Another Nice Mess!

Oliver Hardy’s trademark “another nice mess” pretty well gets it when it comes to our country’s current condition.  It’s painfully obvious that our political system, which happens to be regulated by members of two political parties, is not working.  Not illogically, this has led to calls for a third party. This point of view is based on the assumption that adding a third political entity would result in a more representative government. 

 I disagree with this assumption.

No matter how many groups are in play, we can never reach representative government as long as money speaks as loudly as it does. An additional bidder might even raise the market price of a Congressional vote. By the time a fledgling group, founded by people pure as the driven snow, achieves eminence it will have drawn the company, and the money, of less well intentioned types.

I agree with those who say that exclusive public funding of elections for national office is the only proper system. However I have felt that the chances of this happening were the rough equivalent of passing single payer health insurance. Now, since the “Citizens United” Supreme Court decision, it’s anything goes. How many people knew at the time that the Willie Horton commercial was only an “issue” ad, with no official connection to the Bush ’41, campaign?

For some time we have been moving consistently, if not inexorably, away from a government representative of the people and towards one representative of money. To this end the judicial branch has had a major role in the most important decisions such as Bush v Gore and Citizens United. The head count has been the same five to four margin that has been in place since the obscene selection of Clarence Thomas to replace Thurgood Marshall. The faces may change, but the characters remain, in no small part because the retirement of justices happens to coincide with their affinity to the politics of the president.

Something has to change.  But it won’t until less enfranchised Americans, who comprise a majority of voters, realize that they’ve been getting an incrementally shorter end of the stick. The political left has been repeatedly accused of trying to redistribute wealth. Wealth has indeed been redistributed for the last thirty years, but not by the left. 

I have no other predictions other than if we don’t change direction good old Ollie will continue having the last word.