As we reach the final vote on health care reform, a couple of columns that put the event in perspective:
As passage of health reform nears, a historic chance to help fix Washington, too
By Steven Pearlstein
Friday, March 19, 2010; A19
It's shaping up to be a great weekend here in Washington.
I'm not just talking about the spectacular weather or another upset-filled NCAA basketball tournament. I'm talking about the prospect of a quasi-climactic vote in the House that would finally have the United States join the rest of the industrialized world in offering health insurance to all its citizens.
Sometimes, those of us who live here and participate in political life can get a bit cynical. We tend to focus on the process or the gamesmanship or the unsavory compromises. Which is why it is important at moments such as this to get your head out of the weeds, look at the Capitol dome in the distance and remember how lucky you are to have a front-row seat to one of the world's longest-running historical dramas.
What strikes me about the lead-up to this weekend's health-care vote in the House is how quiet things actually are. (Full column with the link below)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/18/AR2010031805315.html
AND.....
Democrats discover the benefits of taking a stand on health reform
By Eugene Robinson
Friday, March 19, 2010; A25
If health-care reform finally staggers across the finish line, it will be because President Obama and congressional Democrats recognized -- at long last -- the truth that has been staring them in the face for more than a year: They'll be better off politically if they just try their best to do the right thing.
No matter what the Democrats attempt or how they go about it, Republicans are going to complain, obstruct and attack. That's the inescapable lesson from this whole exercise, and it's hard to fathom why it took so long to sink in. The Democrats looked ridiculous, sitting around the campfire and singing "Kumbaya" while the opposition was out in the forest whittling spears and arrows.
As if to prove my point, some Republicans are already talking about trying to repeal the reform bill even though it hasn't been passed. This hardly seems in the spirit of bipartisanship -- which the GOP, with cynical but skillful rhetoric, has elevated into some kind of saintly virtue.
(Full column at the link here) - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/18/AR2010031803044.html
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The Current Zeitgeist
A number of excellent columns have cropped up lately defining the national mood, its problems and remedies; particularly as it relates to populist expectations and disappointments and, to me more importantly, the actual culpability of the public at large. First a nice feature by that excellent writer Anna Quindlen, that appeared in Newsweek, followed by a piece by George Will that ran in the Washington Post.
The first few lines - followed by a link to the full story:
"By the time the current political cycle is over, the term "populist" will have become a buzzword so misused and abused that it will be leached of all real meaning. The dictionary definitions refer to the agrarian political party of the late 19th century, then segue into the use of the term that modern politicians have learned to embrace: "a believer in the rights, wisdom, or virtues of the common people."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/232833/output/print
The first few lines - followed by a link to the full story:
"By the time the current political cycle is over, the term "populist" will have become a buzzword so misused and abused that it will be leached of all real meaning. The dictionary definitions refer to the agrarian political party of the late 19th century, then segue into the use of the term that modern politicians have learned to embrace: "a believer in the rights, wisdom, or virtues of the common people."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/232833/output/print
Populism's Problems
This is an excellent piece by George Will; not really for the headline of Sarah Palin (which is true) but more for the problems faced by populism and it's prospects. The link to the full story is below, but two really great paragraphs....:
"America, its luck exhausted, at last has a president from the academic culture, that grating blend of knowingness and unrealism. But the reaction against this must somewhat please him. That reaction is populism, a celebration of intellectual ordinariness. This is not a stance that will strengthen the Republican Party, which recently has become ruinously weak among highly educated whites. Besides, full-throated populism has not won a national election in 178 years, since Andrew Jackson was reelected in 1832......
"Populism has had as many incarnations as it has had provocations, but its constant ingredient has been resentment, and hence whininess. Populism does not wax in tranquil times; it is a cathartic response to serious problems. But it always wanes because it never seems serious as a solution.
Political nature abhors a vacuum, which is what often exists for a year or two in a party after it loses a presidential election. But today's saturation journalism, mesmerized by presidential politics and ravenous for material, requires a steady stream of political novelties. In that role, Palin is united with the media in a relationship of mutual loathing. This is not her fault. But neither is it her validation. "
Full Column- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/17/AR2010021703507_pf.html
"America, its luck exhausted, at last has a president from the academic culture, that grating blend of knowingness and unrealism. But the reaction against this must somewhat please him. That reaction is populism, a celebration of intellectual ordinariness. This is not a stance that will strengthen the Republican Party, which recently has become ruinously weak among highly educated whites. Besides, full-throated populism has not won a national election in 178 years, since Andrew Jackson was reelected in 1832......
"Populism has had as many incarnations as it has had provocations, but its constant ingredient has been resentment, and hence whininess. Populism does not wax in tranquil times; it is a cathartic response to serious problems. But it always wanes because it never seems serious as a solution.
