Let's Go Hunting

Okay, here’s what happened.

1. Duck season opened.

2. The walleye bite started on the Missouri.

3. Pheasant season opened.

4. I have totally disengaged from the 2010 campaign. It is ugly. I don’t like it. I don’t do things I don’t like. Instead, I hunt ducks, fish for walleyes and chase pheasants.

That’s why no blog posts here for most of the last month.

However, I am reading a lot of North Dakota literature and will comment on some of the best things I have read, as part of my ongoing series, The Best Things Ever Written About North Dakota.

I’ll say this much about the coming election: The Republicans peaked early. That happens in a media-mad society like ours. It’s two weeks to go, and all the stories have been written. What’s more, most of what has been written is negative, so most of us don’t care any more. I expect the backlash will be in the form of a very low voter turnout. “They’re all assholes, so I ain’t voting,” is a common refrain right now.

So far, the only politician who has my respect this year is Byron Dorgan. Because he quit. At exactly the right time. He’s among the first. But he won’t be among the last. To participate in this kind of election, you have to really want power. I don’t want anyone representing me who wants power that badly.

There are exceptions. Earl Pomeroy is one. He’s pretty sure that America doesn’t need a Republican majority in Congress, He’s pretty sure that is a really bad thing. I’m pretty sure he’s right. So Earl is doing what he has to do to win. This year. Don’t look for him to do it many more times. It’s too high a price to pay.

And so for the next two weeks, the TV and radio in my house will be tuned to Prairie Public, where there are no nasty commercials (although I might sneak in a baseball game or two, and get up for a drink of water between innings).

And yes, I am going to vote. On Tuesday, November 3. Until then, I am going hunting. And fishing. And hunting some more.

You should too.