WHY DO WE HAVE BAD GOVERNMENTS
By
Fay E.A. Reid
Who’s really to blame for our having really bad governments? No, it’s not corrupt, fraudulent politicians. No, it’s not mainstream media. They certainly don’t help. But the main source of blame, is us the citizens of the United States. The voting public. Why do I blame us? Because in order to have a good government, one that legislates for the vast majority of citizens – not just the ultra wealthy – we, the voters have to be sufficiently interested to read, understand, and react to what our elected officials do in Washington. This is not addressed to the MAGA cult – they are too brain dead to understand what is happening to them, they want the simple answers of hatred and retribution trump promises them even if he never delivers.
No, this is addressed to us, not Substackers, us the voting public. The only way to maintain a government that actively legislates for all citizens, not only and solely for their wealthiest donators, all of us.
How did we get here? We, and I include myself, were not sufficiently vigilant. Bad things happened and we quietly griped about it, but until the internet made email available, how many of us actually wrote to our Congress persons or Senators complaining about an action or in advance requesting the action we wanted. Oh, I worked on campaigns and on occasion even asked a candidate about a specific topic. But letter writing? Maybe 1 or 2 per year. I had an excuse; my handwriting resembles chicken scratch. I guess I could have typed a letter, but I’m not a great typist either. But I got my first computer in 1984 so from then on, I had no excuse.
My first election was 1968, I was Naturalized in February 1967. From 1964 on I had worked campaigns for everything from Sheriffs to Presidents. In 1968 I worked for and strongly supported Robert F Kennedy. Never had the privilege of meeting him but I was overjoyed on June 8 when he won the California primary. I watched his acceptance speech on TV and was getting ready to go to bed, when he was murdered.
Hubert Humphrey, whom my brother in Canada referred to as Humpty Dumpty, was well intentioned, but well, he wasn’t Bobby Kennedy. (My brother gleefully pointed out my choice was between humpy dumpty and tricky dick, while he had suave Pierre Trudeau – wasn't I sorry to be an American? NO!) I dutifully voted for Humphrey.
So, Richard Nixon won. As I expected he immediately raised the Vietnam War, to which I was opposed from the time Eisenhower, then John Kennedy sent “observers” in. Tricky Dick won again in 1972, this time I actively campaigned for and voted for George McGovern. I had a button I wore proudly “Don’t blame me, I voted for McGovern”
Then Watergate. All hell broke loose. Had it only involved the clumsy break-in at Watergate no one would even remember it. No, it was Nixon’s inept attempt to cover up the stupid break-in that finally exposed his real criminality. His lying about the Vietnam War, his pursuit in Laos and Cambodia his enemies list, his use of the FBI and IRS to go after perceived enemies in America. What didn’t come out at the time was his involvement in the oil embargo that led to an immediate price increase in gasoline and coffee. Gerald Ford should never have pardoned him for any and all crimes committed during or immediately after his Presidency. This was followed by Nixon declaring on TV that he was innocent of any crimes committed because he was the President and Presidents are never guilty of committing crimes no matter what – which is the whole and sole basis for the trumpster claiming immunity for any President for the rest of his life no matter what.
I was in college and then teaching during the Nixon criminal investigation so had time to follow on TV. I don’t recall sending any letters to legislators – but I should have. I should have strenuously objected to letting Nixon off the hook with no more than a slap on the wrist like a naughty little boy, instead of the grown-up criminal that he was.
We had a short (4 year) respite with Jimmy Carter. Then he was screwed by Ronald Reagan over the Iran hostages and back to bad.
As my mother and her sister said, but he’s sooooo handsome, and he has such a lovely voice. To me he was a ham actor with a poorly outlined platform and I still voted for Carter. Apparently, more people adhered to my mother’s position. Handsome and vocal matter more than astute and capable. Reagan won.
Among his many sins was his 1986 “tax cut’ - right! My taxes went up $700 the next year and the millionaires were able to buy another yacht. His gush-up theory worked beautifully and has given us Bezos, Musk, Zuckerg and hundreds of other UNworthy billionaires while the middle class gets smaller and smaller and the poorer portion expands astronomically. Reagan is also responsible for speeding up the pace of union closures at a time when I was on the Board of Directors of the Teachers union. I did write letters to the editor complaining but I never wrote to Reagan.
