The U.S. Has Ceased To Have A Functioning Government
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What is the purpose of having a government?
I always thought foremost it was the intention of those elected to govern. It wasn’t to blame the other guy. Being elected to office was not predominantly a platform to hold press conferences. Nor should governing be considered a sporting event with Republicans and Democrats acting as the Yankees and Red Sox in their respective dugouts. And it certainly is not about entertainment or filling an auditorium as if giving a concert.
Unfortunately, our politicians have forgotten that fact as have their rabid supporters. That belief is leading to deadlock at most levels of government. It is acutely felt at the federal level.
It is amazing that the Democrats hold the Senate, House, and White House and can’t pass legislation. It seems that two senators, Krysten Sinema and Joe Manchin, have become two Democrat publicity hounds caring more about their moment in the sun than the nation. I am not sure that all the legislation that is or has been proposed is what I would vote yes on. But there should be a vote.
Which brings me to the Republicans who did not do much when they held the reigns under Trump either. Currently in the minority, they are refusing to be part of the government at all. That is not the way our system was designed to work. Legislators from both parties were to come together and compromise on getting needed legislation passed. This concept has completely broken down.
For some reason, the Republicans have abdicated their elected responsibilities. Because they are in the minority, they have decided to sit on their hands and lob verbal grenades at the Democrats. That is the same posture they had when they were in the majority. Only, they did so with more authority. It seems the Democrats just plain cannot get out of their own way and pass anything.
We have become two tribes with several clans in each. The Democrats have the AOC clan and the dominant Pelosi clan. The Senate breaks down with the Sanders/Warren lodge and the Manchin/ Sinema wigwam far apart. Biden as tribal chief is trying his best to bring the clans together and get something done. Unfortunately, he is a 20th century leader in a 21st century world.
The other tribe has moved steadily away from objectivity and has become nihilistic and grievance-based under “Supreme Leader” Trump. The tribe has devolved into a cult in its slavish adherence to the belief that Trump was cheated of victory. This is even though over 60 court cases claiming irregularities have been dismissed. Every allegation of fraud has not stood up to any scrutiny. Trump has always been a person unable to tell the truth or accept anything other than his own perverted reality. Ask anyone who has ever been in or done business with the guy. He is a fraud.
Yet about 40% of the country are members of his cultish tribe. Because he can do no wrong, the sub-chiefs of the tribe like McCarthy, McConnell, and others will do anything to maintain their perceived power except buck the chief. They have become like the Soviet leaders sitting atop Lenin’s Tomb afraid of stepping out of line for fear they may become encased in their own political mausoleums.
I do not want to be a member of any tribe. I want to be a member of a political party that has principles and ideas. One that has a governing philosophy and wants to govern. I am not looking to create my own world where facts are no longer relevant. I want a party that can accomplish something.
I thought government was about governing. I thought we elected people who believed in that concept. Elected officials are not there to amass power and destroy the opposition. Unless the country goes back to a more rational philosophy of governing, we will continue to disintegrate as a cohesive nation.
