10 February 2007

The bankrupt political class

Coming after a post on the Volunteer Fifth Column, this one should be a major list-a-thon, right? Going through and pointing out this clueless or that clueless individual and their lack of anything to actually put forward in politics... why, that isn't a list but a description of what actually is nearly the entire political class in America! Cluelessness abounds! Pointless politicians that continue pointing in everywhichway and yet don't seem to ever GET to a point. The folks who point to all the little things they do that are oh-so-wonderful and yet can't point out anything that backs such splendidness that actually makes things better.

You know, the Policy Wonks?

The Programocrats?

Those that come to town with a grab-bag of special interests, litmus tests, and lovely programs that benefit this or that group. You know those folks? The ones that keep on getting elected because they distribute goodies and want to continue on distributing same to their private interests, political backers and then, to put extra topping on the triple-decker banana-split sundae with 25 scoops of ice cream each of a different flavor and lots of whipped topping and 7 varieties of sprinkles and 3 different cherries, they then decide to actually put on the chocolate sauce in gallon quantities. You know them?

The Big Governmentites?

There are over 530 of them upon the Hill and one sitting in the Executive Branch as its head.

The ones with so many bright ideas to 'fix' things that they then find all sorts of excuses not only to *not* fix things but make them worse and STILL add in programs that expand forevermore.

The Two Partyites that have one, long, continuous, grand party.

At the taxpayers expense.

And at the expense of taxpayers freedom and liberties.

People who see one little thing that just *must* have a government program at the highest level to *fix* it that they can get to office on that and THEN think that EVERY problem needs a program or law to *fix* it. The folks who don't understand that this is NOT problem solving, but trouble shooting? And because they don't understand the difference between the two they actually never solve the underlying problem, no matter how well they have troubleshot a single instance of it.

There are, indeed, problems to be solved in America.

The absolute, number one, must be addressed before any other thing is the reduction of National Sovereignty. That poor concept is being so hashed, sliced, diced, mangled and generally stomped under foot by all the lovely trouble shooting that no one seems to realize that it is the target of their fire.

Take the illegal 'problem', please!

It is not a 'problem' but a lack of will to actually stand up and say that the Nation has a Sovereign right to enforce its borders and have systemic integrity into who it lets in and who it refuses to let into the Nation. The 'Land of the Free' is contained in this thing called a Nation State. To be a Nation State is to have internal integrity and to not give away the right of the Nation to BE a Nation. Without border controls and integrity that right is removed from play and the ability of the Nation to determine its own course without outside interference is not only reduced but is negated.

A Nation that does that cannot BE a Nation.

Take the 'foreign policy' problem, please!

We don't have one in America. Not a Foreign Policy to be found within the confines of the United States to define how we see ALL other Nations and approach them. After the Truman Doctrine there hasn't been one and the underpinnings for that vanished in a puff of smoke along with the USSR. Before that you have to go back to 'Walk softly and carry a big stick', which actually WAS a doctrine for Foreign Policy. It summed up quiet diplomacy that quickly scaled up to armed conflict. Worked, too, come to that. Before that you come to the Monroe Doctrine, which Jimmy Carter tried to appeal to until he realize that it hadn't been enforced by the US for so long because of the Truman Doctrine that it couldn't be revived. Without being able to actually state how the Nation looks at Foreign Nations, categorizes them and then uses that as a basis for approach, which can be varied but is clearly stated, there is no basis for the Nation to actually stand upon anything with respect to other Nations and International Affairs.

A Nation without a Foreign Policy is beset by a sea of troubles and has no engine, no rudder, no direction, no chart, no compass and finds that the ship, itself, is sinking.

Supporting these two things that are clearly stated, the Right of a Nation to determine its own course without outside interference and how it addresses the rest of the World, is called Nationalism. It is *not* a slur nor a bad word nor to be confused with any other '-ism'. It is the Westphalian concept that Nations are free to act internally as they please, address other Nations as they please, and be held accountable for their external actions by other Nations *without* threat of interference with its internal affairs BY other Nations that disagree with its outlook. You hold Nations accountable for Actions, and vigorously. You discuss outlook and try to change that and come to terms with it via something known as 'diplomacy'.

We don't get either of those from the modern Two Party Political System in America.

What DO we get?

Programs, lots and lots of Government Programs.

