During this debt ceiling debate America has had a good, long look at its elected representatives. It seems as though every TV news channel has been running with this story around the clock for weeks. It has revealed the deep fissure that exists between Democrats and Republicans, but within both Parties as well.
Politicians, TV talking heads and people on Main Street all over America are talking about bipartisanship. I have pointed out that the word and the concept are basically inoperative in today’s America. The divisions in this country are so severe that efforts to achieve bi-partisanship simply can not succeed.
There is no way for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party leadership to work with Republicans to resolve the economic ills that afflict this nation. Obama can’t satisfy his radical leftist supporters because he is not implementing their agenda. Republicans in Congress are in the same predicament with the conservatives in the Party, who are certainly not pleased with the notion of making concessions to Democrats.
It has become clear that “Establishment” Republicans view conservative Tea Party” Republicans with animosity. GOP leaders like John Boehner, John Kyle, and Mitch McConnell, among others, have been in Washington for decades. They are constantly chastised by President Obama and the Democratic hierarchy for being stubborn and unwilling to make any concessions.
In fact these Republicans were working with the Democrats. After at least three weeks of back and forth accusations they came up with a deal. From a public relations perspective it was great. Politicians and pundits were pointing out that neither Party got everything it wanted. That means that it was an example of bi-partisanship. It was just what we all wanted, wasn’t it? It is the flavor of the day.
Unfortunately for all of us, the politicians are involved in their own game. Tax payers do not know what that game really is. Most politically informed people understand that a politician’s total commitment is to getting reelected. In fact even the most moral and committed elected official must be in office to achieve the goals of their constituents. The problem is the gradual and escalating degeneration of American culture and the corruption that has become an integral part of the American political process. Especially the corruption of the entrenched political class the Founders warned us against.
They will say that they were elected to represent their constituents. The problem is in the way that they interpret that task. The politicians raid the public treasury and send tax dollars back to their districts. The voters are appreciative and vote them back into office. Multiply the cost to tax payers of a single member of Congress by the 100 Senators and 435 members of the House of Representatives. Both Parties have siphoned trillions of dollars from tax payers. It is not good form to say it, but the system is corrupt.
America has just experienced the first lowering of its credit status in history. It is sickening me to see politicians fighting tooth and nail to hold on to the time honored tradition of stealing from the tax payers to buy votes.
The Founding Fathers warned against the effect of a political class on the survival of this democratic republic. They predicted that the American experiment would fail if professional politicians became a part of the equation. Today it is obvious that they were correct.
Many intelligent and honorable citizens are elected to political positions. They enter office with a genuine desire to work in the interest of those who voted for them. They are immediately confronted with the reality of what is expected and required of them. It may take a while, but they soon realize that the system they have accessed in good faith is corrupt. It took a long time, with the seniority accrued by politicians in “safe” districts, for the system to become what it is today.
The Founders knew that human beings are flawed. While there are many idealistic and honest freshman legislators who win elections there are also far too many unscrupulous, immoral schemers who gravitate toward the power and wealth derived from what is often euphemistically described “public service.”
The Founders pointed out that America could not survive without moral leaders in government. American culture has degenerated. Morally deficient politicians are regularly involved in scandals. They reflect that degeneration. To the schemers morality is an unknown concept. America is at a crossroad. If this system is not changed the nation can not survive. The fact that our political leaders have bankrupted the country means that their vote buying must come to a screeching halt. There is no more money to steal.
Gene Williams
Editor
The First Edition |
