Now it's an attack on the Oreo story. Why is it when there's an attack on someone from the GOP, particularly a black Republican, that every fact is questioned? Even if it's only true that the cookies were passed out at the debate, was that a comment on the issues of that period or just the hate-mongering that the Democrats like to use in place of an factual argument?
How about this example from Delegate Peter Franchot:
"Do we take the high road, the Democratic road, the road of peace, prosperity and personal freedom? Or do we take the low road, the Republican road, the road of intolerance, inequity and injustice?"
And that's from a Democrat talking about another more moderate Democrat! Let me get this straight - any cooperation with a Republican on certain issues makes a Democrat "intolerant"? I'm sure passing out Oreos at a debate with a black Republican is just making sure all that are in the audience are well-fed.
Then, it's the question of ethics, where both sides cut corners. A lobbyist and party loyalist who's accused of skirting the law. A public official, sworn to uphold the fairness of the vote, now under a cloud of suspicion for absentee ballot fraud. All in the name of power for their chosen party.
Apologists from one side claim that our nation's worst terrorist attack was an "inside job." The other side says that the Flight 800 disaster was no accident and covered up by an administration desperate to remain in power.
Meanwhile, the public grows more apathetic. "Politics as usual," they shrug, while a threat grows from without.
Too many of those who seek power for themselves gravitate to government so they can use other people's money to enrich themselves. When the GOP is in charge you get a Jack Abramoff. When the Democrats are in charge you get a Henry Cisneros. Obviously, the same things go on at the state and local levels - I'm not Pollyannish enough to think that it can all go away if honest people were all that were in government. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and in a lot of cases, you don't have to be absolutely corrupt (or have absolute power.) A little goes a long way.
This may sound very simplistic, but in my opinion (and since it's my blog, you're entitled to it) the problem lies in the ignorance of one very succinct sentence enshrined in our founding document:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
It's my opinion that the federal government is far too large and takes up far too much of our money. And it's a damn shame that, even with the GOP controlling the levers of power, little is being done to stop this.
Somewhere in the dusty archives of the Congressional Record, somebody came up with the brilliant idea of having the federal government paying for a project that was ostensibly one that should have been handled at the state level. It led us to the "Bridge to Nowhere." Personally, I would have liked to see that pass to call Sen. Stevens' bluff.
The bridge is only a symptom of the disease.
To me, there are a whole lot fewer things the federal government needs to keep their hands in. And it's not that I necessarily want to see them go away. It's very noble that the people have decided that they want to assist the poor, but is that the responsibilty of the federal government? I think that falls under the "reserved to the states respectively, or to the people" portion of the Tenth Amendment. If you look at Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, there's really not much that Congress needs to do. It's the man who first came up with the brilliant scheme to raid the federal purse for his pet project that has led us to these pork-laden days.
There are a lot of us who are fed up with the shenanigans going on inside the Beltway. Someday that's all going to come to a head because the government as it stands now is unsustainable.
Thomas Jefferson spoke, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." We have many patriots shedding their blood in faroff lands to give those who live there a long-awaited breath of freedom. It may yet be in my lifetime that we see the blood of patriots and tyrants run on our fair land as the people rise against the powerful.
