Those rotten Democrats
"The man who knows the truth and has the opportunity to tell it, but whononetheless refuses to, is among the most shameful of all creatures. Godforbid that we should ever become so lax as that." ---Theodore Roosevelt
Well, up to now in this political year, it seems I have been overly soft in referring to our fine Democratic colleagues and candidates. Sorry for the oversight. So, as a registered Stafford Republican, let me unequivocally blurt out the truth: Dems are all a bunch of dweebs.
The only problem you loyal readers of my columns may have with that observation is that I feel the same way about much of the GOP.
There, that should cool the fevered brows of some recent critics of this paper who have claimed that only one-sided commentaries supporting Democrats have appeared on this page. So? Opinions are what this page is for. Does it lean too far towards the left?
Hardly. Just check out our "Good, Bad and Wacky" whizbangers on this page beneath the editorial each week. They have featured many horselaughs at Democrats.
For example:
--Some of the Democratic presidential contenders at the recent Dartmouth debate voiced support for outright smoking bans by states and then argued whether it would be good to reduce the legal drinking age to 18. ( Oct. 12.)
--The U.S. Senate holds crucial all-night sessions on immediately ending the war in Iraq, then adjourns for an August vacation. ( July 27.)
--“This amnesty will give citizenship to only 1.1 to 1.3 million illegal aliens. We will secure the borders henceforth. We will never again bring forward another amnesty bill like this.”—Sen. Teddy Kennedy in 1986 (June 1.)
True, the paper has also covered the stumbling, GOP-led efforts locally to get a better intersection at Falmouth (right soon, but don’t hold your breath), the commonwealth’s silly new traffic law that shoves it to Virginia drivers but exempts visitors, and Stafford’s politically correct, everyone-in-the-pool exercise to update our comprehensive plan, a document so long in draft that it probably now needs revision (think Traditional Neighborhood Development). Oh yes, and our supervisors are fighting the surge in illegal immigration by forming a task force to study the matter. Kicking the can down the road in this case, though, may be prudent.
So we’ve got balance, folks.
But personally, I could care less. Maybe it’s age, boredom, or all three. Whatever, today’s political wars are so juvenile that we voters may as well stay home. What difference will it make? All politicians are much the same.
Granted, once elected, they work hard to legislate and govern and win again. But what they produce seems so seldom to make any difference. Maybe it’s because of the huge, costly labyrinth that perpetual bureaucracies at all levels have become.
For example, tune in on TV to the Stafford planning commission’s drawn-out meetings. You couldn’t pay me to be a member. I don’t know how much they get, but their meetings last so long that I’m sure it equates to slave wages. I suspect the school board regularly gets bogged down similarly, for similar chump change.
I admire those citizen members who have given so much of their time to accomplish so little. They undoubtedly would do more, except for the bulging bundle of bureaucratic rules and laws they must abide by.
It all starts with the legislators. The elected people in Richmond and Washington seem to labor mightily, but they’re up against the lawyers and the special interests, and they are losing. So are we. Apparently Sen. John McCain agrees, recently saying, “The American people no longer have trust or confidence in our government…”
Governing is futile, often wacky. Va. Gov. Kaine courts the teachers lobby by proposing state spending to provide pre-kindergarten education. How dumb: Raise taxes to give parents paid daycare. Have you seen a child that young lately? Putting them in a class must be like trying to herd cats. They’ll grow old enough to be teachable by nonparents soon enough. We pay so much for so little. Two stupid examples: USDA is passing out $20 million in grants to study gas emissions from dairy cows to determine their contributions to “global warming.” Worse, bureaucrats are spending $27 million to see if there really is a single ivory billed woodpecker, thought to be extinct, but perhaps still extant somewhere in Arkansas.
Of course, today’s candidates will straighten such things out once they get in office. If you believe that, then vote for the one you hate the least.
As for me, wake me when it’s over.
Well, up to now in this political year, it seems I have been overly soft in referring to our fine Democratic colleagues and candidates. Sorry for the oversight. So, as a registered Stafford Republican, let me unequivocally blurt out the truth: Dems are all a bunch of dweebs.
The only problem you loyal readers of my columns may have with that observation is that I feel the same way about much of the GOP.
There, that should cool the fevered brows of some recent critics of this paper who have claimed that only one-sided commentaries supporting Democrats have appeared on this page. So? Opinions are what this page is for. Does it lean too far towards the left?
Hardly. Just check out our "Good, Bad and Wacky" whizbangers on this page beneath the editorial each week. They have featured many horselaughs at Democrats.
For example:
--Some of the Democratic presidential contenders at the recent Dartmouth debate voiced support for outright smoking bans by states and then argued whether it would be good to reduce the legal drinking age to 18. ( Oct. 12.)
--The U.S. Senate holds crucial all-night sessions on immediately ending the war in Iraq, then adjourns for an August vacation. ( July 27.)
--“This amnesty will give citizenship to only 1.1 to 1.3 million illegal aliens. We will secure the borders henceforth. We will never again bring forward another amnesty bill like this.”—Sen. Teddy Kennedy in 1986 (June 1.)
True, the paper has also covered the stumbling, GOP-led efforts locally to get a better intersection at Falmouth (right soon, but don’t hold your breath), the commonwealth’s silly new traffic law that shoves it to Virginia drivers but exempts visitors, and Stafford’s politically correct, everyone-in-the-pool exercise to update our comprehensive plan, a document so long in draft that it probably now needs revision (think Traditional Neighborhood Development). Oh yes, and our supervisors are fighting the surge in illegal immigration by forming a task force to study the matter. Kicking the can down the road in this case, though, may be prudent.
So we’ve got balance, folks.
But personally, I could care less. Maybe it’s age, boredom, or all three. Whatever, today’s political wars are so juvenile that we voters may as well stay home. What difference will it make? All politicians are much the same.
Granted, once elected, they work hard to legislate and govern and win again. But what they produce seems so seldom to make any difference. Maybe it’s because of the huge, costly labyrinth that perpetual bureaucracies at all levels have become.
For example, tune in on TV to the Stafford planning commission’s drawn-out meetings. You couldn’t pay me to be a member. I don’t know how much they get, but their meetings last so long that I’m sure it equates to slave wages. I suspect the school board regularly gets bogged down similarly, for similar chump change.
I admire those citizen members who have given so much of their time to accomplish so little. They undoubtedly would do more, except for the bulging bundle of bureaucratic rules and laws they must abide by.
It all starts with the legislators. The elected people in Richmond and Washington seem to labor mightily, but they’re up against the lawyers and the special interests, and they are losing. So are we. Apparently Sen. John McCain agrees, recently saying, “The American people no longer have trust or confidence in our government…”
Governing is futile, often wacky. Va. Gov. Kaine courts the teachers lobby by proposing state spending to provide pre-kindergarten education. How dumb: Raise taxes to give parents paid daycare. Have you seen a child that young lately? Putting them in a class must be like trying to herd cats. They’ll grow old enough to be teachable by nonparents soon enough. We pay so much for so little. Two stupid examples: USDA is passing out $20 million in grants to study gas emissions from dairy cows to determine their contributions to “global warming.” Worse, bureaucrats are spending $27 million to see if there really is a single ivory billed woodpecker, thought to be extinct, but perhaps still extant somewhere in Arkansas.
Of course, today’s candidates will straighten such things out once they get in office. If you believe that, then vote for the one you hate the least.
As for me, wake me when it’s over.
posted by Ben Blankenship at
8:49 AM
