Dear Friends,
LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM (and click here to share my blog)
(01:44) An interview with Marianne Williamson
(26:22) A new call to abolish nuclear weapons, with Kathleen McQuillen
(39:49) When it comes to groceries, Walmart is a bully
(53:11) June Garden Q & A, with Kathy Byrnes
Marianne Williamson in September, 2019, at the home of Kathy Byrnes and Ed Fallon, discussing local food security after touring Birds & Bees Urban Farm.
Marianne Williamson is an acclaimed best-selling author, activist, and Democratic presidential candidate. This is her second go-round for president. Not surprisingly, some Democrats are upset that she’s challenging President Biden.
Not me. I’m a big fan of primaries. They enhance the possibility of real conversation on key issues. With Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., also jumping into the race, this could get interesting.
Besides, when only 37% of Democratic voters want Biden to seek a second term (according to a recent poll by AP and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research), that’s a pretty solid invitation to challengers. Don’t be surprised if a third Democratic candidate steps forward.
I hope you’ll listen to my interview with Williamson (and the rest of the program, too, of course). We don’t agree on everything, but her responses are alway thoughtful and articulate. I was particularly pleased with her position on eminent domain to build CO2 pipelines. She’s strongly against it, which puts her on the side of most voters and at odds with much of the political leadership of both major parties.
Marianne Williamson with Doug Fuller during a meet-and-greet in Des Moines, May 5, 2019.
Should Williamson decide to campaign in the Upper Midwest, she could make some hay on eminent domain. In Iowa, 78% of respondents in a March, 2023, Des Moines Register poll were against condemning farmland to build privately-owned CO2 pipelines.
That’s an overwhelming majority. And even though CO2 pipelines are touted as a boon to the ethanol industry, a whole lot of corn farmers are speaking out against using eminent domain to build them.
One of those corn farmers is Doug Fuller. A few years back, the Dakota Access Pipeline cut through his cropland. He wasn’t even a tiny bit happy about that. Now the Navigator CO2 pipeline threatens to do the same.
“Eminent domain sucks, let’s put it plain and simple,” says Doug. “But why should anything surprise us these days in the state of Iowa,” referencing the reign of Governor Kim Reynolds. Along with other big-wig Republicans, Reynolds is quietly pushing CO2 pipelines. As on so many issues, Republican politicians pander to their rural base on the campaign trail only to legislate against those voters’ best interest once they gain power.
Unfortunately, as I point out frequently, power brokers within the Democratic Party have also failed to stand up for farmers and landowners impacted by these pipelines. In fact, without the tax credits in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, pipeline companies wouldn’t even consider these projects.
This is one of those key unifying issues where Williamson could draw a clear and impactful distinction between herself and President Biden, should she choose to campaign in the Upper Midwest. I know at least one farmer, Doug Fuller, who’s eager to meet her again.
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Ed Fallon