Fleming – “Beltway is stronger than hope”
The advent of the Obama presidency was suppose to bring about this new change, add a fresh breath to the stale Beltway air. Turns out that the Beltway is stronger than hope itself. The mass appeal is fading, the luster is dulling, and the same ol’ gridlock and malaise is starting to settle in.
This is not Obama’s fault. He is pressing on, tackling the big issues of our time with the force of a blitzing linebacker. His supporters, the real ones, not the ones moved by a false sense of inspiration, are fiercely out there, doing what they did to get him elected. Unfortunately, Obama has run into the same problem most of us run into when challenging an institution in politics, it is easier to win the election than to govern.
The Republicans have made up their collective minds that they must win in 2010, a repeat of the 1994 Revolution. It worked before when the country elected a president on hope so if it is not broke, then don’t fix or modify it. The only difference is that the GOP is feuding within, a phenomenon only practiced by Democrats. We were more united on September 12, 2001 than we are now and there is no reconciliation forthcoming. Bipartisanship is officially dead.
The aforementioned Democrats are doing what they always do, tripping over themselves, turning layups into low-percentage shots. The politicians in Washington, as a whole, have no sense of nobility in tackling the toughest issues this generation faces: Health Care, Foreign Policy, Environment and Fiscal Responsibility. They are taking safe votes instead of the right votes. They are still pushing pork instead of public policy that leads to self-sufficiency. They are using wedge issues and fear to get elected.
In other words, the same ol’ stuff, and it is rather boring. To boldly go where no man has gone before is just a tag line for a great sci-fi show, not the philosophy of our political leaders. They like being the naked emperors walking the streets, because they know they have the resources to stay where they are. They like the fact that Americans are struggling so that that they can capitalize on our insecurities, rather than enlightening us with a new vision, a whole new class of poverty pimps if you will.
Erik Fleming’s Weblog
11/14/9
Magnolia Tribune
