‘Leftists’ pose a clear and present danger

My well-known humility has been out of control. I just didn’t seem to be able to solve the problem. I tried aspirin, yoga, pushups, and reducing my insulin intake. Nothing worked. I had almost given up trying.

But, after my shower this morning, looking in the mirror, I said, “Get ahold of yourself, speak out, share your new honor. Don’t try to be humble right now.”

Here’s the scoop. I got an email message a couple days ago that said, “Norman, my team has informed me that you’re the number one Republican in 76036. That means there’s no one in the whole world I’d rather reach out to for this critical task: The 2023 NRSC NATIONWIDE CENSUS.”

That message was signed by Donald Trump and named me “number one” in a distant ZIP code, making me a Texan. I was a little miffed. I’d prefer to be put in New Hampshire or Oregon rather than Greg Abbott’s Texas where the state slogan is “Hate Thy Neighbor.”

What is worth bragging about is simply that Donald Trump has found me. Overcoming my humility, I want you to read my personal message from the Donald: “The radical left is determined to destroy our country, but I’m determined to stop them, and I know you are, too.” I was already breathless with that, but read on: “Your participation is CRUCIAL toward the Republican Party’s success. Moving forward, Norman. We need YOUR SUPPORT. “

I also heard from Vivek, a mini-Trump, deploring leftists. I deserved his attention. In 1948, 75 years ago, when I was a leftist. I intended to vote for an Iowan where “leftists” don’t ordinarily grow. Henry Wallace was the Progressive Party candidate. I saw three Communists I knew among the thousands at a rally Wallace, the leftist of the day, got under 3 percent of the vote.

I know what a leftist looks and sounds like. Trump, Ramaswamy, and Kevin McCarthy apparently see a clear and present danger from leftists. What Trump and Ramaswamy are is the real clear and present danger. Vivek would eliminate “three letter” agencies. Republicans, like Gov. Kim Reynolds, go after public education driving teachers into retirement. They think free speech doesn’t include the word gay. No matter the ZIP code, I am not one of them, despite my embrace by Mr. Trump.

I don’t hear from the coherent Republican candidates. They are rational people who don’t pursue much what many of us seek, but I don’t call them the devil, I think of them simply as an opponent. When Liz Chaney, and Mitt Romney and Jim Leach despair about their Republican party, every Republican should look more carefully at remains — a resemblance in name only to the Republican past.

So here is my last word for Donald Trump. I live in 52241. I am not a “leftist,” nor an important Republican. I am a Democrat and a Democrat who agrees with a real Republican. Mitt Romney said recently, “It’s pretty clear that the party is inclined to a populist demagogue message.”

It’ really wasn’t humility that kept me silent but fear you would believe that Donald Trump and I had anything in common. With renewed humility, I say, he should be so lucky.

Norman Sherman of Coralville has worked extensively in politics, including as Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s press secretary.