Remember what you said about Mr. Lincoln? You said he was sitting up there, waiting for someone to come along. You were right. He was waiting for a man who could see his job and sail into it; that’s what he was waiting for. A man who could tear into the Taylors and root them out into the open. I think he was waiting for you, Jeff. He knows you can do it, so do I.
Dialogue spoken by Saunders (Jean Arthur) in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939), screenplay by Lewis R. Foster, Sidney Buchman, and Myles Connolly.
I have reached a difficult decision. I hope you will not be too disappointed.
In order to ensure domestic tranquility, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for the people in my home state, I’ve decided not to run for governor in 2026.
I had my platform ready to unveil today, but in the course of events, I changed my mind.
I had planned to abolish state income taxes, offer free college education and healthcare to Georgians, establish a $50 minimum wage, get rid of voter ID laws (women would still need IDs), and implement other utopian programs. I figured the state would be able to afford all of that after I got rid of those free-loaders who show up at the domed-shaped building in Atlanta each January.
Did you know that State Senators and members of the House make nearly $18,000 per year and $173 a day per diem? Why are we paying them? Most own expensive real estate, golf clubs, and used car lots anyway.
I first started to think about dropping out of the governor’s race because of squirrels.
As I was riding along in the passenger seat of my son’s Toyota near Athens yesterday evening, I saw two dead squirrels lying in the road. As we approached the two mangled rodents, another squirrel, this one still sentient, appeared on the shoulder of the highway.
It should have looked left and then looked right, or it could have just waited until later that night. But it leapt in the road and couldn’t decide if it had enough time to make the other side. (Don’t let me hear that in some country song!)
I leaned forward in my seat and addressed the indecisive creature.
“Can’t you see what happened to your comrades?” I shouted. “Don’t you learn from your mistakes?”
Then it hit me (before the car hit him).
“Must be a dad gum Democrat squirrel,” I muttered.
(FYI, I am an independent, non-partisan, libertarian, progressive, republican socialist.)
When I remembered there are about 100 Democrats in the Georgia House and Senate, I almost decided to drop out of the race right then and there.
But I started thinking about how Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart) fought Senator Paine (Claude Rains) and Jim Taylor (Edward Arnold) in the movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” and it renewed my political zeal. And when I thought about Saunders (Jean Arthur) urging Jeff not to give up, I got all excited about leading my home state again.
(See epigraph above column for the inspiring words from Saunders.)
No. I would not drop out. I would continue to fight for truth, justice, and the American way, no matter how many obstacles were placed in my way by crooked political hacks and hypocritical ward heelers.
But then my cardiologist threw a monkey wrench in my plans this morning when he listened to my heart and got that look on his face.
You know, the look that says, “You better listen to me.”
I call it the “get busy living or get busy dying look.”
And you have to take that seriously.
I asked him to make me 30 again, maybe 40, hell, even 50.
“Please, doctor, give me a chance at love and glory.”
He only gave me that slightly indifferent smile that said, “Don’t get greedy. My only job is to keep you alive. And you are too old to run for governor now.”
He also gave me a list of medicine to take, and I left this office feeling blue, like a hopeless, hapless Democrat.
But there is one upside. At least I won’t have to worry about an endorsement from President Trump.
Good luck with that, Burt.
Selah.