So many things to worry about; getting stuck in the middle of the Shirleys during a blizzard at night, no signal, no help. I worry whether my boys will find work in the state, wonder if they’ll choose to stay…of my many frets, I do not worry about sharing a bathroom or a community with someone who does not look like me, someone who, by the way, is made in the image of God.

Raising political candidates is like having children. Our state loves and nurtures them.  We see the promise in them.  We grow and support them and happily send them out to the big wide world to represent us. Once launched, we hope to produce someone to which the rest of the country aspires so that we can boast ‘look what noble statesmen we produced, this visionary, one with a keen intellect who sees beyond the gloomy horizon. You’re welcome. 

But we do not live in times of statesmanship and Senator Lummis is not that.

Perhaps the thoughtful are ill suited for politics.  Lester Hunt was an earnest public servant trying to do the right thing by his country, his constituents, and his family. He never wavered in his love and support for Buddy at tremendous political cost. He was not borne for this gritty ring. His refusal to capitulate to the barbarians in his midst cost him his life.

If folks moved here because of our Cowboy culture why are they so busy rejecting the very ethos that drew them here? Giving the keys to our kingdom to unskilled, silver-tongued, ham-handed outsiders runs far deeper than shoddy legislation.  We risk losing our soul.”

Welcome to the dumpster fire we call healthcare in America.  Navigating the system is like being an unwilling contestant on a Hunger Games show where pulling the wrong lever looney tunes you to a gauzy netherworld of impossible and ever-changing cruel challenges, none of which will get your bills paid.