Political nature abhors a vacuum, which is what often exists for a year or two in a party after it loses a presidential election. But today's saturation journalism, mesmerized by presidential politics and ravenous for material, requires a steady stream of political novelties. In that role, Palin is united with the media in a relationship of mutual loathing. This is not her fault. But neither is it her validation. "
Full Column- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/17/AR2010021703507_pf.html
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Resolved Elitist
I've come to the conclusion that I'm an unabashed elitist. While the conventional mood that somehow Congress and the President aren't paying enough attention to the mob....this populist uproar over every manner of perceived error; from bailouts to spending, etc....I think they're paying TOO MUCH attention to them. The mob has no clue about what the issues are and how they're addressed. And worse, they're led astray by all manner of partisan charlatans with a political agenda. Case in point; in the recent senate election in Massachusetts, of all the people who voted for him because they wanted to stop health care reform, 41% of them couldn't explain why!!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Temper Tantrums
I was struck recently by the disillusionment by some friends over the unfulfilled promises of President Obama; namely the lack of C-Span coverage in every meeting, the involvement of lobbyists in the administration, etc. These folks are 1) not involved in politics or policy and 2) not educated or have ever been involved in management - which explains much of their frustration. I want to say, "well, duh!!" It's not their cynicism that bothers me. It's their naivete turned anger.....or maybe idealism and innocence. They remind me of little kids who find out there's no Santa Claus and teenagers who get their hearts broken. It's rough when you find out the world is a cruel, cold place and that reality is much more pragmatic than the public myths.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Those Right-Wing E-Mails
I recently received one of those mass distributed e-mails with a snide right wing mantras about 'conservatives are for freedom; liberals want to take it away' with a series of banal examples (Unfortunately, I deleted it). On the face of it, one could just as easily contrive an inaccurate and misleading comparison from a liberal perspective. "Liberals believe women should have reproductive privacy; conservatives believe the government should be in your bedroom. Liberals believe everyone should be entitled to a working wage; conservatives believe corporations come before people. Liberals believe people should be free of religious tyranny; conservatives believe government should promote religion. Liberals believe people should have access to health care; conservatives sick people should die quickly. Etc...you get the picture.
But what's more revealing is that this message was ever sent at all. It is a common observation among many on the left that these crude, baiting, provacative stink bombs are invariably thrown into mixed company by those with cartoonish right wing agendas. Rarely, if ever, do you see or hear unsolicited liberals broadcast tirades or characitures. Perhaps that is because most liberals' interpersonal and social habits reflect their politics; with a strong dose of empathy, sensitivity and even just plain old good manners. That's why most don't pop off at a neighborhood party or e-mail their entire address book with some personal, simple-minded political spitball.
And maybe the lack of those traits are why these things always come from right-wingers. That's what these e-mails really say.
But what's more revealing is that this message was ever sent at all. It is a common observation among many on the left that these crude, baiting, provacative stink bombs are invariably thrown into mixed company by those with cartoonish right wing agendas. Rarely, if ever, do you see or hear unsolicited liberals broadcast tirades or characitures. Perhaps that is because most liberals' interpersonal and social habits reflect their politics; with a strong dose of empathy, sensitivity and even just plain old good manners. That's why most don't pop off at a neighborhood party or e-mail their entire address book with some personal, simple-minded political spitball.
And maybe the lack of those traits are why these things always come from right-wingers. That's what these e-mails really say.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Democracy's Demolition Derby
Whenever I hear people complain about "finding the truth" or the "bias in mainstream media" it's usually because that truth or bias does not reflect their own beliefs....and so it goes with everyone across the spectrum. Today there was a nice column in the Washington Post by Robert Samuelson regarding the media, the search for objectivity and the messiness of democracy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/27/AR2009122701715.html
Democracy's demolition derby
By Robert J. Samuelson
Monday, December 28, 2009; A15
It's been an education, my four decades in Washington journalism: an anniversary that prompts this personal reflection. In 1969, I arrived as a young newspaper reporter. Journalism appealed to me because it offered an excuse to learn about how things worked -- to satisfy my curiosity -- and provided an antidote to shyness. It was a license to ask people questions. I have never regretted my decision, in part because I always doubted I could do anything else. I wasn't smart enough to be an engineer and would have been a lousy lawyer, chafing at representing other people's beliefs. The pursuit of truth seemed a higher calling.
This was a common conceit among journalists of my generation. We would reveal what was hidden, muddled or distorted. The truth would set everyone free. It sustained good government. We were democracy's watchdogs and clarifiers. One thing I learned is that these satisfying ideas are at best simplifications -- and at worst illusions. Truth comes in infinite varieties; every story can have many narratives. There are always new facts, and sometimes today's indisputable fact qualifies or rebuts yesterday's. ..........
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/27/AR2009122701715.html
Democracy's demolition derby
By Robert J. Samuelson
Monday, December 28, 2009; A15
It's been an education, my four decades in Washington journalism: an anniversary that prompts this personal reflection. In 1969, I arrived as a young newspaper reporter. Journalism appealed to me because it offered an excuse to learn about how things worked -- to satisfy my curiosity -- and provided an antidote to shyness. It was a license to ask people questions. I have never regretted my decision, in part because I always doubted I could do anything else. I wasn't smart enough to be an engineer and would have been a lousy lawyer, chafing at representing other people's beliefs. The pursuit of truth seemed a higher calling.
This was a common conceit among journalists of my generation. We would reveal what was hidden, muddled or distorted. The truth would set everyone free. It sustained good government. We were democracy's watchdogs and clarifiers. One thing I learned is that these satisfying ideas are at best simplifications -- and at worst illusions. Truth comes in infinite varieties; every story can have many narratives. There are always new facts, and sometimes today's indisputable fact qualifies or rebuts yesterday's. ..........
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