Friday, November 18, 2011

Bipartisan Political Perfidy

The senior political reporter at a newspaper for which I was beginning to  work as a cub decades ago told me that a politician is a creature who would sell his mother into slavery for a vote. Nothing that I have seen, heard, or otherwise observed in the many years since then has given me any reason to doubt the accuracy of his description.

Two recent actions -- one by our Demorat president and the other by Republicon congressmen -- support the veteran newman's characterization of the political species:

First, there is the disservice of workers employed in the private sector, most of whom belong to unions that support him, by President Obama as described in this report.

Not to be outdone though, congressional Republicons are trying to help bestow more goodies on those who participated in creating and sustaining the real estate house of cards that took down the nation's economy when it collapsed . . . and, as is spelled out in this account, they're doing so sneakily, hoping that their unprincipled actions will escape notice by conservatives upon whose support they depend.

In each instance the duplicity is a result of pols endeavoring to ride two horses at the same time. Mr. Obama is throwing his unionized workers under the bus to avoid antagonizing environmental extremist activists. The Rublicons in congress are ignoring Tea Party adherents to act at the behest of real estate lobbyists. 

Were he around today my veteran newsman mentor probably would describe a politician as someone who would regret not having more than one mother to sell into slavery.

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