The World According to Steve

As the healthcare debate continues to churn and the flames of near town hall riots have cooled, another layer of confusion is taking center stage. Earlier on Wednesday morning as I finished off my Dolly Madison powdered doughnuts (the kind that leaves the white remnants in the corners of your mouth), I caught a 5-second blurb from the paler-than-pale Chuck Todd on NBC’s Today Show that made my blood boil almost instantly. Todd remarked (I paraphrase) that every vote in the US Senate is crucial for the passing of the President’s healthcare bill, which is why the President has been in contact with Massachusetts legislators in an attempt to overturn the state law that requires a special election to fill the empty seat held by the late Ted Kennedy.

Please stay with me here…The President did what? He is encouraging who to do what? It seems unbelievably shady to me for the President of the United States to contact elected state officials and heavy handedly attempt to persuade them to change a law that would allow the governor (a Democrat) to appoint a replacement (in the interim) until the special election could take place (approximately 4-5 months from now), just so he can get his healthcare plan passed. Did I say shady? I actually meant dirty. Absolutely dirty, filthy politics. And no one in the mainstream media seems to care, thus no one is informed.

If you remember, a short time ago before his passing Mr. Kennedy petitioned lawmakers in his home state to do the same thing in hopes that his political party would be able to maximize their votes on the issue. The President apparently has been carrying on this banner in a pathetic attempt to have his healthcare bill passed. I can understand Mr. Kennedy’s petitioning his own home state, but the President? I should say I DID UNDERSTAND Mr. Kennedy’s petitioning…that was until I did a little further research.

It seems in 2004 the former US Senator urged Massachusetts lawmakers NOT to allow the state’s governor the power to appoint an interim Senator in the instance that then Presidential candidate/Massachusetts Senator John Kerry won the election. He was afraid that the Governor at the time (a Republican – Mitt Romney) would appoint a conservative to the US Senate while awaiting a special election. He won and the legislation made it law that the Governor of the state cannot appoint an interim Senator to the US Capital. Stay with me…

You see in 2004, he was against the notion of allowing the Governor to appoint an interim replacement in such circumstances. However, in 2009 it appears that the roles have been turned upside down. Now he and the President want state lawmakers to reverse their own legislation, allowing the Governor the opportunity to appoint an interim Senator, thus assisting the White House in trying to pass this bloated healthcare reform. Utterly dirty, stinking, filthy politics…as usual. No other way to describe it.

Furthermore, it seems almost unheard of for a sitting President to get this involved in state legislation. What happened to state’s rights? Does anyone out there remember high school government class? What about you Mr. Chuck Todd? Anyone think to ask the hard, but obvious question to the President’s Press Secretary at first chance…How does the President justify this obscene act of overusing his power for personal and political gain? Well…maybe you shouldn’t ask it that way. Why is the President getting involved in state issues? Especially when it only involves ONE STATE?!?

The bottom line for me is when the President was elected, although I tend to have more conservative principles than not, I wasn’t completely disappointed. It seemed as though he might be a “fresh” choice. Someone that wasn’t the “same old politician”. I have no problem voting Democrat, Republican, or Independent in any election regardless the office. I always base it on the issues…always the issues. I only ask that when I bubble in the circle beside the name of the candidate that they represent their constituents with honesty, integrity, and a humble spirit. In addition, I think all public leaders should represent us all in that manner. In truth, elected officials continue to take up the call to be politicians rather than taking on their role as a civic servant to the people. ‘Politician’ in our society evokes the image of a scandalous, self-centered individual that will stop at nothing to ensure that their agenda (not those they represent) comes to full fruition. The latter is someone that looks to be a leader in all circumstances and is above all loyal to those they represent and not a handcuffed puppet to the political party they attach at the end of their name.

The President has greatly disappointed me with this action that to me appears desperate and leaves we wondering if it isn’t unprecedented? I’ve grown tired of the dirty means in which so-called leaders toy with the policies that affect us all, then refuse to own up to the carnage when their ill-defined schemes inevitably ‘hit-the-fan’. Why have any of us expected anything else from this President? After all, we have seen it time-and-time again – on the national stage and even in our own communities. I realize my cynicism is coming across loud-and-clear at this point, however for me the filthy letdown with this administration began with the Mexico City Policy and has continued on from bailout to takeover to spending sprees to tax cheats to czars to hidden burdens to lack of details and so fourth. To me the status quo in our country is settling for politicians, instead of true civic leaders. And for this President, who claims the status quo isn’t good enough for him, it appears to me that he is defining it rather than destroying it. Embracing the dirt rather and attempting to clean it up. Filthy politics. Absolutely disgusting.