• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Community columnist: When D.C. politics overtake problem solving

By Jim Black

From the Feb. 28, 2010 County Life section of Walworth County Sunday

How do you know when a politician is lying? His lips are moving.

That’s an old joke about lawyers, but these days politicians seem to rank below lawyers and slightly above child molesters on the esteem index. It is a sad commentary on the latrine known as Washington, D.C. where the D.C. apparently stands for Don’t Care.

Welcome to Washington where the truth means the half-truth, the stretched truth and nothing resembling the truth, so help me God. The finger pointing has gotten so intense that safety goggles are standard issue on Capitol Hill. With the absolute pettiness and foot-stomping tantrums displayed by today’s politicians, one would think they are auditioning for a reality show on C-span. But that would be redundant.

The business of a nation has ground to a halt, its present and future put on hold because its elected officials are too occupied with slap fights, hissy fits and stare-downs to do what is best for the country which somehow has been translated to do what is best for their party or, more importantly, for what will best get them re-elected. To heck with what is best for the country.

And so we are stuck between regressives and progressives, between the Party of No and the Party of Maybe We Can’t. We are held hostage by so-called leaders who are petrified of any change (because they personally are doing fine, thank you) and those who don’t have the guts to push for what they campaigned (and were elected) for.

Because too many congressmen still grovel at the feet of the powerful pharmaceutical and insurance companies, depend on their campaign contributions and lack the fortitude to put these obese industries on a diet, (don’t mess with the best health system in the world, they say), 50 million of their fellow citizens will go without health care because they can’t afford it, effectively turning bank accounts into the real “death panels.”

Meanwhile, the majority party, headed by arguably one of the most articulate leaders in recent history, can not coherently explain its plan to a nation desperate to hear it and franticly resorts to bribing some of its own members to pass dubious legislation. Not that it would make a difference. The opposition party has chosen to interpret its position literally and will oppose everything and anything that is not their idea.

Things have gotten so bad that even longtime incumbents are fleeing elected office “like rats out of an aqueduct” (to quote Monty Python.)

The problems and issues that confront this country are large and complex. There are no simple solutions. It is unlikely that any one person or political party is going to have a single answer. The very diversity that makes our country strong necessitates bipartisan solutions. Compromise is the only option. Opinions must be swayed by sound logic, not by outlandish statements and sound bites meant to instill fear and intimidate.

We, as voting citizens, have to shoulder some of the responsibility for the disaster in D.C. Before we start repeating bizarre and irrational statements, uttered by bitter politicians looking for media attention, as fact, we need to question their truthfulness first. Nor can we expect to finance two wars and demand health care reform without expecting to pay more taxes.

It doesn’t seem to matter that newly elected officials arrive in Washington with the best of intentions and reform on their minds. The political machine entrenched in our nation’s capital is outdated and seemingly beyond repair.

Maybe it is time to impose two-term limits on senators and congressmen in order to sweep out the good ol’ boy system backed by money and perks from special interest groups. Maybe that could change this stagnant government. I don’t know. I just know that I’m fed up.

Jim Black is a writer who lives in Walworth.

Read more in the e-edition of Walworth County Sunday, HERE.