What I Think about American Politics in 2011

Let me start by reasserting the fact that I’m a registered Independent in the United States.  Why am I an Independent?  Simple … I can’t stand political parties.  I resent the need for an organization to tell me what I am to believe, who and what I am to support and who I am to distrust.  As a citizen of this great nation it is my civic responsibility to make those decisions on my own, and it is my duty to act upon them by voting and participating in the representative nature of my government.  No problem.  Each time I vote, I vote with a clear conscious knowing that my decisions are my own, based on my own research, analysis and personal beliefs, not those of any individual group or organization or religion or anything else.  If I chose to vote down a particular amendment or bill, it’s because I think it’s the right thing to do.  I’m proud of this, and I think it makes me a better American.  That works fine for me, but my government certainly does not operate with such precision or simplicity.

The past month’s debate on the national debt ceiling is a clear indication of how things are going to be run in this country for the next 10 years … poorly and slowly.  Speaker Boehner announced today, along with a deal for the debt ceiling he begrudgingly accepted, that “it shows how much we’ve changed the terms of the debate in this town.”  I couldn’t agree more, but it’s not a good thing.

The “terms of the debate,” as he put it, basically mean what each political party is willing to agree to and risk in order to win.  Let me be clear about that … not to do what’s best for the nation, but to do what is needed to declare a victory for themselves.  A victory over what?  Rival political parties?  The agenda of an executive branch they disagree with (i.e. are in a different party)?  Our politicians now operate in Washington with a simple goal in mind:  win the majority and don’t let go.  That means achieving victories in the eyes of the voters so that they and their buddies will get elected/re-elected.  Notice how there’s nothing in there about making our nation greater or stronger.  That’s a secondary benefit to the S.O.P. these days.  It’s more important to our representatives to declare a victory for their party than it is to enact something that does some good.

Raising the debt ceiling is a necessary act of Congress.  It’s been done numerous times over the past 20 years.  It’s necessary because government spending has gone up and up and the need to borrow money has grown with it.  In the past, the decision to raise the debt ceiling was much easier to pass.  This time there were a few differences:

• The Presidential election of 2012 is gearing up.  What better way to start it than to be the party that saved the nation from financial disaster by passing their version of the measure?
• The split majority in the House and Senate gives an opportunity to shut down the efforts of the other party. 
• It gives the majority in each House the opportunity to demonstrate how resolved they can be to voters.
• It allows politicians to go on TV and declare themselves resolute or working hard or best yet, the winner.

It’s funny that after this compromise was approved, no one has declared themselves a winner, because in truth no one is.  No political party got everything they wanted.  No political party or individual politician got to step up and save the day.  The day was saved by compromise, twisting the arms of the leadership to the point where the biggest concession they gave up was the right to declare themselves the victor.  It wasn’t a success to them, raising the debt ceiling.  It wasn’t a victory to prevent an economic crisis that would have impacted billions of people across the world.  It wasn’t a victory to cut government spending by trillions of dollars.  No, it was a successful compromise.  Well, good for them (I suppose).  I’m sure they’ll find ways to spin the praise and the blame over the next 15 months.

In the end our government operates at the purview of the agendas of political parties.  To me, that is too polarized way to run a nation of this size.  Unfortunately, it’s how the game will be played for the rest of my lifetime, almost like a bad “reality” TV show … people will form alliances (political parties), unify a plan and core beliefs and then get others to work with you.  That might be a good way to win the games, but if the motivation is simply the victory itself rather than to improve things for the citizens of this nation then I cannot feel confident in my leaders to lead effectively. 

My political leaders must all re-focus themselves on their true goals.  Their primary goal should not be victory over the other party.  Their primary goal, even at the expense of their own jobs, must be to make this nation a better place.  Press conferences should focus on what they think about a measure, why it will help their constituents and our citizens, why the alternatives are wrong.  They should not focus on how they plan to advance their party’s goals or defeat the goals of the other party.  There shouldn’t be “voting along party lines" all the time.  My leaders have been selected because they want to be the ones to make this nation better, not to simply claim power, declare victory and then sit back and see what happens next.  But, from where I’m sitting none of this will happen.  My leaders’ two main goals will continue to be to beat the other guys and to get re-elected and will be for a long time to come.  With that attitude and motivation my country is certain to go nowhere but down.