The problem with political jokes is that they get elected.
Nearly everyone has a cynical one-liner about politics laying around. Some fueled by humor, others by a distaste or disinterest for the political system, but even presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has a favorite which goes, “I served in government, but I didn’t inhale.” (Cue forced laughter.)
What is it about our government, our politicians and our elections that turns so many people off? It’s quite possible that many potential voters just flat out never gave a damn in the first place. However, it’s much more plausible that something, some event or particular facet of the system sent them over the edge. Either way, ignorance and inaction is unacceptable and weighs heavily on our society.
It’s simple, and quite common, to point a finger and blame the political system as a whole. But sweeping generalizations rarely depict what is actually going on. A system plagued by corruption, constant campaigning, incessant pandering and bogged down by the demonization of compromise can’t be described by a blanket statement. But even breaking down its components barely scratches the surface of the underlying problems.
Money is the biggest and most identifiable problem in politics. It begets corruption and leaves those who are poor sorely underrepresented, for if money is speech, poverty is silence. That’s why our gracious Supreme Court handed down the disastrous Citizens United verdict that allows unlimited (even anonymous) money in politics. The influence the rich now have leaves those in the middle-class finding no solace in the phrase, “one man, one vote.” Super Pacs run by billionaires direct the political discourse and their candidates every which way, which makes it easy to see why potential voters lose faith that they have any influence with one vote.
Despite money being a steadfast cause of political apathy, the most recent annoyance seems to be the complete lack of compromise and overall civility of the political system. The blame for this falls most heavily on the Republicans. From Republican representative Allen West, R-Fla., recently calling 80 Democrats in the House “communists with no factual evidence,” to the closed-minded, uneducated, offensive, bigoted, ill-informed, racist, hypocritical, hyper-partisan, misspelled accusations of the Tea Party, Republicans have demonized Obama and the Democrats, and with them, demonized compromise.
Republican politicians – and their counterparts in the actual news media – sling insults and names around more than anyone. With such a dehumanizing view of their opposition, it’s easy to start viewing the opposing party as the enemy instead of a fellow American. Ask Ted Nugent. This leads to comprise being viewed as failure and why the Republicans have become the “Party of NO.”
That, however, may be overtaken this election year by the cliché: “politicians lie.” Pandering and lying stands tall as the stereotypical political pitfall, and while every politician panders to whatever crowd they are in front of, some politicians stand head and shoulders above the rest.
If pandering is a sport, Mitt Romney is its Michael Jordan. Who can blame him? As everyone knows: there ain’t no pander like a Mitt Romney pander, ‘cause a Mitt Romney pander flip-flops. Why bother lying to one side when you can lie to all sides? If you don’t believe that, ask Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, who said, “If you’re not sure about whether you want to support Romney … you ought to be excited, he’s been on your side at one point or another!” To most voters, that’s not exciting. It’s appalling.
With leaders like Romney who lack any form of a spine, it’s no wonder the New Yorker reports “In election years from 1952 to 2000, when people were asked whether they cared who won the presidential election, between 22 and 44 percent answered ‘don’t care’ or ‘don’t know.’”
There is a lot about politics that deters people, and there are a lot of strong implications that come from pushing people away. Voter turnout starts to plummet, fewer people stay informed, elections stop representing the masses and that leads to even more voter aversion.
If Super Pacs, flip-flopping and the hostile environment surrounding D.C. continues, a whole generation could be discouraged from completing their most basic civil duty. As Thomas Jefferson said, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”