Billl Clinton might have been a tad bit better, but he destroyed the safety net we had been building in Social Services.
I retired from teaching in 1988 and was now employed in a County Social Services Department. It was devastating. At first, it sounded good. Ok,.we were going to train recipients to qualify for employment, help them find work and get off aid. BUT, that’s not the way it worked. First off, few counties in the Country had trained (and educated) staffs to carry out the employment training. I have a Masters degree and some experience in career development, but in my whole unit only three of us, including the Supervisor, even had a college degree. Most had only a high school diploma. At least one member of the team thought (out loud) that it was unfair to give these welfare recipients so much help; no one helped her. Great position for that kind of thinking. Another one thought the best way to help our teenaged recipients was to throw parties once a month to ‘improve their self-esteem’. Another great idea. No wonder the program over all was unsuccessful. Also, the five-year limit was cruel. We had a number of recipients who were mentally ill, chemically dependent or mentally deficient. It might take twenty- or thirty-years training to help them achieve independence if we could help them at all. In short, bad plan. Oh, yes and food stamps, then called SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) - [the feds do love their acronyms] as part of (Transitional Assistance for Needy Families) TANF they could get food for at least five years. But if you were single, without children, you could get food for three months out of every thirty-six months unless you were working at least 80 hours a month and then you might be eligible to $15 or $20 per month. Big WOW. The other thirty-three months you could beg, steal or starve.
Bill Clinton also helped with the dissolution of unions by endorsing NAFTA which sent a lot of American jobs to Mexico. But the thing the Republicans, led by Newt Gingrich, latched on to was his least important ‘sin’. He couldn’t keep his pants zipped. He didn’t rape any women, they were all consenting and willing adults. Just bimbos. Clinton was impeached but not convicted. Not for fraud, corruption, criminal behavior. For having extra marital sex and refusing to admit it. Had he any sense at all he would have said publicly “It’s none of your damned business”. But no, Bill wanted everyone, including his wife and daughter to love him. So, he lied. In my opinion it cost Al Gore the Presidency.
George W. Bush.The first time I saw doubleya on television I burst out laughing and said to my husband good grief it’s Alfred E Neuman! Jack had no idea of my reference; he went to college in the very late 1940’s early 50’s so was never exposed to Mad Magazine. I’ve always fondly regarded GW Bush as Alfred E Neuman.
But after 9/11, I thought he no longer thought for himself at all. I was irate about even thinking of attacking Iraq, a sovereign nation, that had made no overt action against us. Finally, my sense of duty awoke. In October 2002, I sent emails to Bob Matsui, my Congressman, Senators Barbara Boxer, and Dianne Feinstien to ask them to vote against giving Bush the go ahead to invade Iraq. Both Boxer and Matsui responded that they intended to vote no and did. Dianne Feinstein responded that she knew things I didn’t and voted yes. What she knew was the lie about Nigerian yellowcake uranium that Cheney and Rumsfeld were promoting even though they knew at the time it was a lie. I shouldn’t be so hard on Dianne, even Colin Powell fell for the whopper. But I already had read that the British to whom the spy belonged had already denounced the claim as a lie. I figured if I knew – they should know. I still believe the only reason for the attack on Iraq was Bush Sr, Cheney, and Rumsfeld wanted the Iraqi oil. But they were so inept, the oil fields were burned, so no one got the oil. And their ineptitude didn’t end there. 3500-year-old irreplaceable artifacts were destroyed or stolen. The war cost thousands of American lives needlessly and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilian lives, plus leaving the Country in ruins, all needlessly. And no weapons of mass destruction were ever found. Sadaam Hussein may have been a son of a bitch to his own people, but that was none of our business. Yes, I know the Shiite emigres in the US assured the government, the Iraqi people would turn out to rejoice the coming of the Americans. The US Government officials, and especially the military, should have known better than to get involved in a religious dispute between the Shiites and the Sunnis. Hope bloometh eternal. At least I had the satisfaction of knowing I tried to stop it.
