I Hate Politics

Okay, I've got to get this off my chest.  All my acquaintances think I'm into politics.   I am not.  My close friends have all heard me say, "I hate politics.  I like public policy."  On the off chance that some young person might read this (Hey!  It could happen!) let me explain.  

Politics is getting people elected.  It is cutting deals and compromising to get into office , stay in office and accomplish anything once you are in office.  I'm not good at politics.  I don't understand people. I don't understand what motivates people.  I don't like compromises.  I want to tell people what I want and I want them to go do it.   You may remember, I got a job to fit my personality.

Everybody wants "good" policy.  Of course, what I think is "good" might not be what you think is good.  The desire for a "good" education for our children is almost universally accepted.  How to get children a good education is (now) as contentious a subject as what is "good".  Why people can't see that I am right -- universal education provided in Public schools with a fact-based curriculum providing a common experience to bind American society together -- is beyond me.  Some people had rather their children be educated in a religious and/or private school.   No, seriously, that is what they want.  You can't fix stupid.  (Did I mention I'm not good at politics?)  You'd rather have your kid educated in a madrassa or by an employee of WalMart?  Nice talking to you, Stupid.

Okay, do you understand the difference I'm talking about now?  So here is what is driving me nuts right now.

Joe Biden has been incredibly effective as President.  I believe he will rank as one of the top ten Presidents of all time.  

I think that is true -- politically.   But I know it is true as far as policy.  The American Rescue Plan Act -- which included a child tax credit that cut child poverty in half.   He ended our involvement in the Afghanistan War.  You can argue about the execution all you want.  It was the right policy.  The Postal Reform Act of 2022.  It eliminated a Republican monkey wrench thrown into the Postal Service years ago.  He raised the Federal Minimum Wage to 15 dollars an hour.  The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.  America had an industrial policy for the first time in decades and it helped workers while fighting climate change while also making our country more resilient.  It is an incredible record.

But (and here comes the politics) he's old.  He walks old, he talks old and his debate with Trump was a disaster.  So the guy that could accomplish all that -- a once (or twice) in-a-generation talent gets tossed aside for politics.

Enter Kamala Harris.  And the crowd goes wild.  A stunning entrance onto the political stage.  High drama, crowds that Joe Biden could never dream of and record amounts of donations and volunteers.  Democrats (including me) are overjoyed.  Salvation is at hand!  We will defeat Donald Trump and the evil he represents.  Democracy is saved!

But wait a minute. Let's cool our jets for just onc second and take a look at this thing -- this political thing that is unexpectedly big and undeniable.  (I feel it too.  Something BIG is afoot.  Something generational perhaps.  Something that I don't fully understand.)

Where did Kamala Harris come from?  Joe Biden hired her.  Joe Biden alone.  He could have picked Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Gov. Gretchen Whitmire, Susan Rice (a National Security Advisor) or Sen. Tammy Duckworth.  (They were all in the running.  I love my New York Times digital subscription.)

And I suspect the timing of VP Harris' elevation to Presidential nominee was Joe Biden (the politician) at work again.  Regardless, one of the most effective Presidents ever, willingly gave up being the most powerful person on the planet.  Perhaps reluctantly, but willingly.  I can't imagine how hard that might be.  I've never had the desire to attain power, but I've never seen anyone that did give it up without a fight.  (The fact that we don't have fights when we change Presidents is one of the most extraordinary norms of the U.S.A. Well, except for you-know-who.)

And that, my friends, is why I hate politics.  The unexplainable adoration heaped upon Kamal Harris while Joe Biden sits in his rocking chair, watching his accomplishments bear fruit, as the world moves on without him.  (Psssst!  I don't think he's done.)   He saved America in more ways than people know.  And I'd elect him (and his team) again in a second, even if he was stuck in the White House, confined to a wheelchair for his entire second term.

I've known all along what this job might cost Joe Biden.  And I'm sure he knew the political indignities it might cost him.  After all, he's a better politician than any President we've seen since LBJ.  He did it anyway.

Don Brown
August 5, 2024