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Caban
As the calendar begins its push to August and thus closer to the end of 2019, it seems that political talk abounds on our televisions, smartphones and computers. Here at The Madill Record, we are not going to talk about tweets or partisan chatter.
Rather, we’re going to spend some time on the things and people that have brought us together.
During the last two weeks, our nation lost two well-known and generally well-regarded public figures. Midday July 9, the world learned that Ross Perot had died. He was 92. Then, on July 16, word came that John Paul Stephens had died at age 99.
Perot, was a longtime business and third party presidential candidate while Stephens was a retired United States Supreme Court Justice. Something the pair had in common was how they defied convention.
Perot, while he was considered a conservative, did not fit the mold of traditional right-leaning politician particularly when he challenged then President George H.W. Bush during the 1992 United States presidential election. Many, either credit [or blame depending on your point of view] Perot for helping elect Bill Clinton, the then Democratic governor of Arkansas to the presidency in November 1992.
Although, Perot’s had a home in the Texoma area, we were initially hesitant to discuss his death in The Madill Record as we aim to stay Marshall County centric in our coverage.
However, there are times that even small, local weekly papers need to weigh in on items in the national news.
An initial look back at Perot’s public figure shows humor generated by Saturday Night Live’s Dana Carvey and company. While the varying sketches lampooning the candidates of the 1992 U.S. Presidential campaign are considered classic comedy, what they portrayed was an interesting view into important spots in our modern history.
There was in fact a time that American politics had true political middle. These days (and really for the better part of a decade), our nation’s leaders and unfortunately, its voters too often fall into one of two camps; conservative or liberal, Democrat or Republican.
Truth be told there tends to be a lot of gray area in life that tends to be ignored by many who call themselves public servants and instead spend time scoring partisan point with their respective political bases.
This brings us to Justice Stephens, an Illinois Republican, who was nominated to the high court by President Gerald Ford in 1975 following the retirement of Justice William O. Douglas.
Following a wait of only 19 days, Stephens was confirmed to the Supreme Court by a vote of 98 to 0. Such votes rarely if ever happen in our current political climate.
Rather than focus on Perot or Stephens’ policies or opinions, The Madill Record would rather express gratitude to two men that continued to serve and give back into their 90s. Most of us would not begrudge them if either chose to step out of the spotlight and enjoy retirement, but that was not to be.
Let’s briefly return to the idea of bipartisan votes. During the last two weeks our country has been able to see cooperation, however fleeting, at our nation’s capitol.
On July 12, the House of Representatives voted 402 to 12 for H.R. 1327 to funds through FY2092, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. This was followed by the U.S. Senate voting 97 to 2 in favor of the bill’s passage.
Although this bill has taken time to pass through our legislative process, it represents a continuing response to support our citizens who suffered the worst of an attack that shook our country to its core nearly 18 years ago.
At the end of the day, the staff of The Madill Record believe in taking care of each other. We know the communities we serve would do the same.
It is our hope that the next 16 months of political discourse is as civil as possible. Here at least, in the pages of The Madill Record, we seek to inform our readers and celebrate good news with them rather than advocate for any particular candidate or issue.