' " Well, I would agree, Mr. Lewis, but surely you aren't coming at this issue in the same manner as yours truly. No, that would never happen. So, how does the reliable Marshall report on what Lewis says? Oh, Lewis says "a lot of mistakes have been made with the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, in what he sees as an over-reaction to the possible spread that has left the country in economic ruins." Lewis feels we'll look back on the response as "a big blunder."
Like a typical Republican, he goes into contortions constructing arguments to suggest the Democrats actually have sinister motives, that behind it all is nothing more than an effort to take down Donald Trump! Trump is a sacred golden cow. Republicans are mesmerized and have their normal cognitive functions disengaged. Such a curious psychological phenomenon. Allegiance to Trump trumps everything, as it were.
 
Trail of wounded people
People who have worked under Trump and who sought to show their best judgment are at great risk for being discarded, and then scorned and condemned by their former Republican compatriots. Well there's Jeff Sessions and now Jim Mattis, the latter a genuinely heroic and compassionate soul. But it does not matter. I repeat: it does not matter. "Cult" is not overstatement. It is in fact dead-on.
What could be more dangerous, more absolutely existential? But the Republicans with the visage of a bulldog have their mind made up. Case closed. They feel any criticism of Trump, even from those with a conservative pedigree, must be part of a scheme to end the Trump presidency, to "take Trump down." And how do you even reason with these people? Why does Trump simply have to be president? Aren't there plenty of intelligent and qualified conservatives, certainly people with political experience that would help them navigate the waters better?
Oh but the Trump loyalists celebrate Trump "not being a politician." And yes, we may pay an enormous price for this.

Jason Lewis w/ President Trump (city pages image)

What does Marshall's other article about Lewis have to say? Well, the candidate expresses chagrin about the national debt. The pot calling the kettle black. Yes, the debt is an issue. The Republicans currently have control of the Senate and presidency, and for two years they had a trifecta: control of the House too. You can argue the deficit is an overrated concern. But if not, Republicans have a fair amount of answering to do. Oh, "Lewis did not provide any specifics of what he would cut."
 
Need more probing interview
Lewis has spoken on an array of topics in his media career. Maybe Marshall could have asked him to elaborate more on one or two provocative statements.
Minnpost reported via CNN in July of 2018 that "a Republican congressman," that being Lewis, "has a long history of making deeply misogynistic comments on the radio, including lamenting that women can no longer be called 'sluts.' "
Do we really need to discuss this? Minnpost's reporting continued: While doing "The Jason Lewis Show" on syndicated radio from 2009 to 2014, he argued that "young single women vote based on coverage of birth control pills." He added that these women "were not human beings and were without brains."
I wish Marshall at our radio station had perhaps challenged Lewis to elaborate in a way that might take off some of the sharp edge. Oh, but how could that be done? None of this matters to the Trump loyalists of Stevens County who actually express their allegiance with full-blown flagpoles, not just little flags pushed into the ground. One yard sign isn't enough for a lot of these people. A small sign is hardly sufficient for them. Look at that residence next to East Side Park in Morris - it's exhibit 'A' of this phenomenon.
These people must be programmed the same way as professional wrestling fans. "Get that bum!" But so much is at stake with our elections now.
"We need to stop the socialists." Well fine, let's axe Social Security and Medicare. This crowd is trying to axe the Affordable Care Act, which might have a better shot at survival if its main name was not "Obamacare," named for a black man. Amazing, in the year 2020. George Wallace, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you? Maybe it's happening.
What can I do about it? I'll quote Alex Karras from the movie "Blazing Saddles": "Mongo just pawn in game of life."
BTW the KMRS-KKOK website is probably the best local news source. Kudos.

My podcast re. Morris Floral Building
It's sad that the Morris Floral Building has fallen into a dilapidated state. The city is applying pressure for this to be resolved. My "Morris Mojo" podcast for September 16 deals with this subject and how it relates to the old Morris Main Street program. The Main Street program saw Morris Floral as maybe the highlight of main street because of its Spanish architecture. I reminisce about Main Street and the Meiss boys. The permalink:

https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/The-Morris-Floral-building-ejntem

 
-Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com