Fake Right, Go Left

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.

http://youtu.be/zRf1Ad_Txsg

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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The Big Tent Myth

Each of the dinosaur political parties claims to promote a “big tent” philosophy.  Following their primary and caucus battles for the nomination, they scramble to the “center” to appeal to a broad sector of the American electorate. The flaming lefty Democrats attempt to appear more sane and reasonable, and the great Republican Establishment wants to be viewed as more “compassionate” and “inclusive.” If they were selling breakfast cereal, The Federal Trade Commission would cite them both for fraud and misrepresentation. Historically, two major parties have contended for the hearts and minds of the United States’ voters, and the Republicans and Democrats have dominated the political scene for the past 156 years. There have been attempts by third parties to crack the vise-grip hold of the two parties, but their efforts have altered outcomes without winning the elections.

On a superficial level there seems to be some logic behind the “big tent” mentality. After all a nation of 312 million people is difficult to govern without a consensus, so broadening the party’s appeal to reach a significant portion of the electorate seems to be a valid formula for legitimacy. The problem, however, is that the effort to reach a large portion of the population dilutes the message and purpose of each respective party. They transform from a robust meal of solid menu selections to a one-item fare of gruel. Both of the traditional parties play the game in such a fashion that their gruel offerings are very similar. The only detectable difference is that each type of gruel has a somewhat varying consistency. One grows the size of government geometrically, and the other a tad bitter slower.

The attempt to “be all things” to the most people leads to the erosion of philosophy, principles and standards as the guiding directives for a party. Some of the parties’ central beliefs are diluted to widen their appeal, and other planks are added to attract specific demographic groups in the country. All in all the result is that the two parties surrender their basic core values and become caricatures of themselves and near carbon copies of one another. The strategic efforts to erect the big tent often come down to a serendipitous event, an exposed scandal or a subtle shift in the economy as deciding factors for the peoples’ choosing one party or the other. The big tent approach results in voters not having a true clear choice between the two oligarchic parties. Their decisions are based upon false data and perceptions that are driven by highly-paid marketing and advertising experts. The “big tent” is in essence a big corral as the peoples’ choices and opportunities are limited by the two parties’ simultaneous attempts to convince the mushy middle and the special interests to give them power.

The stratagem employed by the two old parties begs the question: can a party with a strong principled foundation attract enough voters to be viable? Are principles, standards and strong beliefs possible in a nation as large and as diverse as the United States of America? Do strong positions that are based on unchangeable principles cause many voters to be wary and suspicious of the party that promotes them? Or are we condemned to our inevitable slide toward more government control over our lives……a form of socialism or fascism? By continually appealing to a mythical middle and governing via soft tyranny, the desire for bold action or the firm restoration of first principles is thwarted. Minor advances or retreats are hailed as great victories by both parties, and the people know it’s all a mirage. Indecision and cowardice replace morality and principles as the attributes of our “best’ political leaders. We lose sight of what really matters and endorse politicians who can “win.” By living so willingly under the big tent, we lose our view of the horizon.

When the herd is gathered under the “big tent,” true leadership will break from the herd and forge a new direction for freedom. The big tent forces each of us to conform to the assumed will of all the others. In reality the big tent creates a false consensus because we believe that others wish to be there too, and their desires are met under the big top. More probably, each of us yearns to grow, to develop and live in our own fashion without arbitrarily being identified as just like everyone else under the tent. The big tent smothers originality, creativity and individual liberty. The big tent is nothing more than a control mechanism to convince us to submit our own preferences to those of the group….the collective, the society and government. The larger the tent the smaller the opportunity is for individual fulfillment. Big tents create a national consensus that is miles wide, but has no depth or no core. I prefer to live in my own tiny tipi and to not be a burden for my neighbors. Save the big tents for the circus….that’s where the clowns are.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

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Friday Fish Fry

Fish on Friday

Today we are featuring a little lighthearted political analysis. By using several species of North American fish we’ll attempt to describe some of the partisan players in the current political scene. On a “scale” of one to two, this column is probably a one.

Generic Identifications:

Blowfish: The prime identifier for all career politicians, aka the ruling elites.

Sucker: Universal fish-type definition for citizens who continue to support and elect career politicians.

Largemouth Bass: Identifies all politicians who covet face time and airtime, and believe that they have something worthwhile to communicate.

Grouper: A class of voter that refuses to engage in individual thought. They prefer to follow the group. They usually choose to vote for “winners” even if their candidate has no scruples, no principles or no integrity. They often are highly partisan Kool-Aid drinkers. Another class of grouper is the “swing voter.” They generally lack conviction and tend to vote en masse for the front runner.

Eel: another identifier for career politicians. Slippery and elusive could describe the eel and the pols who refuse to serve us, but want us to obey and serve them.

