We Liked Ike (but didn’t listen to him.)

Eisenhower’s Farewell Address to the American People – Google Video

What Eisenhower warned us about has come to pass. Not specifically or only the companies illustrated in that video (with the cheesy music overlaid, sorry) but “special interests” have essentially taken complete control of the two dominant political parties of this country. Ike’s last thought is the most prophetic:

“The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”

Misplaced power, indeed.

In 2000 two interesting and truly different candidates for the US Presidency emerged. Both were excellent illustrations of their respective party’s “true philosophies.” As such, the special interests rejected them. I refer to John McCain & William Bradley. It is a shame that the party machinery denied us such a choice, because unlike the choice we were offered in November 2000 a McCain v Bradley race would have actually been a choice. Instead we got Bush v Gore, which ironically became the title of a Supreme Court case. There was no choice there, it was two pillars of mediocrity from which to pick. The populace split quite literally 50/50. (For a fascinating look at visualizing the 2004 and other {back to 1960} election results by geography and population, have a look here and here.) The Onion, that hilarious satire site prophetically wrote a “Bush quote” from the inauguration: “Our Long National Nightmare of Peace & Prosperity is Finally Over.” We all chuckled. Bush then rewarded his base by cutting the taxes of the exceedingly wealthy, and then spent the first eight months of his presidency on vacation at his “ranch” in Crawford, Tx.

Then came 9/11.

I risk the ire of every person who ever reads this as it is probably the most UN-politically correct thing anyone has said about 9/11… but I’ve said this since that day: The 9/11 attacks on the USA were a strategic failure. They had, in retrospect a very small impact on the United States. They did not materially damage our economy. They did not materially damage to our infrastructure. They did not in actuality do great physical harm. Four aircraft lost, three buildings destoyed (WTC 1, 2 & 7), one building damaged (The Pentagon), ~3,000 people dead. This in a country of vast infrastructure, hundreds of millions of buildings, and 300 million people. I’m sorry Mr. bin Laden, it is going to take more than that to materially injure this country, and a whole lot more to destroy it!

What the attacks did succeed in doing was shock us. They shocked the world. And from that shock came the sympathy and support from the vast majority of the planet. The United States of America had spent 225 years showing the world how to create the best country in human history. Carefully built over two centuries by men of courage and integrity, such as Madison, Monroe, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Eisenhower. We had lead by example, especially since Europe had spent the majority of the 225 years at war with each other, and the USA had become the shining beacon of peace and prosperity to the world. We were “the good guys.”

Osama bin Laden has never been captured and brought to justice. A task well within the capability of the most powerful nation on earth… especially in the aftermath of 9/11 when the world stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us. Instead we have let him go free and we’ve been chasing already captive bogeymen elsewhere in the Middle East – all the while swelling the ranks of potential and actual Islamic terrorists. We allowed the moment to pass, that could have removed the threat of future 9/11s. We had the will, the power, and the global support to do it.

Our current leadership has squandered that goodwill, within the space of five years. They have betrayed the armed forces, and to a greater extent every US citizen by giving up and never finishing the job they started in Afghanistan. They have betrayed the armed forces again by sending them into Iraq with no clear strategic goal or plan. They have betrayed their fiscal Conservative backers with rampant spending and debt. They have betrayed their social Conservative backers with no real movement beyond lip service to their causes. Worst of all: They have betrayed the very Constitution they swore an oath to preserve, protect, and defend.

With the suspension of Habeas Corpus, the creation and maintenance of secret prisons, the use of torture as a legitimate act of the State… our current administration has crossed the line. They are using fear. Fear of an opponent they could have easily destroyed and brought to justice FIVE YEARS ago, to destroy instead the foundation this country was built upon, the US Constitution. The most important part of that document, the one where the founding fathers said: “to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers … and as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government” has been clearly violated. It is a quick read, so here, refresh your memory.

There are two methods within the rule of law for US Citizens to change the course of the current administration. The first one is to vote. Tomorrow is an election, though not a presidential one. We are electing some portion of our members of Congress. Think about the track record of the current administration and of the current Congress when you cast your vote. A change is clearly needed. The Constitution hoped to establish balance of power within government by providing each of the three portions of government power over each other. The system is DESIGNED to be inefficient. The government’s power MUST be held in check by the designed ineffectiveness of the system. The political parties have circumvented that concentrating power in themselves instead of the branches of government, and then taking over those branches one by one. Nothing will destroy this country faster than any one party in control of all of government. If anything the American experiment has proven it is that absolute power does indeed corrupt, and imbalanced power conversely leads to peace and prosperity. Our country has been at it’s best when different political factions have been in control of the different branches of government. In fact, name any great President, and I bet you find that he had a Congress whose majority was Opposition, or he himself was a contrarian to his own party. As such, I’m sorry to say to my Republican friends and family, it is time to throw Congress to the opposition. Apparently even some hard-core conservative Republicans
share my views.

I’ll explore the second method tomorrow. I’ll also explore my loathing of political parties. I hold both the Republicans and Democrats in equal disdain, and I’ll explain why. I will finally get back to Maxim Gorky, and his prophetic wisdom concerning politics, and I promise I’ll never talk politics again.