Great story! Thanks for sharing it! Nobody has a High Horse to get up on in the world of Politics. Those rare individuals who try are to be commended, supported, remembered. (I recall Mark Hatfield, a senator from Wash or Ore I think, who refused to run for Pres despite lots of pressure to do so because he said he would simply not compromise his integrity to the degree required to win the presidency. And that was a decades ago.) Not sure what we do about this but stories help.
Oh, yes! Hatfield was indeed a rare one! Good example.
To your point, I wonder if that's why AOC has been saying she isn't interested in a title, but rather, working for change? We know that Pelosi shot down her bid to be Speaker because she was uncompromising.
The only way to fix this is to limit campaign spending to a set, publicly provided amount, period. Lord only knows how that might feasibly be accomplished.
Legislation? The UK only allows six weeks of politicking for national elections I'm told. Time limits and spending limits would probably be really helpful. We've priced everyone but millionaires out of the running.
Is legislation even feasible, given the parties' devotion to their donors?? 😉
I just learned a couple days ago about Canada's system, and they do adhere to strict time limits and an absolute limit on spending. But then, they're smarter than we are about a number of things...
same in canada as in UK [i married a canadian] wherein hopefuls can only politick on his/her stump for a period of 37~51 days, full stop!, depending on the type of election and the geographical area one needs to cover across the vastness of canada, particularly across the frozen tundras of canada's arctic territories. all politicking funds are provided by our govt and are limited and sedulously controlled, even if a wealthy wannabe politician wants to self-fund , either w/ his own lucre or w/ funds donated by friends, consociate politicos, or entrepreneurs.
yes, suzc, hatfield, from oregon, was as courageous as he was imbued w/ inviolable political ethics and moral rectitude. as one of the remarkably few admirable politicians, one might speculate that his experiences when young were indelible cynosures for his decades-long political career, particularly, when he accidentally mowed down and killed a 6-yr-old girl who was crossing a street when he was a puerile, nascent 17-yr-old teenager. also, hatfield's demoralizing WWII years in the western pacific, and his being an eyewitness to the brain-twisting horrors of a devastated hiroshima, following truman's manumission to allow the US military to drop the 1st atomic bomb on that japanese city's utterly impuissant citizenry on 6th august 1945 [my 4th bday]. i can empathize w/ hatfield's despair but its transformative power b/c when i was teaching at kokusai kirisutokuyo daigaku [1962~'64] i fell on my knees sobbing after exiting the atomic bomb museum in hiroshima over this despicable, unconscionable war crime that my oh-so 'shining-light-on-the-hill' country had committed against those hundreds of thousands of helpless, innocent japanese people, not only over hiroshima and nagasaki, but also over 67 other japanese cities, towns, and villages which our parents' generation had fire-bombed previously and burnt to ashes.
tnx for reminding me of this honourable politician, mark hatfield, suzc. concomitantly, denise, for confirming there are others like your friend who are equally noble and incorruptible in this era's political arena
Maybe corruption is just a "feature" of politics...or just of human nature. I'm not at all sure we've evolved...devolved seems more likely, or devolving.
I like to think he's working for a greater good where he is. Certainly, he's putting his skills and his compassion to better use, instead of literally fighting city hall.
Great story! Thanks for sharing it! Nobody has a High Horse to get up on in the world of Politics. Those rare individuals who try are to be commended, supported, remembered. (I recall Mark Hatfield, a senator from Wash or Ore I think, who refused to run for Pres despite lots of pressure to do so because he said he would simply not compromise his integrity to the degree required to win the presidency. And that was a decades ago.) Not sure what we do about this but stories help.
Oh, yes! Hatfield was indeed a rare one! Good example.
To your point, I wonder if that's why AOC has been saying she isn't interested in a title, but rather, working for change? We know that Pelosi shot down her bid to be Speaker because she was uncompromising.
The only way to fix this is to limit campaign spending to a set, publicly provided amount, period. Lord only knows how that might feasibly be accomplished.
Legislation? The UK only allows six weeks of politicking for national elections I'm told. Time limits and spending limits would probably be really helpful. We've priced everyone but millionaires out of the running.
Is legislation even feasible, given the parties' devotion to their donors?? 😉
I just learned a couple days ago about Canada's system, and they do adhere to strict time limits and an absolute limit on spending. But then, they're smarter than we are about a number of things...
same in canada as in UK [i married a canadian] wherein hopefuls can only politick on his/her stump for a period of 37~51 days, full stop!, depending on the type of election and the geographical area one needs to cover across the vastness of canada, particularly across the frozen tundras of canada's arctic territories. all politicking funds are provided by our govt and are limited and sedulously controlled, even if a wealthy wannabe politician wants to self-fund , either w/ his own lucre or w/ funds donated by friends, consociate politicos, or entrepreneurs.
yes, suzc, hatfield, from oregon, was as courageous as he was imbued w/ inviolable political ethics and moral rectitude. as one of the remarkably few admirable politicians, one might speculate that his experiences when young were indelible cynosures for his decades-long political career, particularly, when he accidentally mowed down and killed a 6-yr-old girl who was crossing a street when he was a puerile, nascent 17-yr-old teenager. also, hatfield's demoralizing WWII years in the western pacific, and his being an eyewitness to the brain-twisting horrors of a devastated hiroshima, following truman's manumission to allow the US military to drop the 1st atomic bomb on that japanese city's utterly impuissant citizenry on 6th august 1945 [my 4th bday]. i can empathize w/ hatfield's despair but its transformative power b/c when i was teaching at kokusai kirisutokuyo daigaku [1962~'64] i fell on my knees sobbing after exiting the atomic bomb museum in hiroshima over this despicable, unconscionable war crime that my oh-so 'shining-light-on-the-hill' country had committed against those hundreds of thousands of helpless, innocent japanese people, not only over hiroshima and nagasaki, but also over 67 other japanese cities, towns, and villages which our parents' generation had fire-bombed previously and burnt to ashes.
tnx for reminding me of this honourable politician, mark hatfield, suzc. concomitantly, denise, for confirming there are others like your friend who are equally noble and incorruptible in this era's political arena
Those noble and incorruptible ones are in a heartbreakingly small minority, however.
Maybe corruption is just a "feature" of politics...or just of human nature. I'm not at all sure we've evolved...devolved seems more likely, or devolving.
I'm with you there!
I like to think he's working for a greater good where he is. Certainly, he's putting his skills and his compassion to better use, instead of literally fighting city hall.