No Doubt

As if there were any doubt to start with...

Conflicting Views of the Civil Service

”It's apparent from those comments that Obama (D-Ill.) has a more positive view of the federal civil service than McCain (R-Ariz.) does.“

Senator McCain can’t praise government. He’s a Republican trying to appeal to the government-is-the-problem Reaganites. Never mind that the government has supported him for his entire life. From his birth at a Naval Air Station hospital to his education at Annapolis to his gold-plated perks as a U.S. Senator. Please note, I don’t begrudge him any of these benefits. As far as I can tell, he’s earned them. It would just be nice if he would acknowledge that government has been a solution -- at least for some of us.

"Obama is concerned by the rising number of government contractors that are often unaccountable and frequently less efficient than government workers," said the statement from his office. He also promised to "reduce our nation's increasing dependence on private contractors in sensitive or inherently governmental functions" and "eliminate the Bush administration's ideological bias towards outsourcing of government services."

That’s enough to win me over right there. Of course, I didn’t need to be won over. I already knew the minor sins of contracting out VFR Towers and Flight Service Stations led to the evils of unaccountable mercenaries and even trying to privatize Social Security.

”Contrast that with McCain, who blamed union opposition to contracting out on "labor leaders looking to swell the ranks of federal government unions."“

Herein lies the crux of the matter for me. Greedy “labor leaders” didn’t approach me. I approached them. When controllers were being used and abused the government didn’t step in to help. Business certainly didn’t. It was Labor that agreed to help. I fail to understand how individuals that organize for their common good can be demonized by the same type of people that organize under the banner of the Air Transport Association or the Chamber of Commerce (for two examples.)

After almost eight years of the Bush Administration waging warfare on government unions, what has been accomplished ? How is government better ? It’s bigger, more incompetent and deeper in debt that ever. There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that unions in general (and government unions in particular) are weaker than ever. So if unions were the problem then where is the improvement ?

Along the same lines, if government was such a problem then why is Big Business -- the real power behind the Republican Party -- in such trouble ? The Bush Administration deregulated everything it could get its hands on. If Republican theories held water, Big Business ought to be booming. Instead it’s going bust. Banks, the housing industry and car manufacturers. As a matter of fact, they’re getting creamed by their business partner -- China. Communist China. Remember when they were the front-runners for the Republican’s never-ending list of boogey men you should fear ? Godless communists, welfare queens, gays, unions, Islamofascists...I forget -- which one am I supposed to blame (hate) this week for ruining my great country ?

I’ve got an idea. I think I’ll blame the ones that have been in charge. I think I’ll blame the ones that have -- for the last three decades -- advanced the flawed ideology that led to this mess. I think I’ll vote for somebody that believes in the power of government to do good and see if he can run it any better than those that don’t. That’s right. I’ll vote for Change. Change you can believe in. No Doubt.

Don Brown
August 21, 2008