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They don't like what they see
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Bill Barth
Consider this definition: “Extreme selfishness, with a grandiose view of one’s own talents and a craving for admiration.”
The
word defined is, narcissism.
It may as well be, politician.
I have spent much of the past 24 hours listening to political
reactions in the wake of the Massachusetts Miracle, Scott Brown’s
astonishing upset of the anointed Democratic candidate for the U.S.
Senate seat formerly occupied by the Kennedy brothers – first JFK, then
for 47 years by Ted.
The fact this race was even remotely
competitive could not have
been predicted just a few weeks ago. Massachusetts has been the most
reliable Democrat stronghold in America.
This particular Senate seat has
been reserved for liberal representation for longer than most people
have been alive. There was no
indication, prior to the death of Senator
Kennedy, that the people of Massachusetts had any thought of reversing
field.
So what
happened?
Politicians on both sides are rushing to fit the facts into their
own interpretations. And, surprise, in the interpretations
from both
sides there is no fault in their own houses.
Democrats blame the lackluster performance of their candidate,
Massachusetts
Attorney General Martha Coakley. They deny the vote was
some sort of referendum on President Obama or his policies, particularly
healthcare
reform legislation. It is not some sort of revolt against
Democrats, but rather a decision voters made based on local concerns and
conditions.
So Democrats in Washington vow to keep plowing forward with
their agenda.
Republicans, on the other hand, say Brown owes his victory
to the
nationalization of the race. The bluest of all blue states put a
Republican in Teddy Kennedy’s place because Bay State voters
no longer
love Obama or his policies. It’s evidence Americans reject health
reform. It’s a red wave sweeping from east to west, destined
to turn out
Democrats from coast to coast in the fall elections.
Maybe.
More likely, though, such reactions are just more
evidence that
politicians/narcissists think it’s always about them, and that the
people just need a hug.
To the Democrats: Elections
in 2006 and 2008 did not mean America
lusted for a lurch to the left. That’s change very few can believe in.
To the Republicans:
Just because voters are mad at Democrats doesn’t mean they’ve fallen in love with you.
The capacity for the political class to
thoroughly miss the point
is boundless. Both sides view the world through cracked lenses, seeing
only what they want to see. With
grim determination, both parties
steadfastly refuse to allow facts to alter their worldview.
The American people, in their great
wisdom, are neither far left
nor far right. Reliable surveys consistently show America is a
center-right nation, listing just a bit
toward the conservative side.
Ideology, however, does not fire the furnaces of most Americans. They want solutions, not endless
arguments.
I keep coming back to candidate George W. Bush’s oft-repeated
phrase of the 2000 campaign — compassionate conservatism.
There was
promise in that phrase. In a very real sense, I believe, it defines the
common mood of the American majority.
Another
way of saying it comes from the wisdom of my dad. He once
told me, “I’m conservative, until it starts to hurt people.”
And so
it is, I think, with most Americans. They believe in many
conservative principles, but only when applied with a heart.
Of course,
President Bush didn’t really practice compassionate conservatism. He may have had good intentions. Or not.
For my reasoning,
though, the message from Massachusetts is not a
mystery. Folks are tired of Democrats. And they’re tired of
Republicans. They’re mad
at the economy, the spending, the debt, the
overreaching, the partisanship, and all the tin ears in Washington when
it comes to listening
to the people.
In a phrase: Incumbents, beware.
The American people have awakened. And they don’t like what they see.
Week of 1.24.2010
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