Who is to blame for our current out of touch elected officials?

In the last year we have seen protests against out of control Federal and State spending and there is a general feeling against incumbency. While there is so much anger at the elected officials who are often so disappointing, we must look at the real culprit that keeps these out of control politicians in power. The real culprit is that too few people pay attention and too few people are civically involved.

Evan Bayh, Democrat Senator of Indiana, has announced his retirement, coming at the end of 2010. Bayh has been polling poorly versus Republican opponents and his retirement has followed quite a few other Democrat retirements for both House and Senate seats. The Democratic leadership is making an attempt to prevent what could be a major loss in both legislative houses. So, in attempting to hold disputed seats, they are removing some at risk incumbents and pushing candidates that are less well known. Why? For the first time in several generations there is a palpable, anti-incumbent sentiment that pertains to both major parties but it pertains disproportionately to Democrats. Right now, people are paying attention.

The discontent for Democrat incumbents could easily by tied to the back door deals that were so rampant in the last few months in the Health Care debate. Democrats, by pushing for newer candidates instead of incumbents, are attempting to continue their agenda while removing unpopular names. The incumbents however, are often unpopular due to their embracing those unpopular Democrat agenda items. So, I must warn the moderate Democrat electorates, in the States and districts where this maneuver is being orchestrated, don’t be fooled. The Democratic leadership are hoping that you’re not paying attention.

Attention Democratic electorate, if you buy that a new name, in place of an old one, will miraculously represent an independent voter, then you will be sorely disappointed. Look at the last few months. When more independent Democrats had the perceived insolence to not vote the party line, they were attacked in the media, called into the Oval Office, and some even had their wives and religions assaulted. Eventually, the “independently” minded Democrats were bought off or beaten into submission. In the current conditions in Washington, non-compliance will not be tolerated. Remember that when Pennsylvania Senator, Arlen Specter switched from the Republicans to the Democrats, he claimed that he would continue to be an “independent” voice in the Senate. If you buy that, apparently you’re not paying attention. Specter has walked the Democrat party line fully. He has backed away from his opposition of “Card Check,” fully supported every spending package and has been a dutiful voice for the Health Care bills on the Sunday morning talk shows. If you are paying attention then you understand the ‘independent” voice, in the Democrat party is a myth.

Republicans are also guilty of not paying attention. I recently attended a rally for Utah incumbent Senator Bennett. Before the Senator spoke, he was introduced by a Republican, who was inadvertently paying attention in a stupidly honest way. The silly introduction consisted of a list of Federal funds that Bennett had brought to Utah. Then, when Bennett assumed the pulpit, the Senator spoke at length about taking control of, out of control spending. After the Senator spoke, the same, rather MaGoo-like Republican walked to the pulpit and said that he and others in the Republican leadership refer to Senator Bennett as “their go-to guy.” While this man certainly is guilty of being painfully unaware of the direction of the political winds, his honesty on Bennett’s record is worth acknowledging.

Bennett’s speech said that the way to conquer out of control spending was to address entitlements. He continued saying that growth of entitlement spending must be frozen, while action should be taken to allow the free market to grow. This is a very nice sentiment and Bennett was certainly more aware of the political winds, than his introducer. However, Bennett was perhaps hoping that most of his audience was not paying attention to his introducer, while he was also appealing to ignorance of his own recent record. The Senator’s recent “compromise” Health Care bill was a new huge entitlement. In this and in many other cases, Republican voters must also pay attention. The audience at this rally seemed energized by Bennett’s new declaration of entitlement freezing. I hope that more people than just me, and a few friends, were paying attention beyond the moving rhetoric, balancing the Senators declaration with his recent history.

The Republican and Democrat electorates both have to do a better job of paying attention, but what about those in the “other” column. There was a news article on the radio recently, mentioning that the Nevada “Tea Party” was considering running as a third party against Nevada Democrat Senator Harry Reid. Now, “Tea Party,” history beckons you to pay attention. Third parties have the distinctive record of not being elected at the federal level. You, in the “Tea Party,” will however, accomplish something; by ensuring the reelection of Liberal Democrat Harry Reid. I know that you feel that you have an inside track on the “real America” but what if you succeed at your inevitable failure? By taking a significant percentage of the electorate, you will elect the person who agrees with your platform the least. This prospect is even more bleak, when you consider that Harry Reid is the Majority Leader in the Senate. So the third party “Tea Partiers” would be helping to keep a leader, to the very agenda that they protest against, in power. Pay attention to the ramifications of your actions.

Paying attention is integral to moving the country in a positive direction. There is a new wave of civic awareness in the country. This is great news. There will always be a committed left and right. Both of these branches of the political spectrum, generally pay attention at a superficial level. Those in the middle often vote by emotion and a limited understanding of civics and politics. The middle, despite their limited understanding, decide elections. The Founding Fathers often spoke of having an educated and involved public, which could hold government accountable. The left often accuse the right of slavishly voting for their party, while the right claim the same of the left. The middle accuse both sides of being too partisan, while third party supporters accuse both sides of missing the greater picture. At some level, every one of these arguments have merit. However, none of these arguments carry much weight, if they are not backed with a large degree of civic awareness. Being partisan, in the middle or a third party supporter means nothing, if the person making the argument is not paying attention to what is going in their country, state or any other level of elected representation.

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