"The news of the day after the Michigan Republican primary is not so much how Rick Santorum blew his chance to slow down Willard Romney by insulting working class people in an attempt to insult the President (do you know anybody who does not want an opportunity for college for her children?).

The news is Olympia Snowe’s exit from her lonely post as sane Republican representing the state of Maine, and her parting statement where she committed a terrible sin in the current environment. She told the truth.

I implore progressive young people, Indian and non, to understand that Snowe’s sanity did not used to be so odd.

Indian policy proceeds in a trajectory independent of the left and right divide in American politics, but that does not make the divide irrelevant to Indian interests. It just means tribal leaders have to assert our interests government-to-government no matter who is in power and it’s probably wise to reserve our bloc voting to the efforts against overt Indian fighters like former Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA)."

Get the Story:
Steve Russell: The Opposition Is Not the Enemy (Indian Country Today 3/8)

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