Goodnight, Socialist Dermot Cole, wherever you are

By
Suzanne Downing
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28
443

(Editor’s note: This column ran in the Fairbanks NewsMiner after an especially lively exchange between the Brothers Cole (Dermot and Terrence) and the author. It’s too good to not share.)

By RICHARD RANDOLPH

This will be my last response to columnist Dermot Cole’s out-of-context exaggerated name-calling, cherry-picking misrepresentations and attempts at character assassination. I did not accuse him of crimes against humanity. I did point out that the beliefs he articulated and appears to support have resulted in undeniable crimes against humanity.

My political and economic philosophies and stands on the issues are well known and based on the fact that I was elected four times by my friends and neighbors in the Fairbanks area to the Alaska Legislature, the last time with the highest vote total in Fairbanks.

Shucks, if I was the guy Dermot represents me to be, I would not support myself. But, fortunately, when I look in the mirror and contemplate who I am, I sleep very well.

I have reread the article that Dermot referred to and had others do likewise, and we can find no insulting personal attacks on Dermot or his brother. I do refer to Dermot as having socialistic beliefs and that those kinds of beliefs, when adopted by governments, have led to much human suffering.

I do believe that history verifies that fact, as the examples I gave substantiate. If Dermot finds being referred to as a socialist insulting, I’m sorry, so I hope he will enlighten me as to why that is not the case or, if he agrees it is an accurate description, why he would be insulted.

It is obvious that we do have very different beliefs and views of the world. Dermot seems to believe in democratic socialism and I in individual freedom, responsibility and free markets. I suggest we bury the hatchet and going forward focus on more meaningful and productive discussions of the important issues facing we Alaskans. I will enthusiastically debate the issues but have not and will not stoop to the misleading insulting out-of-context attacks he employed against me, most recently in his tirade printed in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on April 16.

Disagreeing on issues and substance and forcefully stating a case is entirely appropriate, impugning one’s character and veracity is not — and, as I said, I do not believe I have participated in so doing. I will continue to defend my beliefs and discuss and promote issues and positions that I believe will create a happier environment for individual Alaskans.

Going forward I will be committed to positive dialogue and presentation of issues and diligently strive to present positive solutions to Alaska challenges as I see them to be and avoid any personal commentary. I sincerely hope Dermot can commit to the same.

Richard “Dick” Randolph moved to Alaska in 1960 and lives in Fairbanks, where he owns and operates an insurance business. He served in the Alaska Legislature as a Republican from 1970-74 and as a Libertarian from 1978-82. Most recently he was special adviser for constitutional reform during Gov. Michael Dunleavy’s transition into office.

28 COMMENTS

  1. Dermot is a partisan entertainer. About as intelligent and as serious of a journalist as Shannyn Moore. I’d consider that very derogatory but it he would consider it a high compliment.

  2. Suzanne

    Is it possible to provide links to the whole exchange? It would be an interesting read.

    Thanks!

  3. The Democrat Cole “troll brothers” work in tandem. See Terrence Cole article in Fairbanks Newsminer today, May 10, 2019, as he takes the reins from brother Dermot for another quick spin over the golden path of Dick Randolph. Terrence gives his “last lectures” to support brother Dermot. The dying living in defense of the living dead played out in print media. Has anyone told the “troll brothers” that Marxism doesn’t work in the United States of America? And while the “troll brothers” have made a public living over the past 45 years eschewing capitalism and freedom, their “living” had obviously taken a physical toll on both of them. Two old men with deep-rooted connections to the UA system and Alaska’s second major daily making one last pitch to choke off the legendary Dick Randolph. One can only hope that the little dwarfs run out of ink and last lectures very soon, so the rest of us can enjoy our lives and be liberated from the past 45 years of extreme partisan rants, rage, lies, deceipt, and angry noise that has shaped the Cole’s miserable lives. The two little outsiders who know not what it means to be truly Alaskan.

    • This sounds better than cage match wrestling. The mighty Democrat midgets v. the Liberator. Two against one. Pay for view up in Fairbanks and at the Carlson Center. Bring your wheelchairs, walkers, and jousting sticks. Winner take all. Capitalism at its best. Only one survivor allowed. VIP section at ringside. Let the fight begin!

      • Randolph used to be a prize fighter back in his day. No stranger, he, to a good fisticuffs.
        The Coles dont look too well even at 20 years Randolph’s junior. Randolph by identical knockouts in Round 1. Get the smelling salts ready. The Coles will need strong whiffs.

  4. I have known Dick for many, many years. As his latest article reveals, he is an honorable man. He cares about his community. He debates points and argues for his beliefs with rancor, foul language or name calling. Do the Brothers Cole do the same. Not what I have seen in this and other circumstances where they have opined on other issues and other Alaskans.

