Politics: the good news and the bad news
September 16, 2011
I love Elizabeth Warren. I think she’s real, she cares about people, she’s smart and tough, and she’s incorruptible. The bizarre news, under these circumstances, is that she’s running for Congress. Is she too good to win in politics? Don’t you have to be a slime ball? Don’t you need to attract and sell out to megacorporations to succeed? We shall see. It could be really great.
And just in case you think I’m being too cynical, please read this. It’s an absolutely stunning, depressing insider’s view of the Republic Party from Mike Lofgren, who retired in June after 28 years as a Congressional staffer, having served 16 years as a professional staff member on the Republican side of both the House and Senate Budget Committees.
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The real travesty seems to be that Elizabeth Warren isn’t running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which exists in large part because of her. She is ideally suited for that position but the Senate (i.e. a certain subset of them) vowed not to approve her and Obama didn’t even try to nominate her (in fact, the Senate basically threatened not to approve anyone).
This pattern of not being able to put the right people in the right place (in government) is an unfortunate sign of the political climate. See for example
http://www.afj.org/press/12232010.html
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/21/business/la-fi-bryson-commerce-20110621
Many posts remain unfilled, held hostage by politics, despite there being willing, qualified, and dedicated people waiting to fill them!
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That IS a stunning essay by Lofgren. Thanks!
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From my perspective, US politics, and especially the Republican party, are frightening. Indeed have you noticed that their entire platform is based on fear of a worse future, not hope for a better one. Of course there are other political organisations around the world that feed on fear – the government of North Korea and Al-Qaeda are good examples. Machievelli in his advice to ‘The Prince’ noted that it was easier to rule through fear than through love; it appears that unfortunately, he was correct.
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I’m excited by the EW campaign. Since Obama joined the Republican party, someone needs to join Bernie Sanders as a progressive voice in Congress!
FoW
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