Welcome to another week of The Runback. Have you been enjoying The Duckpin? Do you have comments or suggestions? Do you want to write for us? Let me know at theduckpin@gmail.com. And please be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Thanks in advance.
2022 Candidate Information
We have launched a one-stop-shop for candidate information for the 2022 Election. Bookmark this page, as it will be updated through the 2022 Election. This includes our first round of candidate surveys, which include Dwight Patel for Montgomery County Republican Central Committee, Mason Carter for Frederick Council, and more.
Chalk Session
Welcome to Chalk Session, where we break down and analyze political commercials. On this week's show, we analyze a spot from Kelly Schulz, Republican candidate for Governor of Maryland.
News and Politics
ENDORSEMENT: Michael Hough for Frederick County Executive: Frederick County needs responsible leadership. And only one candidate offers that.
Cox Impeachment Resolution Goes Down in Flames: Unanimous vote dismissed Cox stunt as Cox Demonstrates How Little He Knows About Politics.
Hollingsworth Continues Bizarre Social Media Presence: Attendance at Bigoted Conference Highlights Candidate's Fringe thoughts.
Schifanelli's Baffling Position on the Gas Tax: Does Cox's running mate really oppose his efforts to repeal the 2013 Gas Tax Increase? Or does she just not know what she's talking about?
March 2022 Presidential Power Rankings: Does a CPAC Poll Tell Us Anything? Maybe
Sports
In MLB Lockout, There Are No Good Guys: Owners and Players Both Share the Blame of Baseball being on the edge of disaster
NFL Mystery Box: Offseason: Thank you sir, may I have another?
The Monday Thought
Are you familiar with Madman Theory?
Madman Theory is an ancient idea with its roots in the writings of Machiavelli. He wrote that it is “a very wise thing to simulate madness" in Discourses on Livy.
It was more famously employed by Richard Nixon, who used it in his foreign policy dealings. Nixon Chief of Staff H.R. Hadelman wrote this about Nixon and Madman Theory in his book The Ends of Power:
I call it the Madman Theory, Bob. I want the North Vietnamese to believe I've reached the point where I might do anything to stop the war. We'll just slip the word to them that, "for God's sake, you know Nixon is obsessed about communism. We can't restrain him when he's angry—and he has his hand on the nuclear button" and Ho Chi Minh himself will be in Paris in two days begging for peace.
Totally sane and not at all dangerous. When nuclear arms are involved.
All of this brings this to the modern-day and Russian President Dictator Vladimir Putin.
Ever since the Russian War of Aggression in Ukraine started, Putin has been saber-rattling about a wider war with the west. The west has been very aggressive in supporting Ukraine with weapons, funds, food, and other assistance in direct combat. Additionally, the west is also imposing hefty sanctions on Russia and their puppets in Belarus aimed at the Russian economy.
Putin, theoretically, had to expect that was coming. But what he really fears is Russian combat troops in Ukraine having to fight western (particularly American) units and facing American air strikes and no-fly zones. And that’s why Putin has been making thinly veiled threats about nuclear conflict, including at one point putting Russian forces on high nuclear alert.
Now, normally I would just assume that this was Putin’s own version of madman theory. Make the west think that he might really use the bomb in order to get them to the negotiating table.
The problem with that line of thinking is that Putin may just be mad. For example:
It’s hard to imagine how anybody could take Putin seriously on this, at least outside of Russia. It’s like when a bully punches a kid in the face, the kid punches back to protect himself, and the bully cries to the teacher about getting hit.
But it’s also the same Putin who is trying to justify higher nuclear alert by claiming that Ukraine is trying to build a dirty bomb. Ukraine, the same country that had the third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and voluntarily gave them up.
Do I think that Putin wants this war to go nuclear? Hard to say. Do I think that Russian command and control will follow an order to go nuclear? No. Am I confident that the Russia’s nuclear capability can even operate given the decline of the Russian forces after the end of the Soviet Union? No. But if Putin truly is just a madman and not just playing a part, the odds things go south is a little higher. But not enough to make me lose sleep that night.
Nevertheless, might not hurt to brush up.
Our Fast Food Madness Bracket continues with the second round, which closes tonight. Don’t forget to vote!