The micro-level importance of party politics

I try not to be too partisan. It's difficult at times because some of the things that GOPers say and do are flagrantly disgusting to me, but I still try. One of the things that living abroad has really impressed upon me, however, is just how small the differences are between the Democrats and Republicans. If you remove cultural issues (abortion, gays, role of religion), then you're talking about micro-debates that only the most informed 1% of 1% could actually understand. Seriously, does anyone really have any idea what the differences are between the GOP and Democrat Social Security plans aside from "private investment" versus "status quo"? I doubt it.

Maybe because the differences are so minute, American politics is often reduced to philosophy. Republicans, it is said, stand for less government, less spending, and more individual freedom (as long as you're not killing unborn babies or sodomizing people of the same sex, but stockpiling assault rifles is fine). Democrats stand for bigger government, more social services, and a more liberal, secular society, we are told.

I call poppycot. Here are the facts: The Reagan and first Bush administrations saw runaway spending, big government, economic boom and bust, and most notably, corruption. Their ideology is, in essence, tax cut and spend. The eight years of Clinton saw falling crime rates, economic growth, smaller government (tight budget cuts to address the excess of the Reagan/Bush years as well as Welfare Reform). And, notably, even with a 7 year investigation, the only corruption that could be found is that Clinton was too embarrassed to admit receiving a BJ in the Oval Office, so he lied about it. Now, we are year 5 of the Bush administration. Deficits are at an all time high, the economy is flat, and most notably, corruption is skyrocketing. If anything, this government stands for one thing: mismanagement.

I don't really care about the politics. That's probably because I don't believe there is a party that satisfies my position. The "Third Way" Democrats came close (and probably the "Blue Dog" Republicans, but I don't know where they stood on social issues), but no one's got it right now. Why we can't have a party that is fiscally conservative, yet socially (and internationally) responsible, is beyond me. But that's not really my point.

My point is, Americans need to stop thinking about politics in terms of parties, issues, and philosophies and start thinking about politics in terms of management. If you sidebar the most contentious social issues, then it seems obvious that management experience trumps politics. I know some people can't do that because they feel that those social issues are too important to sidebar. To them I'd say, do you really think that Roe v. Wade will ever be overturned? Do you really think that a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage will ever be passed? Making voting decisions based on those factors, especially when those decisions empower clearly incompetent managers as Presidents or Congresspeople, is non-sensical. But, the various political parties have managed to convince the great majority of Americans that parties still matter.

But, even if those social issues are not something that can be pidgeonholed, voters still should not employ clearly incompetent managers in political positions. Think about it. Under this administration, the President has:

- Enabled a huge national security leak because of the Vice President's fight with the CIA that not only threatens indictments of his inner circle, but also endangered intelligence assets in the field;
- Failed to heed the advice of his advisors about an immanent attack in the United States in August 2001, not to mention failed to respond to the terrorist attack on the USS Cole;
- Employed a college buddy who ran a horse racing association as FEMA director resulting in the grossest mismanagement of a national emergency in US history;
- Seen the budget deficit skyrocket to levels so large that it will take a decade or longer to fix and will result in cuts to Medicaid and that illusive Senior Citizen drug benefit;
- Handed out Federal contracts without fair and competitive bidding (a process Reagan made famous with $500 toilet seats);
- And on.

I don't care what your politics are. If you invested in a company and the CEO engaged in this behavior you would sell your shares or push for his ousting. The United States is a giant company that all Americans have a stake in. We should be smarter than this.

But hey, America, what a country. We execute criminals while we try to protect the rights of the unborn. We think that all children, regardless of religion, should be told that a "higher power" created the earth and universe, even though that violates long held constitutional doctrine. We think that while the global warming "hypothesis" is a curiosity and we refuse to join the world in reducing carbon emissions even though we pollute more than anyone else. We invade countries for dubious reasons while we reject any overtures of international law because it risks violating our "sovereignty". We criticize third world regimes for human rights violations, yet we intern people indefinitely and deny them due process in Guantanamo Bay (not to mention the abuse at Abu Ghraib - warning, graphic photos from that link). The list goes on.

I believe America is better than that. I believe that our choices for President in the last election were the least common denominators. I believe, that as Americans, we should demand more. We, and the world, deserves better.