Primary Season 2012 - A Commentary

(ed. Note: as noted previously, the Madison Conservative will opt for a personal commentary as issues or events warrant. This week is just such an instance)

The very nature of political elections dictates that one must present his opponent as not the person for the job; either by his inexperience in governance, or by his incompetence in doing so while in office, hence the need for change.

Our history is a treasure trove of accusations between opponents from allegations of homicide to levels of debauchery that would mandate an apology of biblical proportions to Sodom and Gomorrah.

Candidates for elective office now seem so well versed in making such finely nuanced accusations or proposals these days that they feel so comfortable that moments after making certain absurdist declarations they opt to distance themselves from what they just said, on the record, if front of millions. (Remember a sitting president, under oath,  asking for what his inquisitors definition of “is” was)

For the most part, the American electorate takes such nonsense in stride in their evaluation of the candidate’s qualifications, and votes their determinations on sound personal judgments. If they find that their assessments were in error, they will make the necessary course corrections in the next election.

In this primary season, what is evolving, however, is a troubling trend and one that must be addressed by the American electorate.

To wit:

The scurrilous and imbecilic accusations are beginning to turn towards the ridiculous and unfounded assertion that somehow America is becoming a lost nation, that her spirit is lagging and in need of being ‘returned’ to its ‘rightful’ owners. Various and sundry candidates of all political persuasion are blathering on with this nonsense, concluding with the claims that their opponents are the reason America is suffering and that only their salves and ointments can bind up and heal the nations wounds.

Putting aside the arrogance of such claims, which should be easily dismissed as the ramblings of idiots, these pervasive claims are an insult to more than two hundred and thirty five years of freedom and sacrifice unequaled in the annals of human history.

America may be many things, but perhaps a Madison Conservatives’ refresher ‘voter guide’ is in order as the elective dog and pony show winds its way throughout the country, ending with the only true poll that matters, the constitutionally mandated one  this coming November.

American is in a period of transition from an employment perspective; there is no doubt about that. This nation went through the same type of process during the industrial revolution. Americans adapt, improvise, and overcome. This fact has been proven again and again. When the internet boom began in the early 1990’s, few realized that such a technological revolution would so quickly doom many brick and mortar establishments, yet almost everyone today  easily uses the internet to purchase goods and services with but the click of a mouse. Many companies that helped usher in the age of the consumer internet boom are now but memories on the dust heap of employment history, yet there has been no declarations that the internet cost millions of jobs to honest and decent people employed in the brick and mortar world. - (remember CompuServe and Prodigy, the initial rivals to America Online? Would America opt out of having such entities as e-Bay and Amazon.com at their disposal?)

We are a capitalist society; he who builds the better mouse trap wins.

America is employment resilient; perhaps to make that point clear to the body politic, the next wave of unemployment statistics should include those in elective office who helped create the current economic stresses.

Americas’ standing in the world is also an issue that is rising to the forefront in this year’s campaign. This should be properly debated and discussed amongst the body politic and the electorate, but to propose that America’s role in the world is fading? When disaster and strife befall another nation, who is it that the world looks to for rapid response and security if needed? The recent act of the United States Navy in rescuing Iranian nationals from pirates is a perfect example. America is the nation that gets it done; we understand that the blessings of liberty come with a price and we have continually chosen to pay those costs.  Foreign policy should absolutely be an issue for there are many intelligent alternatives on how to conduct a nations foreign policy, but to add into that debate that somehow America is fading is both preposterous and libelous.

As the candidates vie for votes, remember to take many of their claims of Americas’ malaise with a twenty five pound bag of salt; we have endured and prospered through tough times, we will do so now, and continue to do so in the future.

We must as a nation remember that collectively we are Americans, and that such a statement still means more than we can know.

We the people; let freedom ring!