Moderation In All Things

One of the reasons I decided to start blogging again is so I could discuss topics that I just won't opine about on Facebook.... first and foremost - POLITICS! In our polarizing society, people are just far too quick to judge others based purely on how they vote, and I just think that is stupid. To me, Facebook is for sharing common interests, not driving a wedge between friends.

With that in mind, here on the Beach, I am eager to discuss this year's elections, which saw big victories for the GOP in the Virginia and New Jersey Governor's races. I found the outcome to be fascinating on a couple of levels. First of all, the spin-doctoring is hilarious. The Huffington Post this morning was essentially leading with "Voters Don't Blame Obama", while Drudge's lead was simply "Uh O".

The fact is that voters largely don't blame the President. Obama is still drawing a 50 percent approval rating, after all. However, I think the outcome DOES tell us a few things about how Americans want their government to be run - from the middle.

Folks - this is a moderate country. For all of the ranting from the right and the left, most Americans - 70 percent of us, myself included - are really in the muddled middle. And we like it that way. If the power in Washington goes too far in one direction, America will find a way to make a course correction, and I think last night's results in Virginia and New Jersey are just a symptom of things to come. Given that Democrats are in power right now, and also given that the quality of life is not getting much better very quickly, it's inevitable that 2010 will be a very good year for the GOP. This is not to say that Republicans have better ideas than the Dems - it's just their turn to gain momentum. The same independents that put Barack Obama in office 12 months ago voted 2 -1 in favor of the Republican candidates last night.

It's time for the Democrats to come to grips with the reality that last year's election of Barack Obama was a cultural phenomenon... a media moment... the coronation of a rock star. The election drew people to the polls who have never voted before and may never vote again. They were not voting for a party - they were voting for a brilliantly marketed brand name - Barack Obama. The fact that he is a Democrat is besides the point, and any politician who thinks he can use the Obama name to win an election is a fool - just ask Jon Corzine.

Both parties need to start listening more to constituents. The left has labeled those "tea party" and "town hall" protesters as right wing whackos, but the fact is that the GOP has only been able to tap into that anger because the Republicans are not the party in power. People who take the time to go to public meetings and to march on Washington are angry, and they are tired of useless debate - they want action.

Ironically, we could see a LOT of action in Washington in the coming months, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Pressure to pass a health care reform bill has just been turned up several notches, because the Democrats have to prove they can get something done. If health care fails to pass, then we might see a whole flurry of bills from the Democrats flying through Congress.

It'll be a fire sale to end all fire sales - getting those "pet" bills turned to law before the other party takes back Congress a year from now.

And the big wheel keeps on turning...

If Your Lawmakers Don't Care About Loyalty, Why Should You?

I don't care much for party politics ... Actually, that's an understatement. I loathe party politics, and yesterday's defection of Sen. Arlen Specter (PA) from the GOP to the Democratic party is a perfect example of why.

Specter crossed the aisle after weeks of heavy lobbying by Democratic leaders, who promised him all kinds of committee appointment perks, as well as their backing in his re-election bid, in exchange for switching parties. Now with Specter in the fold, the Democrats are close to sealing up the elusive filibuster-proof majority they have been seeking. That kind of single-party power itself bad for the nation, but I'll save discussion of that for another time.

This is not the first time Specter has been a Democrat. He flipped to the GOP 46 years ago, and has spent 29 years in the Senate as a Republican. And he's been honest about why he's switching parties now. As a Republican, he was trailing his GOP primary challenger by double digits, and he figured correctly that if he stayed in the GOP, he'd lose his job in the Senate. Now, with the Democrats backing him in Pennsylvania, Specter can probably expect to be re-elected.

How would you like to be a longtime Republican in Pennsylvania? Someone who perhaps has written a check or two in the past to help Specter get re-elected, or perhaps gave some of your time for him? Do you feel like a chump now that he's abandoned your party in order to save his own ass?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. In the down and dirty world of politics, neither party has a moral high ground to retreat to. Both parties are willing to cut deals to build their bases of power, and in a battle between loyalty and power, power will win each and every time. For proof of that, just look at Joe Lieberman.