Republican Fish:

Jelly Fish: Do I have to explain this? Mitch McConnell, John Boehner and a host of others, too many to name. These folks have an amazing capacity for quivering when resolve is needed….for caving when commitment is necessary, and for stammering stupidly when an issue or a policy must be clearly articulated.

Flounder: Whenever a Republican encounters something that requires a principled stand, they squirm and flounder. This fish is an apt descriptor for the great GOP initiatives to restore Constitutional government, limit federal spending, and downsize the federal monstrosity. They founder, flounder and flail…only to ultimately fail.

Great White Shark: Sharks eat the little fish, and the Republicans consume their supporters. They use their energy, their money and their hopes then burn them again and again. The Great White was chosen for the GOP because African Americans routinely give 90-95% of their votes to the Democrats.

Yellow Perch: In addition to the color reference about the line down the back of most GOP politicians, the perch is where you’ll find them as they wait for public opinion to consolidate before taking a somewhat, almost gelatinous position on an issue involving principle. As they squat on their perches testing the wind and reading the polls, they continue to pronounce their amazement and dissatisfaction with how the “other party” has gone about capturing the talking points. The longer the yellow-spined GOP spends on their perches, the more irrelevant they become.

Democratic Fish:

Hammerhead Shark: This shark, too, eats the little critters, but as the name implies, is too hard headed to see reality when it appears. This species continues to consume the nation’s resources without any honest consideration for the future.

Crappie: Descriptive term for most Democrat programs. Massive spending, minimal results but with the expansion of the dependency class and the bureaucracy as primary goals. This fish can also be used to illustrate most of the rhetoric from Democrats and their leaders.

Flathead Catfish: As in the catfish that swallowed the canary. Democrats traditionally act as if they know something that the rest of us do not. Their heads are flat because they pound them against the wall of real life. Democrats are smug and stupid.

Bullhead: I feel somewhat guilty attributing this fish to Democrats alone because any non-wavering partisan could qualify. Democrats earned the honor because of their unwavering devotion to big government even as we are swimming toward disaster. I grudgingly admire their commitment, but absolutely loathe their programs and their philosophy.

Summary:

Fish stink when they rot.

Comments:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com   or   www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Dancing with Despair

This column begins with the tale of two readers. The first asked me to write a letter to our political officeholders that could be copied and sent to those at all levels of government. I told him that I would do that for today, but my second reader and friend asked me if I were feeling alright because my recent columns seemed to be rather despairing. So, I’ve decided to address the issue of my apparent disillusionment before I compose the universal letter of condemnation. I am fighting an oppressive sense of despair about the state of our nation.

As many of you may know, I was an activist with the Republican Party for more than 40 years. I was a central committee person, executive committee member, YR officer and organizer, TAR adviser, campaign manager, campaign consultant, contributor to candidates, state and national parties, Senate and House campaign committees, attendee at National Conventions, state conventions, attended a two-week training session for future party leaders, served as a candidate for office and as a State Representative. In other words, my GOP bona fides are ironclad. It is with sadness that I note that what we are currently witnessing in Washington and in the states around the country is symbolic of why I left the party in 2004. Our nation, I believe, is on the brink. Our liberty becomes increasingly imperiled. Our property rights are being trashed or ignored. Our fiscal integrity has been compromised beyond recovery in my lifetime…or perhaps forever. So, what is the GOP doing? Offering plans for a 25-year glide path…assuming Congress will follow anything for more than two years running. They have not attempted to defund the largest grab of our U.S. economy in history. They are measured and professional…and too damn political…as they march around in self importance doing nothing of real significance. Listen up, Republicans. Climb out of your foxholes and TAKE THE HILL. General George Patton would never have said “we’ll work out the best deal we can with Hitler before we give him more ammo.” But…that’s what they’re doing with Obama and the debt limit. TAKE THE HILL.

Some of my best friends are Democrats. I pray for them daily. To have your wagon hitched to such a deceitful, despicable star must be the perfect recipe for cognitive dissonance. Republicans claim to recognize the problems and nibble at them, but Democrats create the problems and deny that they exist. If they aren’t deceitful, they are certainly certifiably delusional.

A couple of years ago I joined the Libertarian Party because the principles of “minimum government and maximum freedom” appealed to me. During my lifetime I had witnessed the massive growth of government at ALL levels. Big government is not only extremely costly, but as it grows it crowds our individual liberty and restricts our God-given rights. I joined the Libertarians because I was certain that they had not been tainted or corrupted by holding power for long periods of time. Libertarians believe their principles. They do not have a statement of principles that merely provides window dressing for the quadrennial convention. The Libertarian Party was a refreshing landing place for my disgust with the old two parties. Many of the people I encountered during my year-long statewide campaign last year stated that they, too, shared those principles. “I may be a Republican, but I’m mostly Libertarian,” they would say to me. Even the most famous and revered Libertarian in the land clings to the GOP banner despite the fact that they demean and belittle him incessantly. My decision was based on the fact that I would rather die on the sword of principle than live in a world of co-option and compromise.

