As Election Day draws near, I’m looking forward to the end of a long year of politics.
It seems to me election years just drag on and on. I can’t imagine the work most of the candidates have put in, and I have a lot of respect for most people who run for office, especially those who run a clean campaign.
America has always been noted for having some hard campaigns, especially on the national level. These hard, finger-pointing and name-calling politics have been around since the U.S. Constitution was written.
However, I wish election campaigns didn’t take up a whole year.
I can understand why election campaigns were lengthy years ago, as travel and communications took longer, but in today’s day and age where everything is so instant, I would imagine six to eight months would be long enough for us to learn about candidates and their policies and make a decision on who to vote for.
On the Wednesday after Election Day, everyone will start talking about the 2028 presidential race, meaning that campaign will last for two years. Our right to vote is our reward for a long campaign season.
I have always been a supporter of President Donald Trump and have liked most of his policies, especially concerning the western part of the country, but I think he has gone too far in trying to win elections in importing more beef into the country and opening up western lands for more recreation with off-road vehicles.
Trump removed tariffs on lean beef from Brazil and other countries for 90 days, and after one month, not much lean trimmings have been shipped into the U.S. and the price of hamburger has stayed about the same.
But it has hurt the price of cull cattle during the late-fall cattle markets. These cull cattle are an important part of a rancher’s yearly income in late fall.
I also don’t agree with the current administration opening up public lands in the West for recreation. There are reasons public lands have restrictions on them.
Off-road vehicles have caused a lot of damage on western public lands in recent years due to drought, fragile soils and poor water crossings.
Maybe people in Washington, D.C. think off-road vehicles are like golf carts and cause no damage, but there is a reason there are no knobby tires or four-wheel drive on golf carts. The West doesn’t need roads everywhere – there are places better left alone.
I feel he doesn’t need to damage federal lands at the expense of some of his strongest supporters.
I realize the importance of Trump getting legislation passed while he has Congress on his side, but the trick is, if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.
The most important action everyone can take is to get out and vote. Voting is a right, don’t waste it.
Dennis Sun is the publisher of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup, a weekly agriculture newspaper available online and in print.
