What is wrong in Washington? That’s a question asked often these days.
A simple and somewhat smug answer would be “everything.”
But it isn’t that simple.
I quickly acknowledge there are many in Washington dedicated to the best interests of this country. However, there are others determined to push a political agenda and are in Washington to create problems, rather than solve them.
We send elected representatives and leaders to Washington to govern.
What happened when sequestration was about to take eff ect? They left town.
I’m not suggesting sequestration will do much to solve our long-term budget problem. But the way things were handled - or not handled - doesn’t inspire much confi dence in our political leaders.
The playground antics in Washington are conducted before a public grown weary of a seemingly unending series of stalemate showdowns.
Compromise has becomea dirty word and negotiation is seen as a sign of weakness. Yet compromise and negotiation have been essential ingredients of the formula for making government work.
Paralleling the political paralysis in Washington is a deterioration in the public dialogue - although in some cases there is no dialogue, just a monologue of sound bites.
There’s little meaningful discussion among the leadership. Instead, we get demonizing of the opposition and the political blame game.
I’m reminded of the Miller Lite TV ads some years ago. Athletes and celebrities in one group tout Miller Lite for “great taste” and others would retort “less fi lling.” It quickly deteriorated into a shouting match, a parody of wild west saloon fi ghts.
We’re dealing with much more serious matters in today’s political fi ghts, but the quality of the debate issometimes not above the level of those commercials.
We’ve seen some particularly low points - such as the smearing of now Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during his Senate confi rmation hearings. It was entirely appropriate for senators to question Hagel on matters relevant to his ability to fi ll one of the most important positions in government.
However, what we saw was questioning of his integrity and suggestions by the new Republican senator from Texas, Ted Cruz, that Hagel, a former Republican senator, had received money from radical sources. Others suggested Hagel accepted money from a group called “Friends of Hamas,” although there’s no evidence such a group even existed. The rumor grew out of a hypothetical question a reporter asked a staff member.
But in today’s hypercommunication world, information - whether true or not - travels nonstop on the Internet and social media and into more traditional media outlets as well.
Sen. Cruz seems to delight in attack politics, and obviously there are those who agree with that approach. He seems determined to be combative, uncompromisingand absolute in his adherence to what he sees as conservative principles.
I’m reminded again of an advertising slogan, this one for Ivory Soap, which boasted of being 99 and 44/100 pure. There is a belief in some quarters today oft ceholders have to be absolutely pure in their ideology or voting record - or at least 99 and 44 /100 percent pure - or else they will be targeted by particular interest groups and voting blocs.
Some see what is currently happening as the opening act of the 2014 congressional elections, with President Barack Obama banking on Democrats gaining control of the House of Representatives and holding on to the Senate.
There’s no doubt the 2014 campaigns are already under way. Look at what the Club for Growth is doing. The Club for Growth is one of those groups that apparently demands 100 percent allegiance to its cause. The antitax group describes itself as promoting a high-growth economy through limited government and economic freedom.
They launched an attack ad against the lone Democrat in the Arkansas delegation, Sen. Mark Pryor. The Club says, “it’s time to defeat Obama ally MarkPryor and replace him with a true fi scal conservative.” The group’s president said, “A vote to re-elect Mark Pryor is a vote to support Barack Obama and his tax-and-spend agenda.” Pryor, one of the most conservative Democrats in the Senate, calls the ad “false and misleading.”
Club for Growth attacks are not limited to Democrats. Arkansas 1st District Rep. Rick Crawford is one of nine Republican House members attacked by the group for not being conservative enough.
By almost any standard, Crawford ranks as very conservative. However,because he once proposed a tax increase on millionaires to accompany a balancedbudget amendment and had a few other votes that didn’t conform to the club’s position, the club wants a “more conservative” Republican candidate to run against him.
Regardless of the political maneuvering, seriously cutting spending won’t be easy or painless.
What we need in Washington are some profiles in courage, not more combativeness.
HOYT PURVIS IS A JOURNALISM AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PROFESSOR.
Opinion, Pages 13 on 03/10/2013