Where
do they find these people?� I�m talking about those crazy-talking
Tea Party types, ultra-conservative Republicans posing as
legitimate lawmakers and politicians, some of them even
passing themselves off as senators, members of Congress
and governors.
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Now, before you say anything, I am not na�ve about politics.�
I know that politics has always attracted some of the best,
but all too frequently it has attracted some of the worst
that society has to offer.� But this past election season,
it seems as if the bottom fell out on how bad it can get�how
truly pathetic and hopelessly unqualified candidates for
political office are allowed to be.� Tea party candidates
demonstrated their extremist and racist views, their ignorance
of basic constitutional principles, and their lack of preparation
for primetime.�
And most of all, they showed that they are wholly-owned pawns
of wealthy interests.�
Rand Paul, Rick Scott and Jan Brewer won.� Christine O�Donnell,
Ken Buck and Sharron Angle lost, but they were still legitimate
nominees of a major political party, so victory was at least
within the realm of the possible for them.� Dumb as bricks,
with no practical experience or knowledge of which to speak,
is suddenly a virtue.� Some of them said they would criminalize
abortion in the case of rape and incest, or protect the
rights of private businesses to discriminate against black
people.� Some have urged the use of Second Amendment remedies.�
At least one candidate led a program to openly intimidate
black voters.� And yet, a number of them found enough votes
to take them to victory.� They told the constituents they
would protect the interests of the rich, and yet they were
able to garner enough votes from the poor dumb citizenry
to win the election.� That�s something, isn�t it?�������
The bar of stupidity and intolerance is lowered every day,
and yet someone will vote for these people.� In Oklahoma,
a state senator authored a measure to amend the state constitution,
prohibiting state courts from considering
international law or Islamic Sharia law when reviewing cases.� The measure
passed with 70 percent of the vote, and a federal judge overturned
it, which shows that the federal government is necessary
to protect us from the states.
The reelected governor of Texas, Rick Perry, longs for the old days, a hundred
years ago�before the progressive movement and the New Deal,
when there were no child labor laws, unemployment insurance,
national income tax, consumer regulations or worker protections.�
He even wanted Texas To secede from the Union, and likely
put an innocent man to death, and still the citizenry of Texas
rewarded Perry with a third term in office.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, the governor and a state legislator
pass an anti-immigrant �papers please� law that was drafted
by white supremacists and the private prison industry.
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Whenever you find deplorable laws, there were deplorable
people behind those laws, driven by greed and fanaticism,
and lacking in character, empathy, scruples, and a concern
for the common good. America needs some sort of competency
exam, some kind of quality control process for their elected
officials.� Where are the regulations?� I know, elections
are supposed to take care of that.� Under normal circumstances,
in a democracy with elected representatives, you should
be able to count on an informed electorate to pick the best
candidates based on the issues.� But this is America, and
there are several problems with that notion.� Civic engagement
is lacking, voter participation is low, and many who vote
are low information voters.� Public education and the news
media have failed them.� While democracy depends on an educated
electorate, sadly too many American voters are ignorant
and ill-informed.
It does not help matters that the nation�s politics are driven
by a system of legalized bribery, blown wide open by the
U.S. Supreme Court�s Citizens United decision.� In
this pay-to-play land, with the best system money can buy,
democracy goes to the highest bidder.� So, what is considered
corruption in your run-of-the-mill, Third World banana republic
is the law in America, protected by the First Amendment�because
corporations are people, too.
Given the dysfunction, the gridlock and the mean-spiritedness
in our politics, it is no wonder that the best and brightest
too often flock to other disciplines, leaving the barrel
scrapers to fill the vacuum of political leadership.� And
yet, someone somewhere out there will vote for them.��
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BlackCommentator.com Executive
Editor, David A. Love, JD is a journalist and human rights
advocate based in Philadelphia, and a contributor to The Huffington Post, theGrio, The Progressive
Media Project, McClatchy-Tribune News Service, In These Times and Philadelphia Independent Media Center. He also blogs at davidalove.com, NewsOne, Daily
Kos,
and Open Salon. Click here to contact Mr. Love.
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