The last few days … the reincarnation of Trent Lott, the rise of Murtha, etc., etc. … have cemented in my mind that anyone who has the remotest confidence in either of our major political parties has cement for brains. Forget the best and the brightest. The leadership of both parties is dominated by an almost willfully constructed collection of the dull, talentless and (often enough) corrupt. Most would be eminently unqualified for a real job that required serious education and, especially, creativityand original thought. Many aren’t even good at public speaking and communicatiing – that baseline second mother’s milk of politics. And here we are at one of the most critical passes in human history with a passel of Third World countries ruled by despots and religious fanatics about to obtain nuclear weapons (if they don’t have them already).
The big secret about the last election is that it didn’t matter who won – both sides stink. I’m serious. Our system is broken given the quality of leaders we have developed. Make fun of third parties, if you will, and tell me they never work, etc., etc., but then tell me, if you will, with a straight face, that the Democratic or Republican parties are doing a job worth preserving. (END OF RANT)
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20 Comments
1. James E. Griffin:Take a deep breath Roger. When things are going well, they’re never really going as well a you may think they are. Nor are things as gloomy as they seem in dark times. And I’m an Attila the Hun Republican in my late 40’s!
A dear political friend passed away not quite a year ago, at age 84. As a young man, early in WWII, he goes to England to combat flight school, from there he flys the Burma Hump, then B-25’s over Nazi Germany. Look up sometime how many pilots survived full tours of both. Imagine how many friends he saw die.
We used to talk about how bad it seemed to be in the 1930’s to the early/mid 1940’s. How those bad early days were almost necessary for later successes. And how freedom is NEVER free, and not more than one generation from extinction.
My friend came back from WWII, and took a small family business to a many times over multi-million dollar entity. Made himself and his family millions while providing a really good living for a number of very loyal employees. All the while he had a series of part time jobs. Something like 16 years on his home town city council, 18 years as mayor and then 28 years in the lower house in State government.
Married to his wife for 62 years, leaving children and grand children. He died in office, and to the end, was working on state budget reconciliation. To say the least, a life well lived. Someone who won the rat race many years ago, and still worked 16 hour days, on occasion, trying to make his section of the world a better place for everyone.
You never hear about these kind of businessmen politicians in the press now-a-days. I know a number of decent, hard working, political people from their 40’s to their 80’s, Republican and Democrat. The press isn’t interested in them.
Unlike some of my conservative friends, I know that all members of the screen writer’s guild are not completely devoid of any shred of human decency – that all screen writers are not intent upon the distruction of all that is worthwhile in our society. It’s the lounge lizards that get all the attention.
Have politicians let me down? Absolutely. I accept my friends for what they are, not for what I wished them to be. Have voters let me down from time to time? Oh Lord, YES. Do I get frustrated by Americans, who sometimes don’t think in terms of history? Yup. What happened three weeks ago is in the dim past; what happened 6 months ago is ancient history that can’t possibly have any bearing upon events of today.
And still, night follows the day, and then the sun comes up in the morning. Folks raise wonderful kids, and want their world to be a better place than they had themselves. The world goes on, and it’s up to us what we do with the time we’re given here.
Nov 15, 2006 - 9:13 pm 2. Roger:Well, I said it was a rant, James E. Griffin. Thanks for your post.
Nov 15, 2006 - 9:37 pm 3. ElMondo:” tell me, if you will, with a straight face, that the Democratic or Republican parties are doing a job worth preserving”
No. Cannot. Will not. Neither party comes close to adhering to the honorable ideals of public service and their own party’s sets of ideals, and have instead descended into the base practice of selfish politics.
There’s a line in Michael Shaara’s Civil War novel The Killer Angels uttered by a crusty, old, dependable (fictional) Irish private in the Union army: “I God damn all gentlemen”. This was the climax of a soliloqy about the arrogance and hypocracy epitomized by the aristocratic “gentlemen” of the south. Gentlemen whom he saw as having no better qualities than any other man, yet exalted themselves as superior citizens. He was damning the class he saw an antithetical to the promise of equality embodied in the then young nation.
Well, I God damn all politicians. I see them as antithetical to the noble aspects of the concept of public service. They embody selfishness, division, and hypocracy, all the while exhorting followers not to high ideals but rather base, unconstructive behavior and mindsets. Every time I feel charitable enough to give them a chance – as I did a few of your posts ago regarding several Democrats calling out Hugo Chavez – something else happens to once again shatter that charitable opinion.
