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Mike Moser Politics is in season,
once again It amuses and confuses me that there is a
never ending supply of foolish people armed with a self-destructive
attitude that drives them onto the sacrificial altar called political
office. What drives a normally good person to such
an awful, yet certain humiliation, either at the polls or in
the court of public opinion, is something I suspect I will never
understand. Have you ever wondered why any sane person
would want to seek a mandate from a small minority of qualified
voters so the vast majority of non-voters can criticize and belittle
them? What makes a sane person leave the comfort and warmth of
their couch and forfeit an evening with Vanna White and that
little guy on Wheel of Fortune and in exchange, be second-guessed
in the grocery store and at church? Yet, a new political season is upon us and
hunters don't need a hunting license to stalk this prey. They
arm themselves simply with coffee cups and biscuits and gravy
at the nearest morning gathering spot where they solve all our
problems that those they elect are unable to fix. With that in mind, let us re-arm ourselves
for it is open season and an entirely new set of targets is clamoring
to be judged and pre-judged, even as they ask us to give them
a job. This year we will be electing a congressman,
such a dignified title for someone who will be traveling outside
America to Washington D.C. to join other professional public
trough feeders while accomplishing little or nothing. What has congress done for you lately? The incumbent has gone hunting himself, so
the seat is wide open for anyone who wants a full-time job seeking
office, because that is what these bureaucrats do first and foremost.
They never stop running, facing the polls every other year. There are county offices up for the grabbing,
like executive, register of deeds, court clerk, county clerk
and road superintendent. What is sad to me is that there will
be some good folks with noble ideals and hopes of making a difference.
What they will do is become fodder for the grist mill. Then they end up twisted like a veteran newspaper
editor. County offices are different from national
offices. In county offices you simply have an outline of constitutional
responsibilities you follow and if you treat people like they
are people, keep your nose clean and don't go hunting for trouble,
you can be elected to those positions for life. If you try to branch out and do something
other than what your job description details, then you become
a political animal and sooner or later, the rest of us in the
crowd on the outside looking in are gonna catch up to ya. Don't forget seats on the county school board
... now that is a putting one foot in the political grave and
the other on a banana peel. A long-time local Democrat politico
told me years ago that if one ever wanted to end his political
career, just get elected to the school board. I suspect that might be true. Besides, who would want to run for an office
with the charge of educating our children when they have no control
over the funds they receive? About the only thing I like about local politics
is the fact that Republicans on that level can't get elected
without support from some Democrats, and vice versa. And the
independent thinkers do have a vast influence on the outcome
of those races. There are still a few of us who have never figured
out what shade of politics we are. We kinda fashion ourselves
as voting for the person instead of the party. And that is what makes local races interesting. Why do I dislike politics so much. Because
I have seen what it has done to a lot of good men and women. · · · |