Historians have said that prior world leaders have lost their way for a myriad of reasons. I think what we are witnessing right now is the primary reason. Our country is suffering a stroke.
When politicians of both parties abandon their grass roots dedication for personal greed either bad things happen or not much of anything happens. Washington D.C. is recession proof. Most politicians go to Washington for one of four reasons. First, for bigger and better things. Second, to grow wealthy. Third, to train to be a lobbyist where they can make millions. Fourth, to forge a life-long career in power.
Special interest groups figure prominently in all of these ambitions. They raise money for the next campaign. They point the politician toward personal wealth enhancement. They get the vote out to keep the candidate in office.
If there is no purging of the politicians, they are like your body gorging on animal fat. The main arteries that keep the lifeblood flowing to keep our country healthy begins to clog. Ultimately, the country slows to a halt. Nothing gets done. That’s where we are today. Special interests have clogged our arteries and we are stroking out. The general public knows it, hence, the 9% approval rating. But, it crosses party lines. Past purges have occurred when the public is mad at one party and puts the other in power. Today, the public is mad at the whole lot of them. If we could meet and pick our options, the most popular might be end of the two party system. It might take a long time for that to happen and as sick as this country is, we might be in hospice when that happens.
We might have to settle for a marginal fix. A start might be term limits. This would eliminate two of the four political ambitions. No one could go there for a career. And, they probably can’t steal enough in two terms to get stinking rich. Plus, the life of a lobbyists gets harder when the faces change. This would be a good first step in unclogging the arteries. We are finally making some progress in the area of energy. This might be a good second step in trying to fix our political mess.
