In football a “counter play” is one where the offense feints as if it is running the ball to one side but actually hands it to a running back that goes to the other or counter side. The defensive players are fooled into reacting for the wrong point of attack thus leaving them out of position and vulnerable at the real location of the offense’s focus. It’s just like politics in America….too many feints, fakes and wrong-way moves while the citizens play defense. In their public pronouncements and campaign material during a primary, Democrat politicians often conjure up the socialist nirvana for their multiple constituencies. When they take office after bribing the voters with candy and promises, they bust their guts to implement their domestic policy dreams and continue the foreign policy of the Republicans.
The GOP, on the other hand, generally finds its candidates in the primaries running much further right than their natural inclinations or political history would suggest. After securing the nomination, the typical Republican makes an abrupt move to the indefinable “middle” in an attempt to win the favor of “independent voters.” It’s as if their model of the electorate looked something like this:
LEFT-----------------------------IND.------------------------------Right
In reality, voter attitudes and preferences follow this model more closely:
LEFT—ind—ind—ind—ind—IND—ind—ind—ind—ind—RIGHT
The so-called independent voters represent a continuum across the artificial spectrum of voter preferences and “leanings.” The tendency toward increased collectivism in our country tends to cluster nonpartisans into the great amorphous middle rather than understanding that many self-identified independent voters may find that their attitudes and beliefs are “right” on some issues, “left” on others and indifferent about the remainder. It follows, therefore, that the anointed “conservative” does not have to veer sharply to the center (which by the way has been moving leftward for the past 100 years) to secure a majority or decisive plurality of votes. So…why do it?
The answer is simple. Most career Republican politicians are centrists (meaning slightly left) or statists. They BELIEVE in big government solutions for nearly every problem faced by humankind. They want to be the Candy Man who delivers the magical elixir to the miserable people. They want to be known as the problem solver who banished the pain from the downtrodden and consequently earns a bronze statue in the capitol city that is a resting and roosting place for pigeons.
Please remember that most politicians are not demolition experts. They want to “fix” things while becoming beloved statesmen. Candidates who compete as ones who would severely curtail and reduce government are branded as “unrealistic,” “radical,” and “extreme.” In essence, despite public outcries for smaller government, those who propose such actions are summarily marginalized and defeated by others who use “counter plays” to deceive the voters. My sense is that many of the voters are not truly deceived. They are fearful of the heavy burden of doing what must be done to save our Republic. So they pretend to be fooled and play along with the big government statists. In their minds…many Americans are constitutionalists, but in their guts and their hearts they willingly accept the statist dream. Self delusion is risky, but when it negatively impacts an entire nation and our progeny, it is dangerous.
Having observed voter behavior for decades (I did my graduate school research in influences on “voter choices.”), I am convinced that most ignorance is self-imposed, and voter rhetoric is often at odds with a voters internalized attitudes. I had hoped that the burgeoning Tea Party-Liberty movement would reconcile the disconnection between beliefs and behavior, but so far, the impact has been minimal. Certainly some new leaders have risen to forge a new pathway for citizens to match their actions with their mindsets, but the numbers are too few and their understanding of constitutional limits is at odds with their preferences for government involvement. They do talk a good game, but when a favored government policy is shown to be starkly unconstitutional, they resort to personal preferences rather than constitutional principles as their guiding compass.
So, while we may be distressed by career politicians who fake right, then go left, we should recognize that our astute public servants are copying the motives and desires of their constituents. Just as the priest or the pastor cannot secure our personal salvation, our politicians cannot restore our Republic as long as voters are not firmly and adamantly rooted and committed to constitutional governance. Talk right, desire left is the unspoken internal mantra of too many citizens. We cannot hold our politicians accountable if we ourselves are unwilling to toe the line and walk the walk. I’ve been laughed at and derided for my support of Ron Paul because of his “wacky” foreign policy. But if the pseudo-constitutionalists among us were truly devoted to the restoration of that document, we would march in the streets …. insisting that Congress declare war before launching troops into harm’s way. THAT IS CONSTITUTIONAL. I have absolutely no doubt that Dr. Paul would use the full power of the U.S. military if the Congress authorized it through a declaration of war. If we find that requirement too difficult, then I suggest that a constitutional amendment is in order.
Along with many of my fellow citizens, I deplore the fact that our Constitution has become a prop for politicians who give it mere lip service. Our domestic affairs are a shambles because we have blatantly ignored the wisdom of the Founders and the Framers and so too are our foreign affairs. It’s time for all of us to play it straight with no more right fakes and left runs.
Comment: cearlwriting@hotmail.com
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