We'll See

“Every day is election day” in Washington. Or so says President Obama in his State of the Union speech a few days ago.
Yes, it is, Mr. President. And it has been for years. Instead of making decisions based on what may be good for the country, legislators all too often make decisions based on how they will play with the electorate, as if the election was being held the next day.
This phenomenon is not unique with the Republicans, or with the Democrats, for that matter. It’s an infection that has permeated the Washington establishment for years.
Why else is it such a refreshing thing (and much talked-about) when a politician states in plain words that he or she is not running for re-election (a-la Mark Parkinson, governor or Kansas)? The clear implication is that he or she is no longer bound to think about decisions based on the future election. Instead, he can actually do the job he was put into office to do. What a novel idea! Doing one’s job!
As I said in a prior blog, this is not funny…it’s just sad. If there is any pessimism within me regarding our government, it is that those who are our elected representatives always seem to be running for office, and the minority party always seems to be the party of “No”, obstructing anything that it didn’t think up on its own or that may result in a better image for the majority party.
Will it change? I don’t know. What I do know is that something needs to happen soon. The government, both local and national, is becoming more and more irrelevant as the years go by, and more and more expensive. I also know that this cannot continue ad infinitum. We’ll see.