Dear Editor:
I am an independent voter. Like most independents I know, I’m exhausted by the money politics the two parties devote their time to, at the exclusion of real issues. I haven’t seen a real platform discussion in years, and I’m not sure I’d know one if I saw it.
The other thing I like about independents is that we tend to keep things simple. We vote on conscience, or jobs, or defense, or whatever motivates us, but we try not to overcomplicate it.
My issue this election is competence and its uglier sibling, corruption. I’m willing to put up with inefficiency in government, since checks and balances were designed for resiliency, not efficiency. But what we’re seeing in Washington today isn’t inefficiency. It’s incompetence at best and corruption at worst.
To keep it simple, I sort politicians into three kinds of dogs. First is the friendly old dog who sits under the chair and comes out for a pet every so often, maybe barking a few times to show he’s still got it. Second is the lap dog, there only to make you feel good and in need of constant stroking. Third is the guard dog, the one you count on to warn you of danger and who, if need be, will sacrifice to keep the family safe.
Take Jeff Hurd. He’s no lap dog. He’s shown some independent thinking, and he’s been a good dog on Western Slope water. But he’s no guard dog either. Deciding when America goes to war is Congress’s most important check on a president, and Hurd has voted four times against Congress having a say in the war with Iran, a war that has cost American lives and more than $38 billion. And while the President’s family pulls in over a billion dollars from crypto, I haven’t heard Hurd bark once.
No, Jeff is the trusted old friend who comes out for a pet now and then but spends most of his time lying at your feet, making sure you know he’s there.
What kind of dog do we need in Washington right now?
Edward Matlack
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