Political Parties

40 Years Since The Watergate Scandal Erupted: Its Long Range Effects

Ronald 2 Comments

40 years ago today, the Watergate scandal erupted, as seven “burglars” were caught at the Watergate complex in Washington, DC, inside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee.

The scandal lasted more than two years before President Richard Nixon was forced to resign, in the midst of an impeachment effort that had succeeded, and would have led to his removal from office had he not resigned.

The events of 40 years ago transformed the Presidency, the news media, the political parties, and Americans’ views of their government.

It has led to investigative media that is ready and willing to expose scandal and evil like never before.

It has led to such partisanship that no President can ever really have a true mandate anymore, and antagonism between the major political parties is at an all time high since the Civil War era.

Most Americans are skeptical of the value and virtues of government, a terrible and tragic event, considering the complex world we live in.

Richard Nixon’s reputation has risen quite a bit since his resignation, as many have realized how tragic his downfall was, as he had actually accomplished a great deal of good, mixed in with the evil events of his Presidency.

Disillusionment with many of his successors in the White House has also helped to make him look “better” in many people’s eyes, but the revelation of new transcripts of the Watergate tapes every year remind us just how dangerous and law breaking the 37th President of the United States actually was.

The need for mental health evaluations of Presidential candidates seem more essential now than ever, considering that there were manifestations of mental illness by Nixon, and instability in behavior by Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush in later times.

The Watergate scandal still fascinates us, as a turning point in American history, on the level of the Civil War and the Great Depression, in its long range impact on the nation.

With the Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, and the major exposer of the scandal, John Dean, still alive and kicking, Watergate in many ways is still current, but the question is whether the lessons of that scandal have been learned in a time when we are having millionaires and billionaires investing obscene amounts in campaign spending on the Presidential campaign, thanks to the disgraceful Citizens United case of the Supreme Court in 2010.

So in a sense, Watergate is the past, but also part of the present political situation, sadly!

The Classic Hamilton-Jefferson Struggle To Be Reenacted In The Presidential Election Of 2012!

Ronald Leave a comment

America’s political party struggles began in the Federalist Era of the 1790s, when the Federalists formed under the leadership of Alexander Hamilton, and the Democratic Republicans were created under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton backed more national government and a broad interpretation of the Constitution, and Jefferson spoke up for more state and local government, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution.

As the centuries went by, and the political party system continued to evolve under different names, leaders, and issues, the classic Hamilton-Jefferson split continued to control our politics.

And now, the Hamilton-Jefferson split of more than two centuries duration, will have a classic confrontation in 2012, and it is actually much more important for the future of the nation than any election since 1964, when Barry Goldwater challenged Lyndon B. Johnson!

The debate in 2012 will be more important because of the split nature of our government presently, and the fact that this election is the culmination of 30 years of government dominated by conservatives.

Will we decide to cut down the size of the federal government dramatically and go back to the concept of states rights? What federal government responsibilities will be farmed back to the states, or into the hands of those who want privatization? How shall we deal with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, which led to bigger national government and more federal government responsibilities? How shall America deal with the world outside at a time of the growing influence of China, India, and Brazil in economic affairs? What should be the future of constitutional law, based to a great extent on appointment of Supreme Court Justices and other federal judges? How should the office of the Presidency develop in the future, and should his powers be brought under greater control by Congress and the courts?

These are among the questions that 2012 will decide, and the results will be much more important than just typically. The future of the Republic is at stake!

The Democratic Party Image Hurt By John Edwards And Anthony Weiner: Is Either Political Party Able To Avoid Scandal And Effectively Govern The Nation?

Ronald 1 Comment

Just as the Democratic Party has been able to celebrate the gaining of Congressional District 26 in upstate New York in a special election to fill the seat of Republican Chris Lee, who resigned over a bare chest pic on the internet, they are beset by the indictment of former Senator John Edwards on misuse of Presidential campaign contributions to cover up his illicit relationship and the fathering of a child, and now by Congressman Anthony Weiner for his Twitter, Facebook, and internet conversations and pics that could best be described as raunchy!

But then the Republican Party has also had its ups and downs, and it seems a constant battle for each political party to stay above water in public opinion image!

That is why many often express willingness to be independent and have nonpartisans in public office, to do what is best for the American people.

But that is, unfortunately, not the history of political parties since the time of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, and the reality is that the American people, by overwhelming numbers and the system mechanics that are in place, will continue to make a choice between candidates of the two major parties, and if dissatisfied, throw the “rascals” out on a regular basis.