While I’m in the ranting mode, I will not allow my Libertarian friends to escape criticism. The fact that we hold no offices of note, by definition, makes us political rookies…sometimes naïve and stupid. To succeed we must get beyond the “good showing,” ten per cent mentality. To many of you Tea Party types who CLAIM to be upset with the status quo…when are you going to put your efforts, your time and your money where your mouths are? For the first rounds you have become a despised and loathed tool of the GOP. They’ll use you and abuse you. They already have. You have told me that “Libertarians can’t win,” and you are dead-solid correct as long as YOU support the party that hates you and distrusts you. People like me who want a constitutional government that honors our personal liberty will continue to lose as long as you and your friends and neighbors support the two old parties, but when you do that…..we ALL lose. America loses.

So, where do you stand? Are your reactions the same as the GOP? Engaging in handwringing and lip service while our country either fades away or collapses in a heap?  Try this little quiz. The key is LIBERTY.   www.theadvocates.org/quiz

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com    or   www.littlestuff-blogspot.com

Echo Chamber

The two major parties have alternately governed the country for more than 150 years…yes, for more than a century and a half. For more than 69 per cent of our nation’s constitutional history, the Democrats and Republicans have clutched the reins of power. Despite a gut-wrenching, devastating war between the states, a severe and debilitating depression, and numerous other monumental challenges, the two old parties have managed to preserve their places in the halls of power. Some of the time their governance has been inspired and selfless although more frequently their leadership has been partisan and damaging for the country. Sometimes the policies and leaders that they have promoted have been “so-so,” as the nation capitalized on its own industriousness to continue thriving. Their slogans have become tiresome, and their remedies do not work. Their priorities have become distorted, and their mindsets have been locked onto venal self-interest. When their lips are moving, it is as if we are standing in an echo chamber. The words are unceasingly repeated. Their ideas are predictably uninspired. Their ethics and honor are noticeably absent. The time has come to reassign their exclusive representative franchises to the people.

If you are familiar with Ayn Rand’s, Atlas Shrugged, you may have noted the current status of our country to be eerily familiar. Productivity and excellence have been pressured to yield to equality and fairness. Bureaucrats insert themselves into nearly every commercial transaction, and producers’ choices are limited by excessive government intervention. In a free society most transactions consist of contractual agreements between two parties. The present environment in the United States has inserted a third and sometimes a fourth party into the mix. The result is that what began as a simple transaction becomes unwieldy with the intervention of the federal and/or state bureaucracies. The execution of the contract becomes difficult and costly because of the constraints placed on the process by the government interventionists. The suffocating atmosphere may discourage future attempts to engage in mutually beneficial commerce wherein the overall GDP is incrementally diminished. This present sad state of affairs has come under the guidance of Republicans and Democrats. Neither old party has served us well.

So, how do we go about correcting the course of our nation after those two entrenched parties have steered it so far from where we started? First, we must ignore the meaningless words of the echo chamber. Both parties have been spouting the same lines of worthless promises for decades. Judge the parties and their candidates by their actions…their votes. If they express one attitude, but support their leadership for another view when its crunch time, we cannot afford to tolerate them anymore. We must insist that candidate address specific positions when they meet with us. Vague generalities are cop outs that allow the politician some “wiggle room.” We should pledge that if politicians are squirming, it is because we hold them accountable…not because they’re wiggling off the hook. The politicians, Democrat and Republican, do not fear us. So called “conservatives” speak of excessive spending and big government while approving bloated budgets and new programs. Compassionate “progressives” encourage big government slush funds for their political allies while they’re cheering “humanitarian” military intervention into third-world countries who might qualify as basket cases.

When an antique becomes a hundred fifty years old, its value may increase, but it remains a brittle, uncomfortable, old antique. Often, antiques have aesthetic value but very little practical value. Today’s two old parties have outlived their value for the nation. The Democrats have become a cluster of special interests to which their candidates must pander, and the Republicans’ biennial “big tent” appeal has diluted the principles and the message of the Grand Old Party. Neither party has a commitment to principle although they each have their favorite slogans and “hot buttons” that they employ to fire up their respective bases. Both parties blast their cynical messages in the electoral echo chamber, and like the echo, their statements have no substance and no enduring value. One hundred fifty years have been proven to be long enough for the two old parties to destroy the dream of the Founders. Actually, much too long. It is time for them to go. The Whigs, the Bull Moose and the Anti-Masonic parties are waiting for them in history’s dustbin.

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