A while back, a friend of mine commented that (despite the pereceptions of the state at large) she does not view the community in which we live as being particularly "liberal". She expressed that, despite a significant population which espouses liberal ideals, many within that population are fascinated by, and deferential to, those in possession of wealth or positions of power.
I wonder to what degree that fascination, as a broader phenomenon, is responsible for the loss of ideals within the Democratic Party or, for that matter, Congress as a whole. It has been a almost seventy years since Mr. Smith went to Washington, yet if anything - despite the critical attention of a large percentage of Americans - the situation in Congress has worsened. A "Mr. Smith" in today's Washington would be eaten alive, perhaps even by his own party. Whatever slight refuge a "Mr. Smith" might find in the Senate, there would be no similar protection were he in the House of Representatives - and who would fund his reelection campaign?
We know the type of government we want. And for the most part we know the type of government we have. What type of government do we deserve?
Up until 2002, this community had a "Mr. Smith," a.k.a. Lynn Nancy Rivers, in the House of Representatives. When it came to redistricting, she was eaten alive and sacrificed by her own party.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, had she been more willing to sacrifice her integrity for the sake of re-election, and hop into bed with special and corporate interests, she would've had more luck financing her re-election campaign against the Dean of Congress.
It just demostrates that we can no longer have the type of people that we want in Congress. If they are lucky enough to be elected, truly good people just can't last there.
"There are poor people and rich people. We're rich people, so we're all on the side side."
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