An overview of today’s political environment and the desired qualities expected of elected officials throughout our nation
Ronald Reagan emphasized that “America needs leaders, not labels” — Forget the convenient, self characterizing labels politicians sometimes come up with to describe themselves. Watch, instead, whether they use and rely on a compass or a weather vane to chart their course of action. What determines how they will vote on an issue? Do they lead or just gauge the winds of opinion and wait until the last minute to join the final majority?
What Would We Think of a Football Team that Spent the Entire Game on the 50 Yard Line and Called that a “Victory?”
A politician who must constantly poll to know where they stand and what stands (if any) to take and who base all decisions on the quest for re-election or high approval ratings is not a true leader. However, that is what we frequently witness in today’s politics. Too many mushy politicians rush to the mushy middle and then call themselves “moderates,” “mavericks” or “centrists”. They hope to turn wandering into a virtue and emphasize their “open mindedness”. Their vote is always up for grabs and available to anyone who comes to court them for their vote. And yet, what would we think of a football team that spent the entire game on the 50 yard line and called that a “victory?”
What are the Controlling Principles?
What exactly is it that “moderates” moderate and what are the principles that guide such decisions? Are they for more and bigger government but not too much? Are they for more and higher taxes but not too high? How do they decide? Are they simply content to be less than some and more than others? Ask yourself what it is that “conservatives” hope to conserve? What is it that “liberals” are liberal with and about? What are the controlling principles? Does it all come down to principles or merely personalities? I intend no personal criticism of anyone. However, from time to time, we need to step back and evaluate the overall political environment in which today’s public policy is determined and applied.
Calculating politicians who are not governed by a core set of principles are likely to cling to the middle where they are free to drift with every passing breeze. Sadly, it seems to work to their benefit. Those who do little and try not to stand out and who shun contested, high profile issues, attract no gaze or controversy. They quietly get re-elected time and again because, after all, “no news is good news”. Name recognition eventually solidifies their position and guarantees long term incumbency. That is the cycle in too many cases. That is the life of many “career politicians”.
Do you really think it is a coincidence when an elected official ends up on the same side of the majority of the people on every issue all the time? Polls are then taken that turn this phenomenon into “job approval ratings.” Echo what the polls say and those polls will validate you in return. However, that is not leadership and self bestowed labels are not a substitute for principled action. Choose and advocate your position based on your core beliefs and let the majority make its will known but do it through principled discussion and debate and not simply political posturing and re-election calculations.
Moral Truths Determine Moral Issues
When it comes to moral issues, there are eternal truths that must not be compromised. That is not heartless or mindless rigidity. Those same truths invoke compassion, respect and civility for and among all people. Still, there is a Supreme Judge of the World and a Higher Law. That is why our Presidents place their hand on the Bible while swearing to uphold the Constitution and fulfill the duties of the office to the best of their ability. So too, and as important as the principle and spirit of compromise is to the formation of sound and enduring public policy, the prioritization of controlling principles must guide us in drawing lines and standing firm where and when necessary. As Thomas Jefferson urged, “On matters of style, swim with the current. On matters of principle, stand like a rock.”
The Heart of Our Political Process is Principled Debate and Thoughtful Deliberation to achieve a Majority Consensus
You can easily spot self serving politicians (those in search of the labels their polling and political instincts tell them are the key to personal victory). They are forever floating downstream buoyed by political life preservers but are incapable of leading a return upstream when necessary to correct the dead end results of prior wrong turns. Politics is not merely the triumph of power. It is meant to be the conscious choice among competing ideas and options by a people dedicated to the collective public good. That requires an informed consensus. Thus, the heart of our political process is principled debate and deliberation. Without it, “lawmaking” can easily deteriorate and become a recurring scene of acrimony and disputation among competing special interests.
Principles endure while programs and politicians come and go. Principles run deep. Superficial labels, however, can be extremely misleading especially when there are those who seem to change positions with the wind and slip and slide from election to election. It’s anybody’s guess how they will vote when the vote is close.
Even in the midst of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, there were immensely practical public servants who viewed and handled issues based on what we would perhaps today consider to be immediate self interest. Still, we can see that strong principles and devotion to the future needs of their posterity were their overriding concern at all times. That is the type of principled government we need to reclaim in our time. Entrenched, salaried, full-time, out of touch career politicians fall short of that expectation.
Which is it? Calculating Politics or Principled Public Service?
It is said that there are at least three different kinds of elected officials: “POLLITICIANS”, “POLITICIANS” and “STATESMAN.” “Polliticians” are always trying to gauge public opinion and “political correctness.” They are always polling (if only in their minds) and base all their decisions and actions on the results of such polls with the ever controlling objective of being on the majority side at all times and on all issues. They cannot lead or directly affect the outcome. They merely try to forecast and stay close enough to the middle so they can move but a short distance (back and forth if necessary) to join even the slimmest majority.
“Politicians” think it’s all a game – a power game. To them it is all a matter of political chess and they want to become so skilled (the political equivalent of Bobby Fisher) that they are able to play the game better than anyone and better than it has ever been played before.
“Statesmen” are men and women who diligently strive to know and do the right thing for the right reason. They are not naïve about human nature but they also cling to the Constitutional ideal of an informed citizenry and ongoing principled debate and decision making such as that which created our unique system of self governance more than two hundred years ago. They are not consumed with re-election calculations and are willing to put it all on the line at any time when principle dictates. They are not afraid to expend whatever political capital they may possess or goodwill with others when the cause of principle moves them to do so. They are not timid about making their positions known and striving to help shape public opinion. Contrast that stand with the comment of a former U.S. Senator in Washington who said that one of the senior Senators in his party told him when he was first elected, “If you want to stay here a long time – don’t do anything.”
Look Beyond the Labels
Discerning citizens will take these considerations into account when they entrust their vote to the candidate of their choice. We must look beyond self posturing and self serving labels that may try, at times, to masquerade as leadership.
Posted by: LaVar Christensen