John Anderson, Perhaps The Ultimate "Spoiler"

Nil nisi bonum. Say nothing but good about the dead. It is a maxim I try to honor in all circumstances. And yet, I have not always done so. Some circumstances, for me, don't seem to justify applying it. And some people, in particular, don't seem to warrant it.  Consider the case of the recently-deceased John Anderson, a one-time Republican Representative from Illinois who is mostly remembered for his run as an independent presidential candidate against then-President Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

It is not entirely fair to remember Anderson exclusively for that campaign. He was a moderate-to-liberal Republican back in a now-almost-forgotten time when it was possible to be one and not be stormed by a crowd of people from within your own party armed with torches and pitchforks.  Although he was a fierce critic of Carter, he was also nevertheless capable of cooperating with him, as he showed when he supported Carter's grain embargo against the Soviet Union after that nation's invasion of Afghanistan.  And he was an early voice among Republicans in predicting doom for the party if it let its most extreme elements take it over--something that, sadly, he lived long enough to see happen.

But, no less sadly, he also enabled it to a significant degree with his presidential campaign.  He drew Democratic support away from Carter in a close and often volatile race--support that, had it been consolidated early in Carter's favor, might have helped him to run a more successful campaign against Reagan.  Reagan, ultimately, won with an enormous majority in the Electoral College, but a minuscule majority in the popular vote.  In truth, even with the deliberate effort by the Republicans to sabotage the election by delaying the return of the Iranian hostages, it was an election that Carter could have won.

And what a different world we might be living in if we had.  We would have had both sound fiscal and monetary policy.  Universal health insurance.  A steady stream of progressive accomplishments, without the bigotry and con artistry of the hard right, which might very well have ceased forever to be a major force in American politics.  And absolutely, positively, no Donald Trump in the White House.

Yes, hindsight is always 20-20, and their have been other opportunities over the years to derail the rise of the Republican extremism.  But, if not for Anderson, there would have been no need for those opportunities.  There would have been more positive ones--more opportunities to build a better America.

What was there to spoil, Mr. Anderson?  Plenty.  And you helped.  Rest in peace anyway.