A Failure of Leadership

The Nineties will one day receive a fitting claim to fame for a "don't worry, be happy" philosophy, but one result of the Nineties I will argue is its marking the beginning of the end for our most recent American political alignments. The Democratic Party's coalition of predominately Liberal groups, and as such already moderately corrupt, has now been thoroughly corrupted by Clinton/Gore. No part of the Democratic coalition has escaped the Clinton/Gore sell-outs. Whether these groups have felt the direct betrayal of the Clintonistas, or have had to sellout their own bedrock beliefs to stay aboard the Clinton/Gore bandwagon, they all have felt the corruption of principle for the allure of power.

Big Labor has been sold out for the newer and brighter campaign contributions of Big Technology as they help to keep Clinton/Gore in power, and we have as a result all been sold out to the Communist Chinese. Obviously the Feminist sold their souls backing Clinton's sexual predations just so they could hold on to the abortion trump card. And no one yet knows the full damage to the environmental movement once people really pay attention to Al Gore's "Earth in the Balance", but not many will be enlisting soon for the war against the combustion engine.

Democratic leadership, once about philosophy and principle regardless of their seeming crackpot extremes, has now nothing to stand for except the exercise of power for the sake of power alone.

The Republican leadership has been no less corrupted, on top of which they are also seemingly bereft of any real beliefs to call their own. Republican have long stood accused of being pro-business to the detriment of the common work-a-day people. The GOP protests this characterization, but the leadership continues to back issues that support Wall Street over Main Street, and the global good over the greater good for the American people. NAFTA and GATT have not been the great success that they have been touted as being, and Republican treatment of Communist China has been every bit as pandering as the Democratic Party. When a multitude of your elder statesman, Kissinger, Baker, and Eagleburger to name a few, are paid lobbyist for Communist China is there any reason to trust their reassurances over those of the Democrats?

Add to those issues the unseemly rush to anoint the year 2000 Republican Presidential candidate, and questions about leadership should abound. Clearly there is a concerted effort to jettison as many constituent issues, including many of the social conservative issues, as can be gotten away with during this election cycle. At this time the GOP can talk a little about giving you back some of your tax dollars, but the remainder is Democrat Light. Which is to say they bend with the wind, but not too far to the left.

Leadership has failed. The leadership of both Parties has become corrupted by power and the need to stay in power. Winning the next election cycle is what passes for policy, and polling for what is heart felt belief. This failure of leadership has not been lost on the electorate. Witness the declining number of registered voters actually voting, and the surprising victory of Gov. Ventura in Minnesota.

Is the time right for a third or even fourth party? It is not just the time, but it is a necessity to the survival of the American system.

Many will argue that while the system is broken reforms can fix things. The heavy reliance of both parties on "soft" campaign contributions, they say, is most of the problem. Restrict "soft" money and raise the limit on individual contributions from $1000 to at least $5000 (an adjustment for inflated dollars) and that will help free politics from the grip of special interest. Campaign finance reform may be a need to help the system, but fixing the broken system it will not.

This is a failure of leadership. The parties can not right their ships because they are out of ideas, out of beliefs, and without direction for the country's good. The leadership of new ideas and new people is sacrificed to the party machinery.

Breaking apart the constituent bases of the two Parties and forming more natural coalitions is a great start to repairing what's wrong today. Why should Big Labor stay with the Democratic Party if an America first anti-GATT and anti-NAFTA party was available? Why should social conservatives continue to beg crumbs at the Republican table if an anti-abortion, pro-family, and fiscally conservative party was available? The Big Tent that the Republican's are constantly worrying about is really a way to obscure and to hide; the two Parties supposed differences, in reality, manifest as no differences.