It has been a long time since Washington politicians and the people have spoken the same language.
It doesn’t take a nuclear physicist to understand that politicians often speak a different language than their constituents.
Even though the media purports to help Americans decode the language of Washington, it has, at best, overlooked that politicians often talk past their constituents. At worst, the media has become complicit in the actions of Washington. Whatever the case, Michael Savage’s oft-repeated assessment that “the fourth estate [the media] has become the fifth column” continues to ring true.
Of course, we must also blame ourselves. In today’s world, we are not forced to rely on limited news sources. The news is no longer chained to a single writer or anchorman. Instead, media such as radio, cable television and the Internet have opened the opportunity to research for ourselves what politicians are doing “on our behalf.”
Despite all the opportunities given us, we have failed to adequately hold politicians accountable. Finally, Americans are waking up from the slumberous state to which we have grown accustomed. Washington politicians, however, have not yet come to this realization. This can be seen in no better place than the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party, especially its leadership, continues to speak a language different from the American people. Even worse is the fact that their language runs entirely counter to reality. Unfortunately over the last year we have grown complacent in being promised by one thing and receiving another.
Then, Presidential Candidate Barack Obama promised us that he “could make a firm pledge.” He continued by promising, “Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000… will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”
For some reason, the media hasn’t exposed Obama’s breaking of his “firm pledge.” It seems that his drastically increasing taxes on tobacco and his desire to levy taxes on good health insurance plans should have tipped off the media. Sadly, the media continues to cover for Washington.
In an interview with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was confronted with the idea that “allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire would essentially be a tax increase.” Instead of renewing the promise made by the President, Speaker Pelosi could only say “It isn’t a tax increase; it is eliminating a tax decrease that was there.”
Democratic reactions to Scott Brown’s improbable victory in Massachusetts only solidify this trend further.
Instead of admitting they were overreaching or misinterpreting recent electoral victories, they responded with language which blames others instead of themselves.
Democrats promised us relief from “politics as usual.” In reality, their gift to the American people has been nothing more than a rapid leftward lurch and shady back-room deals.
It seems like any rational individual could have at least acknowledged that the American people deserved to have an open and honest debate. Instead, the President just told us that everything is, once again, all President Bush’s fault.
During an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Obama said, “The same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office. People are angry and they’re frustrated. Not just because of what’s happened in the last year or two years, but what’s happened over the last eight years.”
To be fair, the Republican Party is only just beginning to realize that they must be more honest and open with the American people. I suppose it took losing both chambers of Congress and the White House for them to come to such a harsh reality. How long will it take the democrats? What will shock them back into reality?
No politician can now hide behind curtains conveniently provided them by the media. They must face the American public with honest, problem-solving ideas. These ideas must then be openly debated both in Congress and in other public settings.
Wake up! Politicians are like the rest of us. They have to accept responsibility for their shortcomings. Individually speaking, President Obama needs to accept that President Bush is no longer the President. The responsibilities of the Oval Office now rest upon his shoulders. He and his party must stop blaming others for their failures.
We must all agree to hold politicians accountable for their actions.
Regardless of party, we must vote out of office any politician who refuses to accept the fact that he works for the people. Let us always allow the Ray Stevens lyric “we’ll vote you out of there” continue to reverberate in our minds. This is the only way we will be able to reassert the power given us by the Almighty.
--As Appeared in The Daily Mississippian on Monday, January 25, 2010
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