In the following, you should insert the name of your mayor and your town and your county and your state in the appropriate places. But you probably won't, will you? You KNOW it's not like this in YOUR town, county, state. After all, you're an American and these things only happen in those corrupt foreign places.
I'm excerpting this from today's column "On Politics" by a fellow named Tom Moran, who writes for the local paper. The column is about a run-down town in the process of cleaning itself up.
"... The mayor is <your mayor>, a soft-spoken attorney who has won two elections by landslides. People in <your town> like him. But the party bosses don't. They have declared war on him by denying him their endorsement, and backing a rival for the June primary. And that could spell trouble for <your mayor>.
Because, in <your state> politics, it is not enough to be competent and popular. To be secure in your job, you also need the blessings of the county bosses. They are the gatekeepers who can make or break your political career, no matter how many landslides you've won.
They decide who gets the money, who gets the best position on the ballot, and who gets help on Election Day turning out the vote. In a primary, when turnout is low, the bosses almost always get their way. ..."
Now, I don't know Mr. Moran, nor what axe he has to grind. What I do know is that he just described the nitty-gritty of how our politics work. We are all familiar with the story. We hear it constantly. It is a staple of our media. And, except for an occasional flurry of righteous indignation, it passes unremarked.
Why?
Because most people believe "That's the way it is."
And I ask, again, Why? Why is it that way?
If that's the best we can do, then the fellow who said 'people get the government they deserve' was right, and we deserve what we've got. Personally, I think we deserve better ... and I'm going to try to get it.
Fred
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