Yet, what other option is there but to continue to hold politicians to high ideals and hope that someone truly embodying the virtues of public service comes along? And doesn’t get pulled down by the crab pot that is politics nowadays? Revolution as practiced in other countries is an utterly stupid course to take in a country where the governing class, no matter how disappointing they may be, is still truly beholden to the voting citizens. That’s simply not an option.
No, neither party is doing a job worth preserving. Yet, the institutions they poorly serve are still valuable. They just need to be put in the hands of real public servants. And that’s the voter’s jobs. Now, if only some real, honest, worthy candidates would come along…
Nov 15, 2006 - 9:50 pm 4. Lem:Pajamas Richard Minter’s interview of Hitchens the day and a few drinks after bear repeating in this discussion. http://tinyurl.com/ygqu6p
Around 2:35 into the interview Hitchens says “by all means stupid people should be represented” but not by stupid people (laughter) ..the genius of democracy is that thick people can vote the bright people in.”
Later at 3:00 min into the interview – Richard, “Last question don’t you think that bright people make politics worse? I mean nobody can mock up a country as much as a bright person can… energetic bright people are worst of all”
Hitchens “look I went.. to university with ahmm.. William Jefferson Clinton, who believes to be himself intelligent, is believed by many to be intelligent and isn’t stupid, but the pseudo intellectual is far worst than.. intelligent.. you are quite right. The problem with the pseudo intellectual is not what they don’t know, is what they do know that they (inaudible) didn’t say (?). Beware of the pseudo intellectual, above all beware of them. And yes, always prefer the simpleton to that, absolutely. And exercise your (indecipherable) accordingly.
Richard – “here here..” End of interview.
Hitchens is part right (I like a guy who doesn’t care much for PC) about the genius of democracy. The genius of OUR democracy is that it doesn’t take a genius for it to run.
BTW, I believe that the ephemeral equality of political correctness is a great deal to blame for the poor quality of characters we get to represent us.
We have something that the founders wanted to seemingly almost remove from our genetic make up. (I know – they didn’t put it that way) That is our predisposition for worship.
Much Washington is in autopilot partly out fear that it was going to take man and not “angels”.
Unchecked admiration turns into adoration and very quickly democracy is gone.
Look at Chaves present day in Venezuela.
Somebody said that the difficulty in finding out weather Germans have mended their ways laid in the fact that they passed laws against their past. We don’t know if in their hart of harts the present Germany is what they would have chosen.
Besides there is so much more rewarding things for bright folks to do – check this out.
http://tinyurl.com/y4agdk
Nov 15, 2006 - 10:13 pm 5. ricpic:Methinks our very need will summon forth a leader true. Mehopes.
Nov 15, 2006 - 11:10 pm 6. Terrye:At least Trent Lott is not a babbling idiot. He may not be what the bloggers want, but he is not Murtha. He was competent in his job. He said something stupid however, the real problem the bloggers have with him is that he does not kiss their butts when it comes to their little pork buster campaign. But he wins elections which is more than be said for Santorum.
Now for a rant of my own. I thought that the alternaive media would give a new perspective on things.. they would be more fair and more honest and while we all have biases of course, they would attempt to keep theirs in check.
Not so.
The number of blogs I read on a regular basis is a fraction of what it was 2 years ago. We no sooner got past the Harriet Miers heebie jeebies complete with vicious and childish personal insults than we went into the Dubai hsysterical paranoia breakdown {Bush is selling the ports to AlQaida!!!!!} to be followed by the my way or the highway folks on immigration who accomplished nothing in the last election except perhaps for the loss of hispanic vote for the GOP for ever and until the end of time.
And now the folks on the internet are picking leadership for the parties. Why just jump on Lott? Don’t forget to do a little character assasination of Mel Martinez too.
And now of course all the socalled self styled experts on the internet have decided that Bush and Blair are going to surrender to AlQaida, after having failed to sell US ports to them.
These self styled experts say they have inside information or something and they know what is in the wind. Bush will retreat. That bad bad man.
After all Bush has over the last few years always put political expediency ahead of national security now hasn’t he? No? Well there is always a first time says the pundits of cyber space and so let’s just jump in there and run with it.
I think the alternative media is every bit as disappointing as the two parties they are always judging.
end of rant.
Nov 16, 2006 - 3:36 am 7. Old Dad:Roger,
Agree for the most part. Murtha is awful. Lott is tainted, but at least there’s a rational explanation for his selection. He’s an insider, and knows how to fight dirty. It’s going to get dirty.
It plays badly in the press, though. It might have been smarter to nominate a fresh face who could be “mentored,” assuming that’s even possible.