After this I started traveling for business. I was now in my final career as a consultant/subject matter expert/implementation coordinator. First to Texas then up and down the east coast and mid-west. My direct involvement in political campaigns was strictly limited. In 2007 I read the Audacity of Hope and was very impressed with the ideals of Barrack Obama which, at least in the book, closely mirrored mine. I donated the then, maximum contribution to his campaign. I couldn’t do door to doors. But I sent copies of his book to my son in law and my grandson. I now admit I was a little disappointed in Obama’s Presidency. I realize he was working against great odds – particularly Mitch McConnel, who vowed to make Obama a one term President. And Obama did get the much-needed Affordable Care Act passed, imperfect as it is, it’s better than what we had.
I was home long enough in 2010 and 2012 to campaign for my Congressman, Dr. Ami Bera. We lost in 2010 but won in 2012 and every two years thereafter. Although I’ve done no more than donate for the campaigns beginning in 2014. I do routinely email Dr. Bera about pending legislation, now it’s more likely a standard print than a personal response.
The thing is from the 1970’s on too few voters have taken the time to look at the party platforms, respond, when the legislature is making bad or worse yet harmful laws. Most people in the middle class should have noticed their taxes went up for the 1987 tax year. If mine went up $700 for a one income teacher’s salary (my first husband received a disability pension due to a non-work-related severe injury) Others must have gone up too. We should have written to our legislators then. We should have noticed when GW Bush cut taxes for the wealthy again placing a further tax burden on us. We should have screamed bloody blue murder when Bush and Obama gifted Wall Street with billions of dollar bailout money allowing the middle class in huge numbers to lose their homes, their life savings, and their pensions, even though it didn’t affect me personally. I lost all faith in the stock market when my second husband took a huge hit in 1987 forcing one of us (me) to come out of retirement and return to work full time. (Fortunately, I was glad to go back to work – I enjoy working)
But we let that slide too. It wasn’t until the election of 2016 that I finally woke up to the horror of the trumpster. I was working on the East Coast at the time; I always vote by mail, so I had already voted. It never occurred to me that trump could win. I would have preferred Bernie, but I trusted Hillary, she had been a good Secretary of State. Trump was an overweight, inexperienced blowhard, of course Hillary would win. I got what I deserved – four years of governing for the rich and famous, four years of utter stupidity like promising to waste money to build an unnecessary fence on our southern border. What did he think? This was the Middle Ages when they built stone walls to keep out mailed horsemen? And those MAGA nincompoops hung on every word slurping from his fat lips. Yeah, it’s not his fault he was born ugly and just got fatter with age – I'm not exactly the slim trim businesswoman either. But then, I’m not imposing myself on the public.
Biden, has proven himself the President for the times. He’s doing an excellent job. The things people on Substack seem to blame him for most are the things over which he has little control. Netanyahu is an Israeli Prime Minister not an American politician. It is only Israel than can call for an election and force him to stand trial for his many corruption and fraud charges. Biden can and has cautioned Netanyahu against his policy of extermination of Gazans. Only Iran can recall and refuse to sponsor Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthis. We can’t force that recall. We are part of the United Nations, we were the Country that helped form it, and it is headquartered here. But we don’t own it. We can suggest sanctioning Iran. We can vote to call for a ceasefire or as we did, abstain from voting to let the vote for ceasefire pass. But we cannot force Israel to obey. What we can and should do is fire off emails to our representatives and let them know our thoughts and wishes. We can promise to vote for them or let them know neither we, our friends, or our relatives will vote for them if they don’t straighten up and fly right.
But Miss Fay, we don't vote our own interest, because we don't know what it is. We know news soundbites, advertising, the party we belong to, familiar names; but we don't know who we are voting for.
Do you really think people voted for George Santos? Of course not, they voted for George Santos as he presented himself.
How many of the radical 60's students rallying around Eugene McCarthy knew he was the first college professor to whoosh over Ayn Rand and make her required reading?
We don't even know the vote=term limits.
We don't know and so the vote is meaningless until we do. We need more parties (political); more willingness to elect co-operative candidates; probably if it comes down to it, we need to be able to vote on issues not candidates first---then we might find candidates who really support what we desire out of government