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Graves, kings and initials

Guy Speckman by Guy Speckman
April 3, 2026
in Ponder the Thought
Politics
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Another weekend snuck by me without making it to a No Kings Rally. I’ll have to plan better going forward.


Remember when Bernie Sanders was about to win the Democratic party nomination through the primary process and then the Democrats rolled him at his knees and inserted Joe Biden? Those were good times. But not near as good of times as when Biden won all the primaries and then they took him out and inserted Kamala Harris. Them dang Republicans keep subverting the Democratic process.

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Everyone will be happy again soon and we can stop the marches. Democrats are going to romp Republicans in the midterms, and we will have a couple of years of impeachments and maybe even a pandemic for old times sake. Can’t wait.

As a member of the “Me” party these days, both sides are as messed up as the other.


Sam Graves announcement to not run for another term in Congress sent a shock wave through local politics. I enjoyed perusing the various opinions on Graves. It’s sad that so many people don’t understand that he was a good and effective statesman for Missouri. It’s an underappreciated art form these days. The new age politician is much louder and much more partisan (see MTG or AOC), but accomplish much less for their districts, unless you count TV time as an accomplishment.

Graves was an old school politician. Show up to Washington, don’t say stupid things and get things done for your constituents. From Kansas City to Tarkio, I read lots of comments from people that appreciated that he worked his way onto important committees and was able to help secure funding for a multitude of projects, from both sides of the political spectrum.

That is the way good politicians get work done. He helped obtain funding for street cars in Kansas City and bridges in Atchison County, two projects as far away from either other physically or politically as possible in the district. The Kansas City mayor and rural county commissioners counted him as an ally. That’s not easy these days. Graves stayed true to his district, and his principles and not much higher praise can be bestowed than that.


Maybe Sam would have stayed if he had been given a nickname. His middle name is Bruce, so he would have had to be SBG and I’m not sure that would make the national cut. Maybe have to blame this one on his parents. Perhaps a catchier set of initials would have endeared him to more people for longer. I guess we will never know.


I read that there is a new COVID strain out there. Keep an eye on that. If China doesn’t get their oil in regular fashion at acceptable pricing, then I suspect we might have a few more pandemics on the horizon. Don’t throw your masks or hand sanitizer out.


I wasn’t completely honest with you. I’m probably never attending a No Kings rally, or any rally. The “Me” party does not host or condone such activities and if nothing else, I’m true to my party. Selfish is a virtue of the “Me” party and I’ve embraced it, pray for me.

(Guy Speckman can be reached researching COVID strains)

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Guy Speckman

Guy Speckman

Guy Speckman is a Landmark contributing columnist with his Ponder the Thought column. Speckman is the former owner of the Savannah Reporter, where the column appeared for nearly two decades. Speckman is a former city government manager, serving as city administrator in Maysville, Plattsburg and Savannah before entering business. He is a graduate of Northwest Missouri State University (1989). He is originally from Plattsburg, Missouri. He and his wife own and operate a real estate valuation firm and a daily legal newspaper and are the parents of two grown children.

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