A letter on today’s editorial page provides an excellent illustration of how
partisanship interferes with the cognitive powers of the human brain.
It’s short enough that I can easily quote it here entirely:
It’s amazing that several of our
elected officials are trying to put up a smoke screen about Lt. Gov. Andre
Bauer‘s less-than-honest actions by calling for what amounts to a tax-paid baby
sitter instead of calling for personal responsibility and accountability.
Republicans have made this their
mantra, but I suppose it only applies to the rest of us.
OK, I don’t know about you, but the
first two names that jump to mind when I think of "defenders of
Andre," particularly in reference to the baby-sitter thing, are Jake
Knotts and Darrell Jackson. Both have been quite vocal in their absurd
advocacy. Sen. Jackson is a Democrat, and while Sen. Knotts is technically a
Republican, I suspect not many Republicans outside his district would rush to
claim him.
Then there’s the fact that the governor (who answers to the label "Republican," although he’s pretty
atypical of that breed himself) has gone out of his way not only to distance himself from Andre, but to discredit his defenders — thereby getting into a spat with another Democratic senator and Andre defender.
There is no doubt that Republicans — and Democrats — frequently do apply double standards, often without realizing they are doing so. That’s the nature of partisanship: It destroys intellectual honesty.
It’s just that this is not such a case. This is a case of bipartisan cronyism and foolishness, a case in which party label is no indicator of which side you will be on.
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I think party label shows exactly which side you are on. You make it clear that Sen. Jackson is a Democrat and that even though Sen. Knotts is “technically a Republican” you don’t seem to think many Republicans in the state would claim him. It sounds to me like you are accusing Democrats and their “sympathizers” of mollycoddling the Lt. Gov. I could be wrong but that’s how it sounds. What do the Republicans that you feel are real conservatives say about the affair? If I were pulled over for doing 101 mph I’m pretty sure I’d be on my way to lockup for the night. In order to have a bipartisan consensus let both sides agree that Bauer made a mistake, write him a ticket, have him pay a fine, put negative points on his drivers license, increase his insurance premiums, remind him of the consequences of repeat offenses and move on. There are far more important things to focus on. And besides, that’s what would happen to the rest of us. By the way, I’m a life long liberal and don’t sympathize with Bauer. He needs to be held accountable just like the rest of us.
Bauer’s political career is over, period. Most conservatives cannot tolerate this type of cronyism, that infects both parties, and it’s as simple as that. Bauer needs to go out and get a real job now. I would like to see him ticketed retroactively. That would raise my opinion of the State Police.
Brad, you never answered my question about why do state/county/city officials have special license plates for their vehicles. To me it only lends one purpose, to allow the official(s) to get out of traffic violations. Can I get your opinion on this issue?
How about this idea for the representatives tags?
Use DEM 002 or REP 002 (and accending) for special tags for these characters.
I don’t know, Brian. It’s a fairly ridiculous practice. Our standing position is that the state should only have one kind of plate — no vanity plates of any kind — but it’s an idea that hasn’t gotten much traction.
I suppose it often does serve the purpose you mention. But it also allows all of the public to see if folks with these plates act up while driving. And VietVet, the legislators are numbered according to a system that makes it possible to identify them. It’s either the number of their district, or their rank by seniority; I forget. Since I’m not at the office at the moment, I can’t tell you which one it is.
Most conservatives cannot tolerate this type of cronyism, that infects both parties, and it’s as simple as that.
Man, oh man. Just when I think that Dave can’t be more out of touch with reality.
Who’s in the WH right now? Who elected him and what label did he proudly run under?
Hint: “Compassionate” is the inaccaurate part of the two word phrase.
Earth to Dave! Your Crony-in-Chief is sinking.
RTH – The American people elected W to office, 5 million more than he had in 2000, so what is your point? Clinton pardoned several hundred cronies right before he left office, including drug pushers and tax evaders among other criminals. That is the kind of cronyism that Brad is referring to. Bush isn’t sinking, remember, what goes down will also go up, so keep your beady snake eyes on the polls in the coming months.