Nov 16, 2006 - 8:01 am 8. stumbley:My feeling is that in order to return “public service” to the realm of politics, we need to ensure that politicians remain “public servants” by limiting their time in government. I’ve suggested that we amend the constitution to limit an individual’s ability to remain in government service to a term of 12 years *at all levels*. In other words, you can be a senator for 4 years, a representative for 4 years and vice president or president for 4 years, and *that’s it*. Eliminate the Strom Thurmonds, the Jesse Helmses, the Ted Kennedys and the Robert Byrds. One should not be able to spend a lifetime in government, as that tends to invite corruption and the feeling of invincibility, as incumbents are rarely defeated. And it reinforces the idea that you’re taking time out of an otherwise private life to perform a little “public service” before you return to that private life.
Nov 16, 2006 - 8:04 am 9. gordo:Hey Roger, things aren’t that bad. Look at the starting line-up of leaders: Harry Reid (Abramoff? don’t know him), Murtha (what’s an Abscam), Hastings (impeachment isn’t what it once was) Conyers (race isn’t everything) Waxman (hearings? what hearings?), Hillary (I’m going to shove healthcare reform down your throat and you’re going to like it), and Pelosi (this will be the most un-corrupt House ever)
You gotta love it
And on the Republican side its more of the same, guys who earned their stripes by being around long enough and paying their dues. There doesn’t appear to be any true leaders but at least we get, once again, to see Trent Lott’s helmet hair not move at all when interviewed outside on a windy day. Now that’s worth something.
Nov 16, 2006 - 8:04 am 10. Steven:I don’t think that the fact that there are some venal politicians means the system is “broken.” Human nature is pretty constant — there have always been venal politicans, and there always will be (just as there are corrupt and/or mediocre people in all occupations). But as James Griffin notes, there are also politicians who are honorable. Perhaps what has happened is that because of the greater availability of information these days, we are more aware of what goes on “behind the scenes” in politics almost instantly, instead of having to wait years or decades for someone to write about it in a biography or a history book, and some of it is not pretty. But I would venture a guess that politics today is really not that different from politics 50 or 100 or 150 years ago. We seem to muddle through nevertheless.
Nov 16, 2006 - 8:05 am 11. Steven Mitchell:Congress is a good reflection of the country–good, bad, and ugly. You want to tell me that the press (MSM or alternative), top to bottom, is any better or worse? How about education professionals? Boardrooms? Lawyers?
You want a simple way to improve the average nature of a politician across the board? Ban all politicians from television–including images in news reports. TV is a shallow medium, as it concentrates the mind on appearance–style not substance. If “electable” is limited to people that come across well on TV, then the pool of people isn’t big enough to produce a better Congress. The “State of the Union” was better when it was delivered in written form.
Now of course that will never happen. As George Will once said, banning all left turns would cut car accidents by almost 40%, but we’ll never do it–even though that would have a lot less costs than things we try in the hopes that they’ll reduce accidents by less than 1%.
We try to produce men without chests, then we complain when they have no courage.
Nov 16, 2006 - 8:06 am 12. Larry J:There’s a good reason why so many good people don’t want to get involved in politics. It can be summarized by this poster.
IMO, most people who are drawn to politics aren’t doing it for “public service” but for personal enrichment. These are the people who are otherwise lacking in almost every respect but who desire power over others.
When someone decides to enter public life, he’s opening himself to a media anal exam, especially if he’s conservative. Who in his right mind would want to put himself and his family through all that?
There are, of course, exceptions to by cynical view. Every now and then, someone who has actually lead a life outside of politics (e.g. Frist) enters the political sphere. They’re all too few and far apart, IMO.
Nov 16, 2006 - 9:14 am 13. Anthony (Los Angeles):Just a small update: The House Democrats came to their senses and elected Steny Hoyer Majority Leader over Jack “Retreat…er…redeploy to Okinawa!” Murtha.
Nov 16, 2006 - 9:55 am 14. clarice:It is a tribute to the rich opportunities available elsewhere that the best and brightest eschew political careers, and, frankly, we are the better for it.
Nov 16, 2006 - 10:35 am 15. leilani:As for Lott, c’mon, with alley fighters like Schumer on the other side it would be suicidal not to have a wheeler dealer in this slot.
Roger:
I once heard a political science professor at the University of Vermont expound on the beauty of the thinking of the Founding Fathers when they designed the Federal gov’t.
The Founding Fathers according to this professor, wanted a system that couldn’t become too powerful. A system that couldn’t overcome the will of the people. A system that would be slow to regulate and clumsy when it did.
They set up a system that would guarantee lots of in-fighting between the branches and a certainty of gridlock.
I laugh every time I look at the gaggle of politicans we have collected in Washington.
