Corrupt Politics

By now, I'm sure most of you, if not all have read about the merry adventures of Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York, aka George Fox, aka Client Number 9. I had the pleasure of hearing Alan "See No Evil" Dershowitz tell the nation that Spitzer should not resign.

Wow, a Governor who, as Attorney General, pledged to fight organized crime and prostitution should not step down? Why? Because, says the Dershowitless, sexual dalliances have been a (non)issue since Jefferson.

Hmmm, how, pray tell, does Jefferson's sexual history have anything to do with Spitzer's case? Jefferson didn't run on an abolitionist platform. Jefferson didn't pledge to fight adultery, prostitution, etc.

In reality, we have here yet another corrupt politician who thinks they should continue to sit in office after having been exposed.

And while we're at it, let's not forget the others. Larry Craig comes to mind. Remember Mark Foley?

Off late, this phenomenon isn't confined to the Federal Government or NY. Here are a few examples from my own home state, NC:

Commissioner of Motor Vehicles Chairman Tatum

Speaker of the House Jim Black is adjusting to prison

Jim "I Can Be Bought" Morgan

Agriculture Commissioner Meg " I Admit I Did It But No Apology For It " Scott Phipps

Rep. Mike Decker has at least comported himself with some dignity.

Ironically, he was in cahoots with Speaker Black. Cue "Black and Decker" jokes.

My personal favorite of late, Rep. Wright will soon be the first person ejected from the General Assembly in over a century. He doesn't think that his peers there should in judgment over him. The money quote,

“I’m highly disappointed in my colleagues,” Wright told reporters. “This rush to judgment from Day One is politically motivated, clearly. I am an elected official. I am their leader. How dare my colleagues sit in judgment and pass judgment on me.”

Why mention this?

1. Well, here's one darn tootin' good reason this nation is in the internal turmoil it's in. We are finding we can't trust our leaders. As Glen Beck says, Spitzer is just the latest example of the reason so many of us feel disenfranchised right now.

2. I'd point out that many if not all of these folks are career politicians, and these issues transcend party lines. Think about that.

In NC, we're supposed to have a "citizen legislature." What a joke. In theory, that means our representatives aren't professional politicians. In practice, it means:

a. They keep their pay scale low enough to make it unattractive for challengers to run for office.

b. These "citizens" include professionals like optometrists and insurance agents. We've seen Jim Black take money from his peers to pass legislation to line his and their pockets. I've lobbied the insurance committees in the House and Senate here in the past few years, and I can attest that we have many insurance agents crafting insurance regulations. Sure, it's good to have folks who know the industry on the committee, but do we really want insurance agents to craft the laws that regulate themselves. Savor the irony.

c. Redistricting here (as in other states) every decade is left to the whim of whichever party controls the Assembly. Consequently, they gerrymander their districts. I attended the last hearings, and I personally heard men arguing over the possibility of having to run against their buddies with whom they've been serving in the Assembly for, in some cases, upwards of 20 years.

d. Apropos (c), one need only look at some of the "races" this year to see how hopeless some of them are for those who are not incumbents. Look at Cong. District 5. I don't yet know which of these I'll vote for, but who of them can really stand up to Virginia Foxx, who rose to her office through, that's right, serving in the NC General Assembly? District 5 has been specifically crafted to give the Republicans a majority and thereby keep them in office there. This was done to offset District 12, which was crafted to give the Dems a majority. Mel Watt is a well known career politician. I'm nearly 40,and this man has held political office as long as I can remember. In other words, the Gen. Assembly crafted these districts on the basis of party politics, nothing more. The result is that the people of the opposing parties in either district are largely shut out while these two individuals get virtually unchallenged access to their seats in Congress. NC needs a truly independent Redistricting Commission.

Consequently, when I vote this year, my strategy is simple: Vote out every incumbent in NC whom I can possibly vote out of office. Keep out every career politician I can. I will apply this regardless of party affiliation. If this means I vote somebody in office who is pro-abortion or gay rights, then I'll do it, and I will rely on the Gospel to address those issues, because keeping these people in office is, in my opinion, a mistake here because so many of these folks were complicit with these scandals and leads to systemic distrust and disconnect with the public. I would rather have a person with whom I disagree over public policy in office but whom I believe I can trust overall than a person I can't trust at all in office but with whom I might agree on policy. As Joe Sinsheimer said:

Jim Black and Thomas Wright were able to operate in the shadows because so many members allowed them to do so.

I can only speak for NC. We, in NC, must send a strong signal to the professional politicians running the House and Senate of this state. We must tell them that we will no longer tolerate this behavior. The best way to do that is to "Vote the Bums Out!" To quote Mark Twain,

for all domestic troubles the ballot-box is our only weapon

The problems here are deep and systemic. I've seen it first hand. I've had friends of mine visit the Assembly with me and, after a meeting with a representative or senator and then attending a committee meeting only to have him go back on his word, say "He lied to our face." I've heard and watched them gerrymander the voting districts. I've heard the backroom gossip. What the courts rooted out in the recent past are just a smattering. The people of this state need to draw a line in the sand, and they need to do it now while they have the opportunity and motive, given the expected rise in voter turnout this year. We have an opportunity here. We must seize it while we can - and we need to make it clear that we'll do it again if they don't straighten up and fly right.

This means that, to cite some examples, if he wins the nomination, I'll likely vote for Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory. He's the only candidate not tied up with the state government as yet, and, having been mayor of Charlotte, I think he has the experience to be Governor, vs. other outsiders like Bill Graham. I know I'll not vote for Dan Besse for Lt. Governor, as his run for office is proof that he's in the running for career politician given his 7 years in his seat on his city council, as does his curriculum vitae. Pat Smathers is the other outsider, and having been mayor of Canton, I think he's the better candidate. All the others have run for office and failed in the past and/or, in my opinion lack experience. I'll vote against Elizabeth Dole. Why? She's a career politician and she's been unresponsive to me personally in the past. The only incumbent within my voting rights that I would keep in office at present is Richard Burr, solely because he has been remarkably responsive to me personally in recent history, having had direct contact with his office, and because I've seen him display an independent streak I've not seen in Mrs. Dole or my Representative, Virginia Foxx.

Finally, think on this. It's true that God can raise up a Cyrus to protect His people. It's also true that God can and has in times past given people rulers after their corrupt hearts. King Saul comes to mind. God gave them David, a man after His heart. Saul was the king of their own choosing, the king after their own heart. He used Saul to show them they needed a king after His heart. Let's pray that He will open the eyes of the people of this nation this election year and not give them kings after their corrupt hearts. The level and extent of these sorts of stories seems to me to be a signal of what is in our collective heart as a nation. May God have mercy on us.