By JOHN REINIERS, Hernando Today (Florida)
Politics, never a squeaky clean business anyway, has hit a new low in the US. The power grab by parties - both sides - has an agenda that goes forth with nary a thought to the consequences. It is the perfect example of a pre 911 mentality in a post 911 world. Instead of uniting, focusing on a threat that affects us all alike, Congress - with the help of the media - concentrates only on the destruction of a President in order to elevate their own, poor, lackluster performance.
The Democrats, steadily losing ground in elections and seats since the 90s, will do anything to regain power at the Capitol. The Republicans have squandered their chance. They held power over all three branches, yet have a plethora of wasted opportunities strewn in their wake. Funny... a friend a long time back worried about the Republican sweep, predicting that their failure to make effective use of their power would do more harm for the future.
He has been proven correct. The Republican party under Bush has more defined ideas and directions while the Democrats flounder with criticisms but no solutions. Yet polls are increasingly showing that the lackluster performance of a Republican dominated governing power hasn't scored any points with voters, despite the uninviting alternative.
The Congressional hate-Bush fest manifested in the media 24/7, spreading the emotion laden, partisan mudslinging to the public. And like marionettes, we bought it entoto.
How depressing. We are victims of laziness. Despite having a wealth of data at our keyboards and cyber fingertips, plus knowing full well the media has more inaccurate, sensationalist reporting than truths, we still believe what we see and hear with too little question. The power and control of the media over American public opinion has proven awesome, and more frightening than a healthy distrust of government officials themselves. Afterall, government officials can be voted out and held accountable. The press? A cursory retraction buried on the back page, lost forever from view.
From Florida, John Reiniers pulls no punches on his assessment of American politics today. He cites media based scandal after scandal that, in retrospect, were founded on lies and exaggerations. As Cheney said when defending his choice of media outlets for the hunting accident,
I do think, what I’ve experienced over the years here in Washington as been the media outlets have proliferated, speed has become sort of a driving force. Lots of times at the expense of accuracy, and I wanted to make sure we got it as accurate as possible.
A simple truth that every honest citizen would have to agree - whether they like Cheney or not. The media values speed over accuracy, sorting out truths after the fact. And the media and Congressional minority have a shared quest - to systematically discredit and dismantle a President in order to regain power.
Everything today is politics. And if you can somehow nail Bush in the process – all the better.
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What on earth is going on? It’s like Chinese water torture. The scheme of the Democrats and the mainstream media is very simple. Keep at least one negative story in play on a continuing basis. If it doesn’t have legs, move on to another -- like the Dick Cheney hunting accident, for example. It was billed as a “defining moment” in Dick Cheney’s career, “a criminal act.” It didn’t work, so back to Katrina.
Hurricane Katrina is a gift to the Democrats that keeps giving and it will keep on giving as the media keeps recasting the facts with new “revelations” from those who blame only the Federal government. The worst natural disaster in our history encompassing a land mass the size of Great Britain is now simply a political event.
The facts and the rebuilding do not matter. It is fascinating that Mississippi and Alabama are all but ignored. A picture is worth a thousand words, and those videos of breached levees, the flooding, and all those folks being plucked off roofs by choppers resonate with voters. The race card was simply a bonus that was thrown in. Mississippi and Alabama were virtually obliterated but that doesn’t make for sensational pictures.
Before the Democrats focused on “talking points,” but their strategy now is to create an attitude in the mind of the voter. So, when Democratic allegations fail, an attitude remains. The voter is left with no confidence in government. (Emphasis mine) That’s what Chinese water torture is all about. Nothing of substance, but a cumulative “drip, drip” resulting in a loss of faith in the government and the country. The polls show it.
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The goal of the Democrats will be to take back the House of Representatives in 2006 and this is a distinct possibility given the liberal control of media outlets. The first order of business will be to commence impeachment proceedings against George Bush which will effectively shut down the remaining two years of his presidency and paralyze our government.
If the Democrats take the House, Bush will be impeached. The Senate will never convict, even if they take control of the Senate. What happens if the Republicans regain the House when a Democrat is elected president? When does it end?
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2006 will not be a midterm election devoted to local issues. This will be a national election – a referendum on George Bush. The Democrats do not want to take power so they can govern. They want power so they can devote the next two years to impeaching Bush. It has nothing to do with what is good for the country. It has everything to do with payback time.
We’ve got troops fighting a war. The world is getting incredibly complicated and unmanageable in a global economy. We need to pull together. We need statesmen, as Samuel Taylor Coleridge said, “to give hope to the people.” I don’t see the Democrats offering anything hopeful at a time when this country and the Republicans surely need a loyal opposition.
Well said, Mr. Reiniers. I couldn't agree more. Politics and Congressional self-absorbed quest for long term power and winning has usurped any attempt at a united effort to improve national security and our anti-terrorism intel. The most dangerous part of this political dirty truth is that we, the people, will be the ones who suffer from actions of these power hungry mongrels.
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