Stop The Insanity!

Remember Susan Powter? In the 90’s, she was the queen of infomercials - a fitness buff with short blond hair whose call to arms was “Stop the insanity!” Well, I’d like to borrow Susan’s signature phrase and apply it to our political system.

Can somebody, anybody, stop blaming someone else – usually the other party – for everything that’s wrong with America? Can someone, anyone, admit that the other party might have a good idea? Can they also concede that their own party may have made some mistakes, too? No, I guess not.

If you’ve visited this site before you probably know that I consider myself a conservative independent. That means I believe that smaller government is better government, but that we have an obligation to take care of those who can’t take care of themselves. Somewhere in between those two ideologies is where I stand. I’ve explained all this before in earlier posts – feel free to go back and refresh your memory.

The political stage today is getting more polarized by the minute. Take the recent governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey. Both were won by Republicans. On all the news channels and major networks, the Republicans are saying that this is a sign of dissatisfaction with the Obama administration and is the beginning of the end of “Change We Can Believe In.” The Democrats, on the other hand, say that state politics has nothing to do with national politics and the Republican victories mean nothing. My guess is that if the shoe had been on the other foot, the responses would have been just the opposite. Here’s my best guess – the people in Virginia and New Jersey voted for the person they felt would do the best job in their respective states. Period. It wasn’t an indictment of the current administration, nor an insignificant local event. It was the people of a state expressing their opinion that something should change. I thought that’s what this country was all about.

See, this is where politicians are missing the point. They think we’re more interested in hearing whose fault it was than in what they’re going to do to fix it. The Democrats spend all their time telling us that the Bush administration left things in such a mess that it’s just going to take some time to pull out of it. The Republicans say the record deficits and spending will ruin us. They haven’t offered much of an alternative to anything so far. This is why I’m an independent – I don’t really buy what either party is selling.

It’s also fair to note that President Obama is finding out that results are a lot harder to achieve than Candidate Obama ever thought they would be. He’s finding out, as many have before him, that keeping campaign promises is a lot harder than making them. I just wish he’d stop talking about all the mistakes that were made over the past 8 years and how he inherited such a mess. Yes, he did, but it wasn’t a mess created solely by the Bush administration. It is a mess that has been brewing since the ‘50’s under both parties. And the Democrats controlled both houses of congress for the last two years of Bush’s presidency. But it is what it is. So stop wasting time, effort, and breath telling me how bad the previous guy was. “Don’t tell me about the labor pains, just show me the baby” seems to sum it up for me. Mr. President, please apply this to Afghanistan, the economy, healthcare, and all the other issues on the table. I’m less interested in whose fault it was and more interested in what you’re going to do about it.

As for what the governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia mean, I refer you to the late Tip O’Neill, who credits his father with saying “all politics is local”. That means most people vote based on their personal situation and how their own community is affected. While that may be selfish and short-sighted, it’s reality. Maybe it’s because we Americans tend to be selfish and short-sighted in everything else we do.

In the meantime, congratulations to the newly elected governors. We’ll see what all this really means in the mid-term elections next year. Until then, let the finger-pointing continue!

Till next time………