It’s time to revisit why America started Connemara inspections

In 2005, when I first raised huge concerns about how the Connemara inspections process was taking shape in America — given that it seemed designed to eliminate certain bloodlines so inspectors’ own bloodlines could do better in the marketplace — ACPS board members pointed to Ireland as the reason for the creation of U.S. inspections.

Ireland was forcing America’s hand and making the country hold Connemara inspections if it wanted to be part of the international breed society, they said.

It didn’t matter that American breeders had done fine for half a century without Connemara inspections.

Ireland knew best, they said.

I was reminded of that argument in November 2012, as the U.S. elections process played out.

I realized there were many similarities between Ireland’s inspections requirement and Grover Norquist’s “no tax” pledge.

Grover Norquist is the founder of Americans for Tax Reform, which forced most of the GOP members of Congress and all but one 2012 Republican presidential candidate to sign a pledge not to raise taxes. Norquist used as leverage the fact that he would help re-elect anyone who signed his pledge and he would ensure the defeat of anyone who didn’t. Norquist argued that raising taxes would be bad for the country. He knew what was best for the country, and not raising taxes was best.

This pledge is largely responsible for the impasse in Washington, as Republicans have been left with no way to negotiate with the president on fiscal reform.

However, Norquist couldn’t deliver on his threat. As reported by ThinkProgress, about 80 Republican Senate and House candidates who signed the pledge failed to win their elections in 2012, and the 15 House Republican incumbents who lost re-election had all signed the pledge.

One has to wonder how Congressmen got duped into signing such a pledge in the first place?

In fact, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Georgia, who signed the pledge, has publicly expressed his regret.

“I think that you sent me to Washington to think for myself. And I want to vote the way you want me to vote,” Chambliss told a group of Republicans in Atlanta on Dec. 1, 2012, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I don’t want to be dictated to by anybody in Washington as to how I’m going to vote on anything.”

At least some Republicans are now willing to come clean on the error they made in signing the pledge and revisit what’s really good for this country.

How long will it take for the American Connemara society to do the same over Ireland’s inspections mandate?

How long until officials are willing to think for themselves?

Again, one has to wonder: What American breed society whose mission is to promote the breed would agree to be part of an international society whose one big requirement is a divisive, elitist, discriminatory bullying process? It’s certainly an interesting tactic for promoting a breed.