Political Party Refuses Low Road, Digs Tunnel

I am hoping it is just because I need a vacation, but my tolerance for politics these days is next to nil. The finger pointing, name calling and an overall lack of leadership from political leaders is turning me into one of those old men who mutter to themselves about the “good ole’ days” while reading or listening to the news. The blame game seems to have all but erased any trace of a once widely shared sense of duty to improve our communities, states, nation and world.

An email I received today from Brad Woodhouse may have turned me from a mumbler to just plain angry. As communications director, Woodhouse oversees the propaganda wing of the Democratic National Committee. Apparently, the Republican and Democratic Parties each consist of two wings; a propaganda wing to distribute information about the wickedness of the other party and a fundraising wing to bring in the truckloads of cash the propaganda wing needs to spew venom coast to coast.

I am guessing Woodhouse and his team at the DNC saw a recent poll showing a high number of voters connect BP with something bad. They could have focused on the something bad, the Gulf of Mexico environmental disaster, and tried to come up with a plan to advance Democrats as leaders and, dare I say it, actually address the problem. But, drafting a policy to deal with the clean-up, prevent future disasters, or move the US from its dependency on oil is unfamiliar territory for a communication director of a national political party in 2010.

So, the DNC dug a tunnel under the low road and developed a website, www.bprepublicans.com, to link Republicans to the current most evil corporation on the planet, nevermind that Democrats up and down the line have also taken money from Big Oil for decades. BP is hated. There are Republicans who have said nice things about BP and have their pictures with BP executives. Attack and let the voters decide!

Woodhouse’s email says, “It’s as if they’ve (Republicans have) forgotten that they have a responsibility to the people of the Gulf who’ve seen their lives and livelihoods upended by this tragedy.” The problem is that Woodhouse, his colleagues, and their counterparts at the Republican Party do not understand that responsibility is derived from the root responsible. Yes, part of the definition of responsible is about blame, but the higher part has to do with taking charge and doing what is right when faced with a problem. I see too few responsible elected officials these days. It is time the political parties and the candidates we elect who carry the labels of these parties worry less about blame and more about doing something worthwhile.

If you see me reading the newspaper and grumbling, I hope you will understand why and know that a vacation might fix much of what ails me. As for the Democratic and Republican machines, it may very well take a complete overhaul before they are able to readopt that sense of duty so many of us wish they shared.

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.