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<<AUDIO Part 1 (Ten Seconds): The Chair recognizes, , , Senator Smith>>
There was a time when, if you were to express an opinion in writing, it would likely be over your own signature. In fact, sending an unsigned letter was widely considered an act of cowardice. Today, those lacking the courage of their own convictions can express themselves through anonymous donations to political action committees. Under what is termed “traditional dictates of Senate courtesy,” a shifty member can even place a hold on legislation anonymously and two or more such members can make such a hold last indefinitely. Contrast that to the way the filibuster was once seen, almost universally, as an act of courage.
<<AUDIO Part 2 (Eleven Seconds): ’til doomsday>>
Yes, the filibuster was once painful. It was adversarial. And it was a way to reveal one’s true character. The person holding up a vote in the Senate would have to stand and be seen. Forty senators would have to be present for the arguments, the rhetoric, and the cookie recipes. It was not a back channel process for those lacking the kind of backbone required to be truly representative of one’s constituency. Today, dark money and under the table transactions rule in the USA.
The United States is now ranked by the Economist’s Intelligence Unit as a “flawed democracy.” The macroeconomic analysis of the EIU is seen by business leaders as a trustworthy way to determine how factors, such as the authenticity of any democracy, will impact strategic plans, business operations, and investment decisions. The vacillating coward caucus is making the United States far less attractive to the those astute observers currently vested, or planning to invest in, the de-facto global economy.
Our once constitutionally grounded democratic republic has become an embarrassment on the world stage. And it is due to the subterfuge of unprincipled senators, deceitful representatives, scofflaw justices, and compromised executives. No moral fiber is required of those who have aligned themselves with powerful incumbents. There is no perceived risk associated with making dark money contributions to political action committees that advance an agenda that people of conscience find truly abhorrent.
While retardant forces are sittin’ fat and happy, those looking towards a brighter future understand that every time an elected representative cowers before a tweet, an incoherent diatribe, or a person spewing the most self-serving BS, our republic falters and autocrats rise to say: “You see, democracy doesn’t work. That’s why you need a strong man like me.”
The long overdue sunshine that is brought to bear, as it exposes a wide variety of overpriced elected jellyfish, reveals stark contrasts when politicians are compared to steadfast statesman. Those who fervently advocate for government of, by, and for the people, one that is truly authentic and derives its just powers by the consent of the governed, are not dissuaded by smirks, shallow argument, or even death threats. While some prevaricating politicians hold a death grip on their cushy jobs, we should take note of great revelationary moments in history: One hundred and fifty years ago, James Freeman Clarke got it exactly right when he said: “A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.”
On June 1st in 1950, a little known freshman Senator from Maine took to the senate floor and exhibited the kind of courage that has rarely been seen before or since. Margaret Chase Smith challenged the pack mentality of that day as she took on the virus then spread by Senator Joe McCarthy. In an era when freshman Senators were to be seen and not heard, Smith later recalled “This great psychological fear…spread to the Senate, where a considerable amount of mental paralysis and muteness set in for fear of offending McCarthy.” Constrained by senate decorum, Smith focused upon the tactics of McCarthyism as she asked her fellow Senators not to ride to political victory on the “Four Horsemen of Calumny –Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear.” The Hartford Courant later commented “This cool breeze of honesty from Maine can blow the whole miasma out of the nation’s soul.”
The FIBS acronym refers to this very same McCarthian tactic of leveraging Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear. It clearly encapsulates the ongoing and primary aims of those morally bankrupt political operatives that have effectively hypnotized and seized power over the emotionally charged and intellectually stunted factions within the US electorate. They are intent on sustaining that legacy of Lucifer that promotes the counterfeit, unbridled liberty that continues to rape, pillage, and plunder by any means possible. Rather than working to advance the planet towards its high destiny and an era of light and life, they are content with its ongoing orgy of darkness and death.
<<AUDIO Part 3 (Five Seconds) – I’ve got a piece to say>>