Throw the Bums Out

Housecleaning – All Around

Like everything else in our time-bound world, the politics of democracy works in cycles. Parties come and go, Presidents mature, Congresses regenerate themselves on an ongoing basis. This is fine over the short run, but as too long a period of time passes by a sort of rot begins to seep in.

Like a prairie that has gone too long without the cleansing touch of fire, the undergrowth begins to run amok. Saplings, suckers and vines reach out to suck the life out of the soil, and the good plants are stunted and stymied.

That, my friends, is the current state of affairs in Washington. As much as I admire and respect President Bush, he represents the end point of 20 straight years of Bush/Clinton, and almost 30 years of the post-Watergate age. That age is done now. That, far more than any personal or administration-level incompetence, is the reason for the President’s difficulties. That is the reason Hillary Clinton will not be the next President. America knows we have passed Hillary by. Poor girl. She missed her chance.

Presidents are fairly easy to recycle. President Bush is leaving no matter what anybody wants, and the nature of the President we choose to replace him with will begin to define the character of the next political era. That is why I desperately hope that we do not end up with a President Obama. If we start the post-Reagan era with a President whose best qualities are that he is an eloquent empty suit, and whose worst qualities are that he is a radical post-modern internationalist, we may be in deep trouble.

As troubling as the presidency is, it is Congress that is in desperate need of a whoopin’. I don’t know that I have ever seen institutions grow so ugly and useless as our current House and Senate. It’s not just because they are currently run by Democrats. That doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. They have become corrupt, chaotic, incompetent organizations who seem to spend most of their time standing around admiring themselves.

It is time for a prairie fire to sweep this tangled mess clean, to allow for new growth. I humbly submit that all Americans band together and throw out every single incumbent Representative, and every Senator up for election this cycle. I know, it’s hard to consider throwing out a fine member of your own party. My own Representative is the honorable and very conservative John Kline. But sometimes the need for regeneration is more important than the need to maintain competence.

We need to throw all the bums out and start from scratch. If one looks at the approval ratings for Congress, it is clear that most Americans agree at some level that this is an intolerable situation. The culture of earmarks has managed to degrade into a toothless partisan bickering in which the actual interests of the nation appear to be the every last concern of those running the show.

We need to throw the bums out. Toss out San Fran Nan and John Boehner and Mitch McConnell. We’ll have to wait a little to get rid of Harry Reid, but is we toss the rest of them out he’ll likely get the message.

This may sound radical. But it is warranted. It is rare to be present and aware at the start of a new age. It is a gift to be able to shape it from the start. By burning away the dross we can let the character of the new age emerge fresh. So join me this November. Strike a blow for democracy and the power of the people. Throw ‘em all out!

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