Political Rant

You've been warned. From an email I sent to a friend recentlym hence the casual tone:

Wonkette had a good rant today while discussing a political ad being aired in Maryland on behalf of a black Republican candidate. My favorite part is in bold:

So let’s get this straight. Leggett thinks it’s despicable that his fellow black voters find out MLK was a Republican, and the Democrats’ concern for blacks and civil rights is a pretty new situation brought on by Nixon’s southern strategy of just 35 years ago? How does it make you stupid to hear some basic political history in a political ad?

The Maryland Dems say it’s not fair because the parties have since “switched sides.” And that’s true in some ways. Republicans are now the big-spending bank-busting Constitution-raping nannies, while the Democrats hope they’ll get to be the big-spending bank-busting Constitution-raping nannies again come November.

And remember, this is the same Maryland black (and white!) Democratic leadership that pelted Steele with Oreos and repeatedly called him a “Uncle Tom.” Because … right, because political affiliation is racial in nature. You know, whites are racially bound to eat mayonnaise and vote Republican, while blacks are racially bound to play the banjo and vote Democrat. It’s like some kind of heaven for George Allen!

It's so true. You know, I wish I could believe in conspiracy theories. Some of them I find appealing (like reports of voter fraud), but most of them just go too far for me. How to explain the current government? Easy - they are greedy, incompetent bastards whose two goals are to impose hypocritical religious beliefs and bankroll the entire government on the backs of the middle class and poor. The rich shall never pay in their new Christian world. The key part of this equation, though, is incompetent. Even Reagan was smart enough not to fire experts just because they were partial to Democrats. Not this oaf and his frat club.

To make matters worse, most of the Democrats are nearly as inept. In fact, I have a theory that government works in spite of the actions of our leaders, for the most part. The people that tend to want leadership positions in government are generally marginally competent individuals who often use politics to make gains that they couldn't possibly manage to get in real life. That's not to say they are idiots, but they certainly aren't the best and brightest. The sad truth is that both parties are riddled with these nut cases. Rarely do we see someone of the Clinton, Kennedy, Roosevelt (either one), Lincoln, Jefferson, or Adams (the first) caliber come to public office, let alone President, and stay there.

This only stands to reason. To get really good at something, you have to spend a lot of time working at it. You learn from your mistakes, adapt, and overcome crisis. What are politicians really good at? Getting re-elected and raising money. We send people whose sole expertise is really that and then we expect them to pass bills governing education, medical care, operating a military, etc. Oh, to be sure, they have their experts to help them, but all too often the experts are lobbyists with something to gain from how an issue is handled. It's an inbred culture that passes a lot of genetically defective laws.

The real and mildly impartial experts in government - the ones who actually make it run despite the shenanigans of our legislatures, are the ones who spend years studying each issue. Scientists, government policy wonks, Generals, etc. And yet, more often than not, these people get no recognition and less pay than the media seeking money launders that "run" the shop.

And all too often this also happens in the private sector. Not all of those overly paid CEOs can be gifted enough to steer a company to outrageous profits. Nope, most of them got there using a different version of the charades used in politics. Sure, our system is freer and more sophisticated than say France under Louis XIV, but it is no better than those years when it comes to the facade the culture is built upon. We've come a long way - we got a long way to go.