The real work in the world gets done by people in the “real” world–the private sector.
Nov 16, 2006 - 10:35 am 16. heather:further to the Trent Lott pick: I was disappointed too, that Steele was not chosen to front for the RNC. HOWEVER. This is politics, people. Steele did not make much of a dent in the Black/AfricanAmerican vote. And, the future lies with the Hispanic Vote. The Republicans lost the Black vote in the 1960s. When did they lose the Jewish vote? Was it during the 1930s, when FDR was running things?
Anyway, you can be sure that losing a group’s votes lasts for GENERATIONS. So, give Bush & etc some slack here. They don’t want the Hispanics to be lost in the far green pastures of the Democrats.
Thus that Martinez fellow, a self made guy.
And Give Politicians some credit, too. They are in a game with its own rules and standards and necessities. Believe it or not, just because we are smart doesn’t mean we know anything about that particular art form.
Nov 16, 2006 - 11:38 am 17. Carl Spackler:I was speaking to a legislator that represented me and that I liked. We were talking about some environmental regulations that were expensive, wide spread and totally without scientific evidence. The regulation was being pushed by the agency itself, which gave funds to private environmental groups to push for the rule. I pointed out to the legislator that the agency was advocate, legislator, judge and jury. That it was also through the new rule, raising itís own budget by fees and permits. I said this was totally against the Constitution to have all governmental power in one body. He agreed but said it was impossible for free, elected citizens as legislators to know and run government.
The citizens say that government doesnít listen and represent them. Citizens serving as elected officials agree.
We now have a system so large, so complex, and so thirsty for taxes that each day it is less and less under any elected officials control.
Letís be real here folks, why would an intelligent, normal person enter such an environment? We are riding this trend line to its conclusion.
Nov 16, 2006 - 2:38 pm 18. heather:Carl Spackler is absolutely correct. For example, in my neck of the woods: a fella, one of the few independent businessmen, makes log homes. Going through the local red tape (the bureaucracy looking after Forestry is Environmentalist to the core, meaning Leave the Forest as Primeval, you dirty businessman!!!), the guy finally made a deal with one of the First Nations governments (we have those too) and went into the Forest Primeval and cut down some trees.
Now, the Enviro Bureaucrats knew what to do: they hired machines, built a track into the forest, took possession of the logs, and charged the poor entrepreneur the costs of all this. Now it is in court, so no one can help the poor fellow.
As it happens, the elected representative in charge of Forestry could not prevent this from happening. Why? It was all done between Friday and Monday, by mid level zealots (govt bureaucrats) on their own steam. By Monday, the thing is in court, there to remain, and driving one of the few businesspeople into bankruptcy.
There are other stories, too. Spackler is right. Look at the Iraqi situation. Bush’s policies, OK’d by the Public Citizenry, have been effectively undermined by the bureaucrats in the CIA and State, who have found their allies in the MSM.
Nov 16, 2006 - 3:45 pm 19. Barrett:It is true that both parties have let their consituents, their parties and the country down. I posted one of my rants about a week ago.
Stumbley’s version of term limits (and term limits in general) only make sense if you have term limits on staff. Otherwise, you would have permanent staff making the decisions for figurehead elected officials.
The larger and more complex the government gets, the more it will consume of everything. The conservative values of smaller government, fiscal restraint, less regulation, support for the entrpreneur and small business people, personal freedom, personal responsibility, lower taxes, a strong national defense and the rule of law (versus legislation from the bench) are brilliant in the positive consequences brought to millions.
This is what America needs and not entitlements and dependency on government. What we need are leaders who understand, can articulate the vision and understand that they are there to serve the people and not the other way around.
That is why character, regardless of one’s politics, is the first diligence item. When voter’s look for entitlements, folks who promise the dole regardless of its value or impact are already compromised. Corruption is not far behind. So we get Abscam Jack. I just got Menendez in New Jersey, who is under federal investigation for corruption. Voter’s need to demand better.
Nov 16, 2006 - 8:27 pm 20. syn:This is what happens when middle-of-the-road moderates control the vote, they muddle the message with meaningless platforms in order to attract either side of the political aisle.
Conservatives (not Republicans) believe in the indomitable American spirit while Democrats (not Liberals)believe in extinguishing the light on the shining hill. Moderates sit on the side lines waiting for whoever is the winner. Unfortunately, after the death of JFK the Left came along and viciously pounded upon all of America with its Hollywoodized images of ‘fake but accurate’ reality-based insanity so the moderates choose that victor in order to feel like champions.
Stalin’s useful idiot really swayed the moderate voter this time around.
Nov 21, 2006 - 4:46 am