We The People...Have Lost

The level of disgust and anger that I am feeling this morning is almost indescribable. I used to write on my blog fairly regularly, but I have been so discouraged over the last couple of years that I haven't written anything. I don't know if it's an effective use of my time or if it only serves as a place for me to vent, but if I don't write something today I may very well explode.

A primary runoff race was completed in Mississippi yesterday. In the first primary results for the Senatorial seat, Chris McDaniel defeated Thad Cochran (sitting Republican Senator), but not by a sufficient margin. Mississippi law requires a runoff between the top two candidates to determine an outright winner. Thad Cochran is completing his 6th term in the Senate; yes, 36 years in the Senate. He is 77 years old and has made statements in his campaign this time around that clearly indicate he is too old to be serving in the Senate. He has spent more time with his foot in his mouth than on the ground talking to Mississippi voters.

On the other hand, we have Chris McDaniel. A 42-year old member of the Mississippi State Senate, attorney and former federal law clerk. He holds such strange political positions as smaller government, reforming our gigantic tax code, eliminating both No Child Left Behind and Common Core (which teachers on both sides of the aisle hate), personal liberty, freedom of speech and freedom to worship.

Here is the problem and source of my abject disgust. When the Republican Party machine realized that Cochran was going to be defeated they pulled out all the stops in order to get him through the Primary. John McCain went to stump for Cochran. In my world that's the biggest red flag any Republican candidate could ever wave. I respect McCain for his service to our country and his sacrifices as a POW, but he has repeatedly betrayed conservative principles and he has lost my respect as a Senator. Secondly, the Party Machine painted McDaniel as an extremist "Tea Party candidate". Furthermore, Cochran was made unavailable to the media, would not debate and was essentially hidden from the public for the duration of the runoff campaign period. Finally, Cochran's campaign sent a flyer into known majority black, Democrat districts encouraging them to vote for Cochran with the claim that McDaniel was trying to suppress their right to vote and they better turn out for Cochran or Mississippi would go back to the bad ol' days of racism.

This series of events is revelatory and demonstrative of the current state that is the cesspool of American politics. Politics has always been bloodsport and a dirty, dirty game. But we have reached a new low in this country. The Founding Fathers tried to establish a higher standard for what were supposed to be "public servants". Elected officials were never intended to make a living from their political offices. The plan laid out in the Constitution was to have elected officials serve quickly and efficiently in their duties and then return to their homes and jobs for the majority of the time. We have gotten so far away from these principles that we have created a political class that exists solely to perpetuate their own existence. They pass laws so they are "doing something". Anything that threatens their power is a threat to that existence.

Furthermore, the concentration of time that they spend in Washington DC has caused nearly all of our representatives, from both parties, to lose touch with the reality that is life in our country. Washington DC is becoming increasingly like the Capital in Hunger Games. It is a city filled with politicians, lobbyists, bureaucrats, defense contractors, spooks, IRS officials, law firms, media members, foreign influence peddlers and so on. It also attracts those who are drawn to power, who know that power equals money--men and women who have sold their souls to "be with" the powerful (think Monica Lewinski). Most politicians are fawned over and feted by the rest of the power leeches in DC. It is nearly inevitable that they start to believe that what happens in DC is real, that it matters, that it actually makes them better than the rest of us and they are deserving of the accolades thrown their way.

So, I go back to the Republican Party. Their actions in the Cochran election expose them for who they really are. Clearly the Republican Party would rather have a senile yes-man who can help them maintain their power, than a thinking man who will challenge their power structure. That they would turn on the Tea Party and accuse them as extremists is the height of hypocrisy. First of all, there is no Tea Party, as such. It is not an organized party with a defined platform. The Tea Party is a grassroots movement of conservative people who love this country and the Constitution as written. They embrace and truly believe the values that are supposedly part of the Republican Party platform. But the demonstrable lip service given to those values is made obvious by the fact that the status quo and the maintenance of power trumps all in their world. When did smaller government, fewer taxes, responsible government spending, the Bill of Rights and our Founding Principles become EXTREME? When did those principles become a target and purpose for attack in Republican Party circles?

The use of the racism is not the most egregious offense in this campaign but is the most offensive. The glib use of the word "racism" is tearing our country apart. Real racism exists, but this is not the same country we were during the days of segregation. Running around screaming racism where none exists cheapens the real sacrifice and progress that we have made as a nation. We are used to seeing this tactic by desperate Democrat politicians who will do and say anything to maintain their power and regularly paint conservatives as racists. Nothing could be further from the truth, but truth died a couple of centuries ago in American politics. To see Republicans use it against people who should be their greatest allies is inexcusable. Many black Democrats seemed to have responded to Thad Cochran's call to arms; reports suggest that his victory was due to an 8% margin created by those voters. To all those Democrats who think that this is somehow cute and devious to mess with the Republican primary, may I remind you that voting is an honor and a privilege? When we turn this into a game of gotcha, the only people that lose in the end are the citizens. When the voters act in unprincipled and dishonest ways with their right to vote, we act as the rubes and pawns that the politicians see us for. When we act in that way, we do not earn the loyalty of those politicians, we earn their scorn. They will not stop manipulating us and using us to serve their selfish purposes until we say: "No more."

Here's the bottom line: Our elected officials DO NOT care about us. They do not care about the future of our country. They do not care about our rights as citizens. I will remind the Democrats that may find this funny, you will not always be in power. The corruption affects every single citizen regardless of party affiliation. In recent years we have seen both parties erode our rights through misuse and abuse of power in the IRS, the NSA, the VA, the Executive Order, the courts and the Attorney General's Office. We are the losers; the political parties are the winners. Politics is not a game outside of Washington DC. It affects the lives of all of the citizens in this country who get up and go to work every day, raise their kids, take care of their neighbors and are just trying to have a piece of the American Pie. Change will not come from DC. If we as citizens, who are the sovereign authority in this nation, do not rise up and demand change then our nation is irretrievably lost. As long as we continue to vote blindly and turn a blind eye to the illegal and corrupt actions of the political parties, we deserve exactly what we are getting. But if you are as tired of it as I am, whether you consider yourself a Liberal or a Conservative, then we have to fight for what is left of our country. Otherwise, we are left with nothing. I don't want to die as a slave to the government that was established to serve me. I don't want this future for my children. Enough is enough.