In Our Whackadoodle Political World, Third Party May be the Only Answer
|
||||||||||||||||||
| Printer Friendly Story View |
Some say, "The worst is yet to come."
I woke up this morning, February 21, 2010, to broadcaster Glenn Beck theatrically raving on TV that America is toast.
We need to go back to the old days and let everybody fail or make it on their own -- just like the pioneers. Republicans are just as bad as Democrats, he shouted. Cheers arose from conservatives gathering in Washington.
The local paper was less than cheery: too many people asking for money, city pay hike outrage, commercial real estate foreclosure crisis looms, colleges facing squeeze, governors say worst is yet to come economically . . .
One editorial complaint about high school kids getting "worthless certificates of completion" instead of diplomas caught my eye. In our view, such a certificate will be a tremendous accomplishment for some kids. It may give them confidence to seek more training or to work.
Continually raising graduation requirements and trying to force all kids into college prep is a self-defeating policy of schools. We need a two-track program where some kids who are not academically inclined can learn useful skills. Expand the vocational approach, install a training wage of $2 per hour and require universal service for those who drop out. A recent column expounding those ideas drew numerous positive comments.
I talked to an extremely successful local corporation executive recently who told me he took almost all shop classes at the old Handy High. "I left school with a great understanding of the mechanical world, and that has helped me immensely all these years."
There's a definite disconnect when, on C-Span today, Sec. of Education Arne Duncan, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm, confronting a 30 percent dropout rate, continue to insist that "raising the bar" is good policy.
We can only raise the bar for highly motivated kids from stable middle-class families and evidence is that these conditions are in the minority today. We just need to help kids survive, graduate and become employable.
Then on to the New York Times: "Millions of unemployed face years without jobs" is the screaming front page headline. Yikes! What a way to wake up.
Here's a column by Senator Evan Bayh telling why he no longer wants to be a senator. Gridlock, hyper-partisanship, etc., etc. Eleven other senators are bailing out, too.
When senators start voting against bills they themselves proposed, Alice in Wonderland definitely has invaded Washington.
And how about Thomas Friedman, prize winning columnist's screed: "The Fat Lady Has Sung." Welcome to the lean years where government's job will be to take things away from people, he writes.
Friedman is the guy who has argued in his books that when low-skill and low-wage jobs are exported to foreign countries, more advanced and higher-skilled jobs will be freed up and made available for those displaced by the outsourcing. He theorizes that as long as those whose jobs are outsourced continue to further their education and specialize in their field, they will find better-paying and higher-skilled jobs.
He also views American immigration laws as too restrictive and damaging to economic output: "It is pure idiocy that Congress will not open our borders -- as wide as possible -- to attract and keep the world's first-round intellectual draft choices in an age when everyone increasingly has the same innovation tools and the key differentiator is human talent."
Now, all of a sudden, Mr. Friedman is realizing that the proverbial fat lady is warbling at our economic funeral. But he hasn't admitted that his pet theories are bunk, that jobs at all levels are going offshore and not coming back, and on top of that we are bringing immigrants to take more jobs.
Re "nation building," or "Regeneration" as Friedman calls it, Obama is not moving fast enough, not focusing, the Republicans are irresponsible obstructionists despite having created the problem, etc., says Mr. Friedman, commenting:
"Mr. Obama won the election because he was able to 'rent' a significant number of independent voters -- including Republican business types who had never voted for a Democrat in their lives -- because they knew in their guts that the country was on the wrong track and was desperately in need of nation-building at home and that John McCain was not the man to do it.
"They thought that Mr. Obama, despite his liberal credentials, had the unique skills, temperament, voice and values to pull the country together for this new Apollo program -- not to take us to the moon, but into the 21st century."
It all sounds like the same tune sung every time a society gets in trouble; everybody else is to blame. The rats are fighting over the control of the cheese. Deck chairs are not even being re-arranged on the Titanic because no one can agree on where they should be placed.