The only problem with that will be the lack of institutional experience if there is constant turnover, and a group of “rookies” taking over and leaving every few years.

The question will have to be answered whether we are going to expect “perfect” people in public office, or realize the weaknesses of human nature and stop expecting our political leadership to come across as saintly, when even religious leadership and other fields of high respect produce many imperfect people.

Do we want mediocre people in office, as long as they are somehow utopian and seemingly perfect in their behavior, or are we willing to accept that the “great” people in public office, from the time of Benjamin Franklin to Bill Clinton and beyond, have “skeletons in the closet”?

Excellent Evidence Why Strong Political Parties Are Essential For Democracy To Work!

Ronald Leave a comment

The nomination of Alvin Greene as the Democratic nominee for the US Senate in South Carolina against Republican Senator Jim DeMint is excellent evidence of the need for strong political parties, despite all of the attacks on parties evident in this year of disillusionment with politics on the part of many Americans!

The fact that South Carolina has an “open primary” system had led to shenanigans such as this one, where an unknown candidate is likely being put on the ballot by the dominant political party’s funds, and many registered members of the party “cross over” in the primary to set up the weakest possible candidate to oppose their favored nominee in their own party! An investigation has begun into what seems likely to be a GOP ploy, which would not be surprising, considering the history of the Palmetto State! 🙁

There is no way to explain such an inarticulate candidate, with no money, no campaign organization, no website, no campaign appearances, and no substance in his views, to have, somehow, won a nomination for an office that he is obviously unqualified for by any measure one employs!

How is Alvin Greene to conduct a campaign against Jim DeMint and take part in debates, when he cannot even explain in very basic terms how he has organized and run a campaign as the “stealth” candidate, coming literally out of “nowhere” to become a nominee for the Senate? 🙁

As bad as other nominees and winners of Senate elections have been in the present and past, Alvin Greene would likely stand out as the absolutely worst nominee ever offered on a fall ballot for the Senate in many decades, and possibly ever in the history of elections! The Democratic party wants him to withdraw, which he refuses to do, and it makes one think that he is indeed part of a corrupt “Republican plant”, making a mockery of the whole election process! 🙁

So, to say that “open primaries”, and the decline of strong parties that is being pushed in California, and already exists in Washington State and Louisiana, is a good thing is subject to much greater scrutiny!

It makes one wonder if democracy is being served with the call to deemphasize political parties, or whether it is promoting a lack of responsibility and commitment to principles that political parties have represented in the over two hundred year history of parties in our political system!

Proposition 14 And The “New” Politics in California: Is It A Positive Reform?

Ronald 1 Comment

California adopted a new election system in its primary election last Tuesday, and it will go into effect in 2011. Only Washington State and Louisiana have a similar system to what California is putting into effect next year.

Under the new system, anyone can run for any political office, and party affiliation need not be put on the ballot or even discussed by the candidates. The top two in the primaries will be on the election ballot in November, making it possible in many cases that two Republicans or two Democrats or even two fringe candidates would be the finalists for the office being contested.

There would be no requirement that anyone reach any level of support of the electorate. Just the top two would be competing in the fall, which means that if there are a large number of candidates in the primary, the top two could have together a very small percentage of the total primary vote.

The theory is that more moderate candidates would win out, and there would be less confrontation between the liberals who control the Democratic party and the conservatives who control the Republican party.

But is this a realistic assumption? Most major candidates would still be identifiable as either Democrats or Republicans, and the chance of having more extremist candidates such as Rand Paul or Sharron Angle appealing to a small percentage of voters and ending up as finalists grows more likely!

The new system also promotes those with more name recognition and those with large amounts of money having an even greater chance of being the nominees. It also promotes the role of corporate interests in being able to get the candidates they want, who could have a small percentage of the total vote but enough to be the two favored final candidates for the seat in contention.

Does this new system promote “democracy”, or is it just an attack on political parties? Realistically, it is not “democratic”, but rather promoting the power of money more than ever, and undermining our long tradition of political parties!

As much as people condemn and complain about political parties, it is precisely those institutions that have promoted true debate and real changes over the two hundred plus years since Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson first organized groups, in face of the opposition of George Washington, to offer alternative choices and stabilize the political disputes that were obviously part of reality in America in the 1790s!

Political parties, despite much that has been asserted by many people who are ignorant of our history, are essential elements of the American democratic system, and deemphasizing them is NOT a good thing!

California will be an interesting experiment, but to say it will be a great success is being overly optimistic! The question is whether it will spread across the country, as often what starts in California is the beginning of a trend!

Hopefully, that will not be the case on this particular issue!