Lieberman, the Connecticut Senator who was Al Gore's running mate for President in 2000, lost the Democratic party primary for re-election in 2006, then ran and won the general election as an independent. He and the Democrats kissed and made up afterwards, because the party wanted to keep Lieberman's vote in the "D" column. Then, in 2008, Lieberman supported Republican John McCain for President, a move that outraged some Democratic leaders. But guess what? After the election, the Democrats kissed and made up with Lieberman again, and he continues to caucus as a Democrat. It's all about numbers.

It is unfortunate, but decent politicians usually have to play the party game in order to get elected and stay elected in this country (Lieberman is obviously a noted exception). They need the party base in order to shore up votes, because unfortunately, too many voters are too ignorant or too lazy to look beyond party affiliation when they go into the voting booth.

I have several friends on Facebook who posted notes after Specter made the switch yesterday, welcoming him over "from the dark side", or making similar remarks, assuming that Specter's switch is a sign that he has somehow "seen the light". These kinds of comments upset me, because they indicate that people will continue to look at the party instead of the person when they head in to the voting booth.

Thank You, Ron Silver.

I was saddened this morning to hear of the passing of Ron Silver. The talented actor, perhaps best known for his apparances as political campaign strategist Bruno Gianelli on The West Wing, and as attorney Alan Dershowitz in the true-life drama Reversal of Fortune, was also a Tony-award-winner, for his role in Speed-The-Plow.

I enjoyed Silver's work quite a lot - especially on The West Wing. But I admired Silver far more for his political activism, and for his refusal to be painted with the brush of any political party. Silver considered the use of his celebrity for political purposes to be a duty, not a privilege or a bid to be Hollywood-trendy. His causes swung wildly from the far left of the political spectrum to the far right - even as his friends in Hollywood grew to shun him in his later years for failing to blindly fall in line with what was expected of him - to be a Bush-bashing unquestioning liberal Hollywood Democrat.

How liberal was Silver? Well, in 1990, he co-founded the Creative Coalition, a Hollywood political activist group, along with other actors like Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and Alec Baldwin - the very definition of Hollywood liberal. The group took an active role in lobbying Congress on traditionally-Democrat things, including the environment, women's issues, and protecting the arts.

Then, after 9/11, Silver found himself aligning more with the GOP in terms of how the U.S. should be dealing with terrorism, and he was vocal in his support of the Bush administration's policies. He even addressed the 2004 GOP convention - a move that could have (but in all honesty, probably didn't) cost him a great deal of acting work. To see Silver's take on his journey to Pariahville in his own words, click here.

I won't spend any time debating the merits of Silver's stance on any of these issues. That would be irrelevant. My admiration of his comes from the fact that he had the courage of his convictions - the guts to create his own political platform and to be an activist, regardless of what it cost him both personally and professionally.

The world would be a much better place if we all could be as strong as Ron Silver.

Thank you, Ron.

Well - That's That!

I drove up to my wife/son's school this morning, waited about 15 minutes in line, and cast my ballot. I will tell you truthfully that I stared at the screen for President for about a minute before I cast my vote, and to be honest, as I have mentioned before, I would be relatively comfortable with either Obama or McCain in the Oval office... or at least as comfortable as one can be considering I don't think either of those guys have a clue of what to do about the economy.

I will not reveal my specific presidential vote - not that it matters much in far left Montgomery County, Maryland - but I will say that my votes on the ballot swung from the far left to the far right. If I am a squishy moderate, so be it, but I believe what I believe, and I think anyone who simply votes on a party line year in and year out represents part of the problem in our polarized society rather than part of the solution.

How many bad incumbent members of Congress will be returned to Washington this fall, simply because they represent the majority party in their districts? I suspect a great many.

But at least this election is over! There will now be a bye week, and then it's time to get ready for the next one. Palin in 2012, anyone?