Tales Of Our Times
By JOHN BARTLIT
Los Alamos

We live in strange times. Never in our country have political rivalries played out on so large a stage. Settings vary from city parks and plazas to nationwide TV and social media. Each rival, with its allies, rants against its opposition. We hear tell that one set stands for democracy and the other threatens it. Maybe so. I fear that we waste good chances…

Investigations have become “bigger” news than legislation. We hear about large numbers of truly bad immigrants and large numbers of truly good immigrants. We need lawmaking that is suitable for both.

From one leader come streams of executive orders. These orders assert unmarked limits of executive powers. The rival party and its allies quickly announce the orders are lawless, then test these powers in lawsuits. The public assumption of guilt forgets that the rule of law demands the precise opposite. Our nation’s law presumes the accused is innocent until proven guilty. The court methods of proof, and appeals, take time. To date, court decisions have been mixed: both parties have won some and lost others. More prejudging and judging will come.

As a rule, each party says its wins in court prove it is right and its losses prove the ruling was wrong. I cannot add anything useful to this news that We the People are hearing and making.

With daily fanfare, the mega stage brings this cross talk to every Middlesex village and farm. Forums, notably Congress, shy away from full debate. In history, the founders gave shrewd warnings that human nature fumbles its way to times as ugly as today.

Both parties in Congress see “needs” to maintain themselves. The parties’ twin stunts to stay on top of the other also devalue our democracy. Yet, rivals prefer to overlook the dark deeds done by both. If the subject emerges, each rival replies that the other one did it first, does it worse, or has worse intent. 

Below I list eight habits that long since became parts of the party culture. Many mutual abuses by rivals have been popular so long they have their own name:

• 1. “If It Bleeds, It Leads” –the news media always look for excitement over information, as do  parties; yet well informed voters are key;
• 2. Rivals in Media Blur Legalities –both parties blur the principles that the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and guilt in one misdeed does not prove guilt in another;
• 3. Extreme Pressures in Congress to Vote Party Lines –the strong-arming used today evolved over many years from political “bossism”;
• 4. Monopolistic Powers Accrue from a Majority of One –each party craves to capture and wield the monopolistic powers given the majority leader in the U.S. Senate or House;
• 5. Gerrymandered Voting Districts –reshaping voting districts to favor a party grew from the Massachusetts legislature under Gov. Elbridge Gerry in 1812;
• 6. Push Polls –both parties deliver their campaign propaganda disguised as “opinion polls”;
• 7. Riders on Bills in Congress –both parties attach their pet provisions onto 300-page bills where least expected; stowaway measures get passed that have no relevance to Congress’ debate or vote upon them, without scrutiny or even awareness; while other leading countries ban riders; and
• 8. Six-figure “Party Dues” Imposed by Party Chiefs –in answer to the constant dueling for money, each party extracts six-figure “party dues” from its own newcomers in both houses of Congress; these dues amount to millions of unreported dollars at the disposal of party chiefs.

Of these eight cripplers, rivals could end Nos. 3-8 by taking a few mutual baby steps to rejuvenate democracy. These six items are the easiest first moves to make, since both rivals could make the same change, in the same amount, at the same moment. Neither rival would lose any ground to the other. The only winner would be a truer democracy.