First-time readers, this blog is set in the future (sometime after the year 2020). Each entry assumes there has been a 5th revolution in the US — the Revenge Revolution. More about Revenge Revolution and author, Entry #1. List and general description of entries to date.
Note: most characters appear in a number of entries, with many entries building on previous conversations. Profile of characters. You’ll catch on quickly. Thanks for your time and interest…and comments.
Scene: JC, Greenie, and Jordan sitting outside at a restaurant near Jordan’s office. Conversation starts #169.
Jordan: “Excuse me. I should be back shortly.”
JC: “Wonder where he’s going?”
Greenie: “Relax. It might be an old guy thing. You know…”
JC: “Greenie, turn around slowly and see who Jordan’s talking to.”
Greenie: “That’s the former Speaker of the House. What’s John Boy doing back in D.C.?
JC: “I don’t know but they are headed this way.”
Greenie: “Both of them?”
JC: “Yep. This should be interesting.”
Jordan: “John Boy, I’d like you to meet two long-time friends of mine, Greenie and JC.”
John Boy: “Nice to meet you both. How can two lovely young ladies hang around with an old guy like Jordan?”
JC: “Such a charmer. Very nice to meet you.”
Greenie: “Likewise. Nice to meet you. What brings you back to Washington? Aren’t you living in Ohio now?”
John Boy: “Living in Chillicothe…and loving it.”
JC: “I plead ignorance. Just where is Chillicothe?”
John Boy: “Southern half of Ohio, about midway and about an hour south of Columbus, the home of…Jordan, want to finish the sentence?”
Jordan: “Not on your life. Go Blue!”
Greenie: “OK boys, enough football rivalry. I have a question. Mr. Speaker…”
John Boy: “Greenie, cut the speaker crap. It’s ‘John Boy’, OK?”
Greenie: “OK, John Boy, why did you move back to Ohio? Why not stay in DC – lots of cushy jobs for the taking.”
John Boy: “First and foremost, Chillicothe has not one but two DQ’s. It’s hard to find one Dairy Queen in DC.”
JC: “Seriously, why back to Ohio?”
John Boy: “I grew up in that part of Ohio. The people were nice enough to elect me to Congress for 12 terms to the House. It was a great run. And the people there are real. I just got tired of all the BS in inside the Beltway.”
Jordan: “Don’t you miss the excitement of Congress?”
John Boy: “Congress is much like make-believe land, or at least it was when I was there. Maybe, just maybe, the Revenge Revolution will bring back some reality.”
Greenie: “If you don’t mind me asking, what was your biggest frustration in Congress?”
John Boy: “My party would not face reality. Republicans kept denying the empirical evidence, whether global warming, economic policy or the need for some type of rational gun control.”
Greenie: “Didn’t anyone study the data?”
John Boy: “If they did, it was dismissed out of hand. Plus, anyone who dared cite the data, no matter how credible the source, was branded a heretic.”
JC: “Congressional Republicans have not always been like that, have they?”
John Boy: “When I started in Congress, members actually studied the information before taking a position. I should say most members, not all. You know the old story about ‘Yellow Dog Democrats.'”
JC: “So what happened? When did ideology take over from rational thinking?”
John Boy: “This sounds terrible because I know so many mainstream Republicans like 
him, but the problem started with Ronald Reagan.”
Greenie: “You mean Reagan’s mantra of ‘Government is the problem, not the solution.’?”
John Boy: “Exactly, he kept saying it over and over and over. And people started ti believe him. I agree government is not always the best solution but its also not the problem all the time. I’d hate to have a private military.”
Greenie: “Anything else?”
John Boy: “Yes. About the same time the NRA started promoting the idea that people had a right to own any type of firearm, no matter how lethal. I mean, who needs a 50 caliber semi-automatic rifle? Have you seen a herd of rogue elephants attacking people in the US lately?”
JC: “What about Democrats? Republicans are not the only ones at fault.”
Greenie: “Is that you talking, JC, or you need to be exorcised?”
John Boy: “Look, Democrats deserve some of the blame. But Democrats got pushed 
farther left when the Republicans shifted right?”
Jordan: “That’s an interesting observation. Democrats shifted left because Republicans shifted right. Why so? If you were the Democratic Party, why not grab the middle? Seems kike a great way to expand the base.”
John Boy: “My view is Democrats feared that if they grabbed the middle, then a faction of those farther left would splinter and start a 3rd party.”
Greenie: “And the 3rd party would erode a good portion of the Democratic base and the old Democratic Party might be left holding an empty bag.”
John Boy: “Politics is no different from marketing a product. Your product…the political party…needs to have a clear positioning statement that people can understand easily.”
Greenie: “You think a positioning of being is the middle, as it were, makes it harder for people to understand what the party’s about. Is that right?”
John Boy: “Look at the Donald in 2015 and 2016. You might have abhorred his statements but his position was clear. Right or wrong, people understood…or at least thought they understood…what he intended to do.”
JC: “You agree with that idea Jordan? You’ve been unusually quiet.”
Jordan: “I agree. The Donald aside, try to think of a highly successful product that does not have a clear positioning statement. You have to stand for something.”
John Boy: “I’ll tell you what else caused the parties to shift, particularly Republicans shifting right.”
Greenie: “Media outlets?”
John Boy: “Starting with talk radio. You and I know that Limbaugh, Hannity and the other talking heads are entertainers…and certainly not scholars. But many…probably most of the listeners actually believe these jokers are credible.”
Greenie: “How can anyone believe the Rush Man? He dropped out of what was the name of that college?”
JC: “…something like Southeast Missouri State Teachers College.”
Greenie: “I think that’s the school. Then he was convicted of dealing drugs.”
John Boy: “Plea bargain, please. But all those facts don’t matter to his listeners. To them, whatever Rush says must be true.”
Greenie: “Your constituents believe him?”
John Boy: “Many did…but far fewer after the Revenge Revolution. Like a lot of people 
in the US, they’re beginning to demand that elected officials in this country start acting like adults and not whiny little children.”
Jordan: “By the way, John Boy, forgot to ask what brings you to town?”
John Boy: “We’re visiting my granddaughter, who’s a student at Georgetown.”
Jordan: “She’s not at the Ohio State University? Smart kid.”
John Boy: “Her choice, not mine. And, thanks for reminding me. I need to run. She and my supervisor went shopping and they are probably back by now.”
Jordan: “John Boy, nice to see you. Thanks for spending a few minutes with us.”
John Boy: “I enjoyed it. JC, Greenie – very nice to meet you. And stay away from Jordan, OK?”
JC and Greenie (in unison): “We’ll try.”
Greenie: “Interesting guy. Some insightful observations.”
JC: “Agreed. I really enjoyed it. And I’ll enjoy a break as well.”
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