Too often, power is a chess game played by the political parties in charge, and too often, citizens are treated like pawns.
America is divided. Partisanship is on the rise, and compromise is on the decline. Problems are getting worse instead of solved. The parties are fighting for power and rewarding loyalists. One presidential candidate is out for revenge, one struggles to read a teleprompter and a third has a brain worm.
Americans are begging for real leadership.
Too often, power is a chess game played by the political parties in charge, and too often, citizens are treated like pawns. Politicians point the finger at the other side to get a win for themselves, and voters are tired of that.
Average voters have checked out because they don’t believe anything can change. They have watched the debt rise and the border be invaded — all because it’s more politically lucrative for those in power. It's easier to fundraise off saving democracy than to actually do it. If America is serious about solving these and other problems, then Americans need to have a serious conversation about reform.
Political power functions more efficiently through a small sphere; thus, political parties concentrate power to advance their agenda. However, our founders designed the American republic with an “extended sphere” to “take in a greater variety of parties and interests.” This makes it “less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens.” However, the concentration of power makes it easier for wealthy and corrupt factions to manipulate the spheres of government.
We live in an age of Spoiled Power, which has cast aside our system of checks and balances, designed to protect individual liberty and national sovereignty. Years of power politics have left our chessboard without the proper pieces to defend the people from anarchy or authoritarianism. The executive and judicial branches are bloated, and the legislative branch weakened. In Congress, power has become concentrated in the party leaders, the House Speaker, and the Senate majority leader. The states’ power is limited by the 17th Amendment, and the people's power is limited to the few by the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929.
A spoiled patronage system is the fatal disease of a republic, but America has been infected before and survived.
Historically, problems fester under the surface for years until they rise to infect the political mainstream. It starts with a small group of people educating one generation and then multiplies in the next generation, much like today. The modern spoiled system has been written about in books like “Act of Congress” and “Filthy Rich Politicians.” A generation of people including Phillip Wallach and Kevin Kosar have written about reform. If Americans are serious about self-government, now is the time to show it.
The beauty of our republic is that it runs on a multiplicity of small spheres. Staffed effectively with virtuous Americans, it’s the strongest form of government. Americans are thoughtful, hardworking intelligent people. The system of spoiled power, however, does not encourage America’s best to be politically active. This means we are not sending our best and brightest to Washington.
Serious politicians should discuss reforming our republic. Citizens should demand it. As fictitious Madman Don Draper said, “If you don't like what is being said, then change the conversation.”
Jeff Mayhugh is the founding editor of Politics and Parenting, president of East Coast Operations for No Cap Fund and editor at large for Freemen News-Letter.
