It is that time again -- the time when the fog of political war descends upon us. Challengers attack incumbents and incumbents summon all the writers they can to discredit the challenger. In this hyperbolic "fog" it makes it hard to see the truth.
Recently, I have watched an interesting exchange. Duane Sand, a Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, has been saying that North Dakota would be better off if at least one of its delegation in Washington was a Republican. I think he put it this way, "You'd never invest all of your money in one stock, and you'd never plant all your acres to one crop, yet that is what we are doing in North Dakota with a delegation of all Democrats."
Sand asserts that having a Republican representative would help broaden North Dakota's representation and in turn help it with issues like base closure and sugar.
Tim Lamb, a Democratic chairman in Grand Forks, wrote that Sand was "all wet" and was upset that Sand has brought politics into the base closure issue, but even in this "fog" two things seem abundantly clear. First, politics have always been a part of the base closure issue and second, Sand may have a pretty good grasp of how things work in the "deal making" town of Washington.
With Republicans holding the majority in both houses and with a Republican in the White House, maybe it would be a good idea for us to have a Republican in Washington. Lamb may even validate Sand's point by stating that our delegation argued against another base closure round ... They lost. What will they lose next?
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It seems plausible that hedging with a Republican may help protect our bases, our sugar beet growers, etc... I don't know how I will vote. For now though, I am not convinced that Representative Pomeroy has done such a "stellar job" and I am not convinced Sand is "all wet."
John Spiekermeier
Horace, N.D.