You can't sneeze without some elected official wanting to hike the kleenex subsidies for the 'poor'... who can already get good generic kleenex and even contact distributors for more samples than you can shake a stick at. I wouldn't put it past some bright folks to actually try and *live* on the free samples handed out for marketing. Probably do it pretty well, too. But heaven forfend if you actually try to rely on the grand marketplace to address it! No, if it doesn't have a Federal Program to address it then THAT is the very first thing those fine Programmerites Wonkus Spendophiliacs will seek to do: employ yet more government bureaucrats to spend taxpayer money on yet another pet program because it is a 'good idea'.

Why not just lump all of those good ideas into the government and call it Communist?

That *is* what these politicians are doing from the Big Government ticket, Left and Right.

When you change the Big Government switch from Right to Left, you change the Nannystate over from trying to curb such things as Internet Gambling and fretting about how much they can squirrel away to Big Business for their long-term re-elections, TO those trying to open your bankaccounts and siphon off the majority of them to pay for high medical care that is high because their lawyer friends sue over every thing that can possibly go wrong, even if you don't read the warning label and are, yourself, the cause of your own problems. That sucking sound you hear are your personal Responsibilities, Rights and Cash being sucked into the vast maw of Communist Big Government.

And I thought that we had WON the Cold War!

Seems the Big Government ideals of the defeated enemy have worked their way so deeply into the Two Party System that NEITHER major political party is something you would term American. Neither of these great and vaunted Two Parties who have put forth folks that would say: No, we really don't need a government program for this.

There ought to be a law, huh?

Well, no.

Because that is also part of this problem. Just like the Communist State concept, the US is moving away from the Rule of Law and heading towards the Law of Rules. Take a look, for example, between the US Constitution and the EU Constitution as it has been proposed.

You can buy a US Constitution copy that folds up and fits comfortably in a wallet.

You can buy a copy of the EU Constitution that fits on a CD.

One can actually read, understand and trace out the lines of control and responsibility in the US Constitution on a sheet of paper and list them and take just about as much space as the Constitution itself.

The EU Constitution requires one uses multi-dimensional spaces, strange non-euclidian geometry and other strange systemic concepts to trace out what it *does*. You come to the conclusion that they don't want *anyone* held accountable for *anything* save that the Government may rule as it likes in anything at any time.

By trying to put so much in the way of programmatics into their Constitution, the EU system is so brittle, so nebulous and so impossible to hold accountable that one is assured of having NO rights under it. Unfortunately, those that think 'there ought to be a law' are doing the *exact* same thing in the US and putting so many laws on the books that NONE of them is adequately enforced. Congresscritters complain bitterly that we have a 'revolving door' on the border and ignore the fact that not only will they not PAY for better, but they are the ones chugging nickels into it to keep it revolving like some sort of amusement park ride. It seems that everyone sees a need for a law against something, pushes it and soon it is added to the books. As the amount of money that is given to law enforcement is limited, it gets divided up and some things just get left out of the enforcement realm. Like actually *paying* for sending illegals back to their Nation of origin and ensuring that a system is set up to stop their illegal return. There are laws on the books for such, but unless Congress wishes to pay for robust enforcement...

So, how can you tell when a Candidate for Office has not clue as to what their own outlook on society and government is? I put together a list of 50 questions that should be very, very simple for any politician who has actual philosophy and policy orientation towards government to answer. So far only one campaign has contacted me and asked when I would like the responses... I let them know that sometime in this election they actually will have to state some if not all of these. It tells me much that those running so early have not done so *first* and that many are picking up their grab-bag of goodies to distribute and already pushing them. And those that haven't responded, even after setting up so early? Those poor dears just haven't thought it through that starting now means a long, long, long run and that they will be attacked for all of their past sins so as to be shown as merely human. And if they don't present something better, then We the People will not be able to try and look past their humanity to see what they hold in store for the Nation.

The Next President will BE a War President, even if perfection descended upon Iraq tomorrow, the rest of the region would not let that *hold*. The divisions there run long, deep and have not changed for long decades if not centuries and they have been set in motion. Glacially in 1979 and much, much faster today. If a Candidate has no basis of outlook, then they will run in fear. By not being able to define the Nation, their outlook and what we head towards, they will be unable to find any peace, any where.

They will run out on their duties to uphold the Constitution and help those that we have helped out of tyranny to stand *with us* so that we may both be stronger together. No good has ever come of running from those seeking to build Empire, not once nor ever.

The Programnistas only want goodies to hand.

Not responsibilities to uphold.

Or Sworn Oath to follow.

And when you look in the mirror you will face the one who holds those responsibilities in whole.

Let us not make this next election the last for the Nation and the Land of the Free.

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