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Politics as usual — Elitism, or corruption?
By Roger Haley
Contributor
Published October 16, 2009
After years of watching our lawmakers in action, I’ve come to the conclusion that many, if not most, of them are either elitists ... or just plain corrupt.
Why is it the Democrats can be pushing a good idea, and the Republicans, in lockstep, refuse it? If the Repubs have a good bill, the Dems, again in lockstep, oppose it. Can these people not see what may be good for the country? Does every Democrat or Republican have exactly the same ideas and beliefs as every other?
My thinking? They are so concerned with party support for their re-election that they don’t dare break ranks. To me, this is corrupt in that they care, not for the people, but only for their careers and perks. Why can’t they vote for a bill that most Americans support, instead of trashing it and following the party line?
So, in addition to the corruption of the mind by failing to pay taxes, doing unethical favors, taking money and gifts from lobbyists whom they know they’ll have to repay in some way, and generally failing those who vote for them, our representatives also suffer from corruption of the soul. They ignore the wishes and needs of the people they supposedly represent in favor of their own, and the party’s, agenda. They answer our questions with form letters, if at all, and most Dems now refuse to have town hall type meetings. They don’t want to be questioned because they don’t have the answers, only the sound bites they’ve been fed.
Our Congress has allowed the previously hallowed halls to become a cesspool of unethical behavior. They no longer condemn or boot out people with obvious ethics violations; they fight for them. Look at the Charlie Rangel mess. He “forgot” to report hundreds of thousands in property and income to the IRS, and to the Congress. Not only is he not being censured, the Dems are fighting to keep him in his favored chairmanship. OK, don’t condemn the man before he’s convicted but, since you all know he’s guilty as hell, demote him. Do something to show that character has some value there on the mighty Hill. Will they? Nope. Politics as usual.
Our new White House isn’t clean either. They’ve had to issue “ethical waivers” to some of their key people. I don’t want them in my house if they need an ethical waiver, much less in my government. Just what’s going on? Ask yourself, and then ask your Congress.
If it’s not corruption, then it’s elitism. They are just smarter, better educated, richer, or generally wiser than we peons. They know what’s best for us; we don’t. They have to take care of us, just as we do our farm animals. They have different rules and laws than we do. They deserve our respect, not the other way around. The picture of a smug Democrat congresswoman telling a much-decorated general to call her “senator, not ma’am” because she worked hard to get where she is. Did he not? Did she see battle? Did she see men die in the cause of freedom? Did she spend months away from her family and friends in order to serve her country? People aren’t born as generals; they go through a lot more than she could even imagine to gain their stars. Yet she, the elitist senator, had the temerity to rebuke him on camera. How dare she!
You see it over and over again. The likes of Chris Dodd, with his sweetheart mortgages; Barney Frank, with his ... well, look it up ... run out of his apartment, all of them just blithely go on their way while Congress looks the other way and idiots keep reelecting them. That’s right, idiots. I blame them as much as anyone. They just keep on voting for the incumbent, or the party, totally ignoring the person and their character. Well, they get what they deserve, but the rest of us must also live with their choices. That’s sad.
What’s the answer? Are people who seek office just naturally corrupt? No. What happens to them between the first campaign and the next? Is it the rarified air in DC? Do the party leaders force them to change? Is it the threat of the party backing another candidate, or the lust for power? How do we, the people, fix it?
I’d say toss them all out, but that will never happen. We’d likely toss the few good ones and the idiots would re-elect the bad. The only solution I can see is term limits. Sure, some good people would go, but the majority would more likely do the right thing if they knew they could not be re-elected, and the party power brokers would not have that hammer to hang over them. That would also curb some of the corruption since none would need millions in a campaign fund when their terms were up. Two terms for senators, three for the House. That gives them twelve years and allows enough overlap to have senior, knowledgeable people there at all times. A senator’s second term could then be used to work for the people instead of re-election. How sweet that would be.
Will this happen? I doubt it. Too many people just don’t care enough to demand it, and we would have to demand it. I mean 75 percent of us, not 51 percent. Maybe then, just maybe, we could take our country back.
“Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” (Credited to both Lord Canton and Lord Acton)
Roger Haley, a regular contributor to The Paris News is retired from the U.S. Navy and lives in Lamar County.
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