Former senator Lincoln Chaffee, however, may have had the last word. He recalls pollster John Zogby's 2001 prophecy that a third party could seize the political center. Chaffee himself is on an Independent run for Rhode Island governor. And, he hints that Bayh may be planning a 2012 run for President as an Independent.
My guess is that the young people, the Republicans, and the moderates who are abandoning Obama would flock to an independent who promises action on our problems (i.e., health care, the deficit, campaign reform) that are insurmountable without bipartisanship.
Such a development could be the only way to break gridlock in Washington and get the country moving again. ##
| Printer Friendly Story View |
|
Prior Article
March 5, 2025 by: Stephen Kent St. Patricks Parade 2025 - IT's TIME |
|
Next Article
February 10, 2020 by: Rachel Reh Family Winter Fun Fest is BACC Hot Spot for 2/10/2020 |
"The BUZZ" - Read Feedback From Readers! |
|
jchowell Says:
On February 22, 2010
at 05:48 AM
Well, so far, we have avoided complete economic collapse. I think, if McCain had won, we would already be there with all the trappings--riots, National Guard patrolling our city streets, etc. Marshall Law, would, of course, have been installed and we would not have to worry about the messy democracy we have going on now. Having avoided complete collapse of the economy is one of Obama's achievements thus far. Because he is a president and not a king or a dictator, he is somewhat limited in what he can do. The senate has become a real dragon and it is hard to get a dragon to co-operate. I still don't understand how this 60-40 majority vote to avoid filibuster came to pass. Do you know how it happened?
He needs to have Republicans quit campaigning for the next election and Democrats to find their spines and start helping him out. I'm disappointed at all these folks quitting their congressional jobs because the fight is a little bit rough. The problem getting anything done exists in the senate mainly. I'm certainly not against a third party. I voted for Ross Perot once upon a time--mainly because he articulated common sense (mostly). He pretty much threw the election with bad decisions. I won't get into that. Hindsight being 20-20, or thereabouts, I don't think Perot would have actually gotten much done. The problem is that big money has too much power. It did back then and it does now, only more so now. And, then too, the third party has to get the existing parties to co-operate. I do not much like what I see looming as our possible third party of the future, i.e., the teabagger types. It is easy to understand all that anger they have, but shouting down reasonable discussion is never desirable. I think our current president is about as good as we are going to get. The problem doesn't exist with Obama. The problem is Big Money owns the politicians and, now that our Supreme Court has made it possible for even more Big Money to buy the elections (including foreign companies), it looks like the deal is complete. I wonder if the Supreme Court is controlled with direct bribes or exactly how Big Money gives them their pay-offs? Maybe they are controlled through intimidation? Probably a combination of intimidation and pay-offs. Your ideas for schooling and employing our youth are good. Some youngsters need Building Trades courses and things of that nature. Not all can be college professors or engineers. We are going through and interesting, albeit scary, time in our history, eh? |
|
mdoloresbarron Says:
On February 22, 2010
at 07:22 AM
A great column...I applaud you!(and you never think I read your columns!)
|
|
rustycannon1 Says:
On March 01, 2010
at 10:57 PM
Dave: I really enjoyed this column even though it is mostly a gloomy assessment of our political, economic and educational situation. As a retired educator, I agree completely that we will never improve our educational system (el-hi) by raising the bar for all students. That will only ensure that more students who are not academically inclined will fail! What we need is an individualized academic program for each student according to his/her needs, abilities and interests. This is realistically possible with the unlimited potential of computer technology. Why we haven't already had demonstration projects to explore this idea is a real puzzle to me. Where is our leadership at the national level? Finally, it also puzzles me how our college/university system is the envy of the rest of the world when our prep education leaves so much to be desired. Anyone have an answer?
|
|
|
Dave Rogers |
|
|
|
Printer-Friendly Story View
0200 Nd: 06-05-2026 d 4 cpr 0
12/31/2020 P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm
SPONSORED LINKS
12/31/2020 drop ads P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm