Thoughts on….Everything - Volume One
“We got too many gangsters doing dirty deeds.
Too much corruption and crime in the streets.
It’s time the long arm of the law put a few more in the ground.
Send ‘em all to their maker and he’ll settle ‘em down.
You bet he’ll settle ‘em down.
‘Cause justice is the one thing you should always find.
You got to saddle up your boys,
You got to draw a hard line.
When the gun smoke settles, we’ll sing a victory tune.
And we’ll all meet back at the local saloon.
And we’ll raise up our glasses against evil forces, singing,
‘Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses’.
Singing “Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses.”
I’m baaaack. You have not heard from me since April. I have just been busy. Thank you to all of you who e-mailed me. Writing these missives takes a lot of time and effort. It is good to know how much many of you appreciate them and that encourages me to keep going. It’s time for me to “saddle up” again.
Let’s see….since April, nothing has really happened…
Actually, we live in a very fast moving world. And whether you love him or hate him, we have a president who appears to be active 24 hours a day but I presume he has to sleep sometime, although I cannot discern when he does that.
I have a lot to say, and it will take me four or five weeks of missives to say it. So, here is Volume 1 of Thoughts on Everything
War in Iran: Let’s first be real here. The effort so far has failed. I know the administration says they were not after “regime change.” But the first act was to kill the regime leader and the goals of no nukes and no terror can only be realized with a new government of Iran that is not radically Islamic. That requires regime change. We didn’t get it. The straight of Hormuz was open before the war began and now it is closed. The Muslim crazies who appear to still run the place are more determined than ever now to kill Jews and Christians everywhere they can.
I do not fault the president for trying. Since the reign of the Shah fell in 1979, every president has tried something to deal with these Islamists and all have failed in one way or another. Being a businessman and investor, I also understand that the only way not to fail is to never try anything.
That said, we are where we are. Now maybe, there is more going on inside the current Iranian leadership than we know and a change could be coming. Or maybe the “economic D-Day” that Secretary Bessent just announced will have an effect. We can hope. But if not…
Refineries are about the easiest thing in the world to put out of business because the products they deal with are, by definition, explosive. We could put everyone in Iran on bicycles with one night’s attack on their refineries if we wanted to. But the administration has chosen not to do that for reasons that are not clear to me. But, they must have reasons.
Regardless of how this current conflict gets resolved, it will resolve at some point in the not too distant future. I believe Trump’s dislike of “forever wars” is deeply held and consistent.
When it does resolve, we need to think about what American foreign policy will look like in the future. I would argue that we have not truly won a war since World War II. We certainly took Grenada and Venezuela quickly in a day. And the Kuwait war was short and the goal accomplished as well.
But outside of those, everything else has been a quagmire of one sort or another without total victory. I would argue there are two reasons for this. The first is that Americans are unwilling to accept casualties, particularly overseas where the direct threat to our homeland is not clear and present. This was not the case in World War II. Casualties are a part of war. If we don’t want them, then we don’t fight. I am not saying that our resistance to casualties is a bad thing. It means our society fully appreciates the cost of war and the value of human life. But it limits what kind of fighting we are willing to do.
The second reason is “rules of engagement.” A staffer of mine in DC (who may read this blog) became a JAG officer in Afghanistan. He told me once that his job there was to review potential military operations to determine if they were “legal” under the rules of engagement before any operation could be launched. So, the enemy attacks and you can’t go back and get them until a lawyer tells you it is OK to do so.
George Patton had no such restrictions. I remember during Vietnam that I spoke in school once that we should mine the Port of Haiphong in order to keep the Soviets from supplying the NVA and Viet Cong with weapons. I was kicked out of a class in High School for this vicious proposal. But in the 1940s we decimated entire cities in Germany and Japan to achieve unconditional surrender. I doubt anyone was kicked out of class for supporting it.
Iran is a sizable country with a sizable military. But they are not Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Imperial Japan or present day China. And we are not achieving the objectives because we are unwilling to accept casualties and are limiting the targets that our military can attack.
We have the best and most capable military on the planet. But if we don’t use its full capability, we will not defeat lesser foes.
I am not saying we should invade Iran, lose 100,000 soldiers and blow the place to smithereens. I don’t think it is worth it. But therein lies the question. When and for what is it worth it? But if it’s not worth it, maybe we shouldn’t be in the region at all. Maybe the new alliance between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey can keep Iran’s worst instincts in check. All three of those countries have economic interests which they do not want to sacrifice on the alter of Sharia Law. Let them manage their region. Let the Europeans deal with Russia. Let the Japanese, Koreans, Australians and Filipinos keep their part of the world safe.
Have the United States keep the Americas safe and have a dome of protection over our homeland, in space and at our borders. If an existential real and present danger does arise, Americans will do what it takes to defeat it.
Let us not rot from within or be conquered from without as other empires have done. But we must do it recognizing the realities of the 21st century. I think we can keep ourselves safe without policing the world. Frankly, we may not have a choice.
The Democratic Socialists of America: Speaking of rotting from within, the DSA has not yet taken over the Democratic Party, but they are making huge inroads. This is clearly where the energy in the Dem Party now lies. In the vast majority of primaries over recent weeks, the DSA candidate has prevailed over a more “moderate” candidate. In many cases that “moderate” candidate is what we would have called very left a few short years ago. But no more.
This is happening in red, blue and purple states. The most striking victory was actually in Florida, where DSA candidate Angela Nixon defeated Alex Vindman in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Marco Rubio. Alex Vindman is a “normie” Democrat that is a retired Army Officer and former diplomat. He had the endorsement of the entire Democratic establishment both in Florida and in DC. He outspent Nixon 17 to 1.
He lost by twelve points. And this is in a red state where you might think the Democrats are less radical.
Most political observers now believe that the chances of Dems picking up that seat are nearly zero since Republican voters and independents are unlikely to be romanced by a socialist in Florida. That might make you think I am cheering such a result.
But I am not. I have always been in favor of a strong two-party system. The minority party plays a valuable role in making the majority party justify their policies to the electorate.
Both parties can and should disagree on many things. But they should not disagree on “supporting and defending the Constitution.” They should not disagree on whether the United States is the finest nation ever created on earth. They should not disagree on the cultural foundation provided by our founding principles, or on the proven fact that capitalism is the best system to achieve prosperity for the most people.
When I first entered politics, 26 years ago, Democrats and Republicans wanted the same things, but disagreed on how to get there. The DSA does not want the same things.
I remember when any elected Democrat would run away from the “S word” (socialist) as far as they could. Many believed in socialism but did not want the negativity of that word attached to their policies. Today, if you throw the “C word” (communism) at them, most shy away. But privately, as we see from social media posts, they embrace that form of government now.
It is easy to presume that the DSA is a flash in the pan and will go nowhere so let’s just enjoy some general election victories and not worry about them. I think that is a mistake.
If the populace is in a bad way, they will accept whatever alternative is presented to them that promises a better life. Hitler was elected this way. And I’m not equating him to Hitler, but so was FDR whose policies were extreme at the time. The UK has had many instances when they lurched into socialism and stayed there until it provided no improvements because it never does.
The point is that our economy, though strong at the moment, has many points under stress that will likely cause problems in the next few years. (More on that in one of the next blogs) If the economy were to be in a bad place, be it a recession, or high inflation or increased unemployment, the siren song of 2028 Democratic nominee AOC (more on that in a coming blog) may sound attractive.
Another strength, if you want to call it that, of the DSA is that they lie with conviction. This is true of almost all socialists and communists in every country. We know it now because there is social media and they have posts they made before running for office which expose their real thinking. The current Prime Minister of the UK was all for open borders and more Muslims taking over until he became PM at which time he backed off of those positions. But, we know what he really thinks.
The DSA is clear. Eliminate the racist Constitution, the Supreme Court and the US Senate and replace it with a single politburo…I’m sorry…I mean Congress that controls all actions and thoughts with an iron fist. But once the candidates get in a general election, they run away from this stuff and lie about it and just make happy talk about affordability.
One last thought about the DSA. The leadership is currently a coalition of three very disparate groups - Islamists, Communists, and LGBTQ people. The LGBTQ people are being used. The press did not report on two recent attacks where a Muslim attacked and killed people at Gay Pride parades. They are being used just as Hitler convinced many Jews that he would take care of them until he used them and didn’t need them anymore and killed them. Sharia Law and Communism have some overlap, but they too might have a hard time staying together if they ever got true power. Both Islamists and Communists are brutal.
The regular folks voting for these people are responding to siren song of free everything and never work again. Many have been indoctrinated in University with the lie that this can happen.
It cannot.
The bottom line here is, don’t cheer on the DSA and don’t underestimate their ability to win elections and then change the rules so they never lose again. The state of my birth, California, has already largely done this.
Here’s what’s coming in the next few weeks:
Artificial Intelligence and Data Centers
The Deficit
The Economy and the Everything Bubble
2026 Elections
2028 Elections
The Oligarchy that Runs California
Other things I haven’t thought of yet
Until next time, I remain respectfully,
Congressman John Campbell
Drive Fast & Live Free
Follow me on X and read my latest article in The Daily Wire for more insights and commentary.