By Lance Harvell
The continuing crises at our southern border is just the latest example of the dysfunctional environment of hyper partisan political struggles crippling this great nation’s ability to carry out its basic constitutionally mandated tasks. Politics is no longer the way policy is carried out, but has become an end in itself. The goal is not to advance a policy agenda but to “win” at all cost and with no real idea what to do with “victory” other than to prepare for another “victory.” Worse, no one pays attention to the wisdom of Otto von Bismarck’s advice that “politics is the art of the possible.” We are governed by people who have forgotten the proper relationship between politics and policy. They have forgotten the purpose of their profession.
Divided government in the United States, especially in the post war era, has been the norm not the exception. It should be no surprise that a country with a two party system within a vast geography and complex history should have very diverse groups and ideas represented in our capital. And more often than not this has meant that neither party has had a monopoly on power and has had to accommodate these very different factions. But times have changed and the role of social media and special interest groups has not been helpful in any way.
Politicians have few tools to do their jobs; you have your word, personal relationships, ability to negotiate, and a vote. Many who have negative, and justified, view of politicians honesty would be stunned to learn that among legislators your word is in reality your bond. More than once I’ve heard a state representative say “I don’t care what you tell the voters in your district but if you break your word to me I’ll never trust you again.”
When you are negotiating policies you actually have to be able to trust those you are negotiating with, this modern failure to trust each other, at least behind closed doors, means it is highly unlikely anything will get done. Relationships also play a large role if you get to know people you begin to understand why they think the way they do you may disagree but at least you understand and in forging agreements this is very helpful. With relationships comes trust that someone will keep confidences and is not there to just beat you up.
Emily Cain would be someone I think of; while she and I disagree on many things she is fair and has always kept her word to me when we were dealing with one another. I can think of a few bills we worked on together and she always kept her word. I have dozens of Democratic friends with whom I have worked without feeling that I was betraying my principles. But I did think it my job to work with them and understand where they were coming from.
Social media has in my view negatively affected or political process. It has activated the political left and right to degrees never before seen. With the advent of trackers and social media a politician at the federal level never has a unguarded moment. Any slip up will be recorded and you may well find yourself on national TV. I have always said that political pundits have the easiest jobs in the world. With over 15,000 candidates for office, state and federal, nationwide all they have to do is wait for one of us to say something stupid, which generally doesn’t take long, then they have their headline. Little research is required. But what this does to the governing process is very negative because it erodes the basic tools mentioned above. You become less likely to speak out or form friendships. Trust is eroded. Why would you trust someone who is paying a tracker to follow you around?
Special interest groups are trying to lock candidates into position before they are elected, which serves their organizations well but destroys the ability to negotiate. George Smith just recently wrote an article where he showed how this works. A candidate had filed out a SAM, (Sportsman Alliance of Maine) questionnaire to get its endorsement. Then when a vote was coming, Mr. Smith got the questionnaire and reminded him of his promise. While it is certainly important to keep your promises circumstances do change, and while in principle you may desire something it must like every other decision be set against state and national priorities. When candidates lock themselves into dozens of positions with special interest candidate questionnaires they erode their negotiating options.
I am convinced after hundreds of conversations with fellow citizens over the years that folks understand better than many of their leaders the situation we face. Most people, for instance, can see the outline of what needs to be done on immigration. They know that we cannot deport 11 million people who are here illegally, many of whom are essential in our agricultural industries. At the same time they understand the need to secure the border.
They understand the need for a balanced approach to the budget that would require some new revenues along with long-term entitlement reform, which would protect our elderly without overwhelming our children. If average folks understand this why doesn’t Congress? I suspect it is because they have forgotten the profession they have entered.
Lance Harvell
Farmington
Lance Harvell, R-Farmington, is completing his third term as the District 89 Maine House of Representatives.
Excellent, thoughtful and insightful essay. Thank you Lance.
I believe much of our current malaise in government can be traced to the boomer generation’s justifiable distrust of government that was the result of the revelations regarding the Vietnam war, the riots of the 68 democratic convention, Nixon and the declassifying of some of the extremes our government secretly went to during the cold war.
At the same time, a younger generation of voters have become disenfranchised with government for their own reasons.
What we could use,in my opinion, is a better teaching and understanding of history. Unbiased and accurate with a comprehensive study of the times, not just the dry facts.
There have been many ups and downs in our country’s governance. More than once there has been hand wringing and lamenting and a foreboding of disaster and indeed, we have had some precarious moments.
We have survived and recovered, and will move on from where we are now, and a new generation will look back on us and lament that life was so much simpler and better back then.
Whenever snowman makes a comment, I confess I’m tempted to prove Lance’s theory, to disagree just for the sake of disagreeing. Not this time.
One minor point: disenfranchised means deprived of the right to vote. I think he meant disenchanted or some other ‘dis’. In 1968, I was 20 and not yet eligible to vote, so I wasn’t deprived. Quaint concept, isn’t it? Fast forward almost .. gulp .. 50 years, and we have a significant portion of the electorate, of whatever age, that votes for the sake of voting, without understanding or caring (yet) about the consequences.
I’ll second the motion. We desperately need better teaching and understanding of history, unbiased and accurate with a comprehensive study of the times, not just the dry facts. Unfortunately, a sign of our times points to a lunge in the opposite direction.
Can’t help thinking that much of the mistrust that many feel has been more recently generated. One doesn’t have to go back as far as the Cold War to have examples of lies, corruption, greed, etc. (, invading Iraq, Wall Street, Abu Ghraeb, BP oil spill in Gulf, indicted politicians and preachers, wikileaks, an activist Supreme Court, the advent of talk radio).
The move to actually disenfranchise prospective voters in many states is much more onerous than having “uninformed voters” going to the polls.
“We desperately need better teaching and understanding of history, unbiased and accurate with a comprehensive study of the times, …” <strong and where are we going to get such a "product"? Certainly not from the textbook publishers of Texas!
And even more certainly not from the textbook publishers of Common Core.
Please select a state, and a victim group therein, currently struggling under an active “move to actually disenfranchise” them. I’m really interested in the answers, as long as it’s not more blather about voter ID. The folks who introduced this subject have the burden of proof.
The above set of examples of lies, corruption, and greed (LCG) is drawn (coincidentally, of course) from events during 2001-8, or in response to them – as if LCG stopped on inauguration day 2009. No, they were kicked up to unprecedented levels, with a new example every month, or even more often. Indeed, most of the mistrust has been much more recently generated.
Question for extra credit: How is the advent of talk radio an example of LCG? Talk radio originated and flourished in response to LCG. The problem with it, from the Left’s prospective, is the most popular examples tend to favor the Right. When the Left has 98% of the rest of the media in its pocket, harping on talk radio is just envious claptrap.
I made an error, though It appears my error has spurred another worthy debate. I meant to use the word disenchanted or perhaps, Disconnected.
I agree with Actual News, that segments of our population have been and continue to be, disenfranchised, by various means including voter ID laws.
Comprehensive national rules, laws on voting would make our country more democratic, (in the governmental process, not necessarily to the benefit of the party).
The states are loath to change their voting laws to all be the same. Again and again, our country gets stalled from progressing due to the issue of state rights vs. federal. From the beginning we have debated and the states have been unwilling to relinquish their sovereign rights to the common good through the federal government. In many ways, this is good; it is what our founders intended. It has also several times brought us precariously to the brink of our dissolution.
“more blather about voter ID, harping on talk radio is just envious claptrap.”
Frosty, you are not really interested in (the) answers; you’re too partisan, too angry, too condescending, too in denial.
But, hey, I really LIKE your coining of “LCG”…that could come in real handy!