    • Terrence Cole has taught History Revisionism to young college freshmen since the 80’s. Identical twin Dermot writes almost exclusively for Fairbanks Lefties. Neither are good speakers. Both twitchy and nervous types. Not really good writers either. They have published books, but sales are limited to partisan Democrats and unassuming tourists. Terrence received some TV play years ago. Odd looking fellow and terrible in front of the camera. It was a show about cemeteries. He stated that he was immortal and would never die. Odd statement coming from a guy in an end stage medical state. But Democrats will say anything to push their partisan agenda.

      • Let’s be a little nicer, please. Many writers have raged in their own way, fighting the demons of alcohol.

      • Terrence taught me HISTORY when I was 50 years old. And Dermot taught me about the CBC., Fairbanks and Alaska. Thank you Brothers. Go to college.

        • All you need to know from the Coles:
          Democrat = gooooood.
          Republican = baaaaaad.

          I disguised myself as a Democrat in Cole’s history class and got an A+.

          • Joker, that’s a classic! Shh…you have now exposed exactly how to graduate Summa cum laude in the UA System! I was only cum laude (only faked the funk half the time) 🙂

          • Garnet, …. summa or magna, who cares. The Cole bros are pretty well branded as extreme partisans of the Left. Its hard to tell them apart. I saw them together once and swear to god they both started scratching their ears at the same time. Goofiest thing I ever saw. Dermot is best friends with a bottle and should be visiting a man we know as Bill. Terrence reminds me of an old Quaker with suspenders and a mop of white hair under a baseball cap. It was very hard for me to address him as Dr. Cole in History class, because I gamed him for good grades using the oldest trick in the book. I bought all of his books and kept them near me in class. Even got them autographed. After I got my A+, I started working on George W. Bush’s campaign for Prez in 2000. Thanks for the memories and the laughs. UAF is full of idiot professors.

  5. In an all-out effort to be as objective as I can be, I layed the Dermot and Terrence Cole articles side-by-side with the Dick Randolph article. (Thanks to Suzanne for providing). Randolph, who has made his living selling insurance, makes his points with clarity and logical construction. His is an easy read. By contrast, the Cole brothers have writing styles that are confusing, disjointed, and lacking in clarity. Very difficult to read and follow along. One Cole was a college professor, and the other a career writer. I really don’t know what these elderly Cole brothers are still trying to prove, but their strained and incomprehensible writing styles speaks volumes about the institutions that granted them degrees…..I presume the UAF? Have there been studies as to the dysfunctional writings of educated identical siblings?

  6. No explanation was necessary, Mr. Randolph.
    .
    Apparently you schooled Fairbanks’ version of the Dynamic Duo and did a bloody fine job of it.
    .
    Wipe the rhetorical floor with not one, but two, of Fairbanks’ Finest, that means you won.
    .
    That means you don’t have to explain or justify anything.
    .
    Well, sharing a few pointers on DWI’s (Dealing With Idiots) might be helpful.
    .
    Good job, sir.

  7. If one ever feels the need for a dose of caustic vitriol, simply visit Must Read Alaska and read the words of its author and those that comment.

    • Warren, apparently you are another Lefty who chooses, not balance, but rather institutionalized, propaganda and partisan hatred. Did you ever sit in one of Terrence Cole’s UAF history classes? Do you have to read the endless flow of hatred and nastiness coming through Dermot Cole’s writings in the Newsminer? How the general public has put up with their crap and partisan hatred for 40 years is just unbelievable. Sounds like you are in the propagandist’s camp.
      Suzanne and MRAK is only part of the antidote to the misery caused by the Cole brothers. The cure is around the corner and coming soon.

          • I do so rarely… and only when I need a reminder of the deep toxicity that can creep into civil, rational dialogue about Alaska politics.

          • For real toxicity, look no further than Dermot and Terrence Cole’s opinion pieces. Thanks for contributing to MRAK, Warren.

          • Even for old Lefties, Terrence Cole’s last lectures are beginning to drag out. Lots of twitching, scratching, and nervous pacing up at the lecturn when Cole lectures. No one even understands what Cole’s lectures are about. Why don’t we just have a last supper and call it good and done?

    • Daily dose of caustic vitriol flushes the innards of self-importance, no?
      .
      Therapeutic when our Left indulge…
      .
      Toxic when our non-Left indulge…
      .
      Downing’s Deputies, nemesis of our Left, can’t be silenced or, apparently, even ignored.
      .
      Now that’s power.

    • Cole’s LAST SUPPER sounds good. Corn beef and hash, cayenne pepper for stinging flavor. Washed down with two quarts of whiskey. That oughta
      keep the Cole’s stomachs gurgling and their minds off of Lefty speak, at least until the next reincarnation.

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