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Rambling political commentary
I came across this comment in another journal (the original post was about the proposed constitutional amendment that died in the Senate, re: gay marriage):
Long-serving Senators have trouble when running for Presidency, since they have voting records that can be used against them. It's hard to distill all the wheeling and dealing that goes on in Congress into campaign ads. Much easier to just put up some pictures of puppies and a voiceover saying "Sentor Smith voted against the 'We Love Cute Baby Animals Act.' Senator Smith hates puppies. This ad paid for by the Committee to Reelect President Jones."
What it doesn't say is that Smith voted against the bill because of a rider tacked on in committee that would have cut Medicare benefits. Or that he swapped a "no" vote on an unimportant, feel-good bill in exchange for support from across the aisle on something that actually mattered to his constituents. Or that he was voting along party lines to keep peace in the party for when there was a significant battle to fight.
Politics and diplomacy are way too complicated for 30-second soundbites.
Very interesting. There's a saying about politics being like making sausages: you don't want to see the process. I find the wheeling and dealing interesting--I liked that movie The American President and I respect a certain amount of compromise because I am not an idealogue, and compromise is the by-product of democracy, wherein we all have a voice. What I instinctively distrust is the 30-second sound bite: "You're either with us or against us...There you go again..." all that bullshit sloganeering and lack of nuanced debate. What's wrong with nuance? Why is intellectualism so distrusted in this country?
Long-serving Senators have trouble when running for Presidency, since they have voting records that can be used against them. It's hard to distill all the wheeling and dealing that goes on in Congress into campaign ads. Much easier to just put up some pictures of puppies and a voiceover saying "Sentor Smith voted against the 'We Love Cute Baby Animals Act.' Senator Smith hates puppies. This ad paid for by the Committee to Reelect President Jones."
What it doesn't say is that Smith voted against the bill because of a rider tacked on in committee that would have cut Medicare benefits. Or that he swapped a "no" vote on an unimportant, feel-good bill in exchange for support from across the aisle on something that actually mattered to his constituents. Or that he was voting along party lines to keep peace in the party for when there was a significant battle to fight.
Politics and diplomacy are way too complicated for 30-second soundbites.
Very interesting. There's a saying about politics being like making sausages: you don't want to see the process. I find the wheeling and dealing interesting--I liked that movie The American President and I respect a certain amount of compromise because I am not an idealogue, and compromise is the by-product of democracy, wherein we all have a voice. What I instinctively distrust is the 30-second sound bite: "You're either with us or against us...There you go again..." all that bullshit sloganeering and lack of nuanced debate. What's wrong with nuance? Why is intellectualism so distrusted in this country?