Thursday, June 26, 2008
Political parties owe some answers
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
C. Warner Crumb
Crumb, of Roanoke, is a retired United Methodist clergyman and U.S. Naval Reserve chaplain.
Without a doubt, U.S. residents, all 300 million of us, owe unpayable debts to America's two leading political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats. For more than a century, loyal members of these political parties have done the indefatigable leg and yeoman's work and provided the multimillions of dollars required to recruit and position public servants in all levels of government: public servants in counties, towns, cities, states and federal offices, including the nation's presidents.
With unlimited gratitude acknowledged, and continuing respect assured, both partisan and nonpartisan citizens, are left with many unanswered questions.
To the Republicans, one question that will not go away is: After five years in Iraq, with 4,000 troops dead, with more than 30,000 wounded, and billions of dollars spent (millions siphoned off by fraud and mismanagement), why has there not been one word of regret saying, "So very, very sorry"?
If a prominent leader of his Republican Party, the commander in chief, will not say it, then let voices from the Republican National Committee speak to a beleaguered humanity, saying, "We are indeed sorry. Never again," thereby putting some sense of accountability on record, while responsibly laying a foundation of integrity for their next presidential nominee.
To the Democrats, the first question, leading to others, begins: Why did you let two prime presidential candidates get into an irreconcilable divide when, together, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama could have been a dream team to slam dunk the next election? Why did not patriarchs and members of the Democratic National Committee broker a campaign strategy that would have put one in the White House first, the other in the White House second, running one as president, the other as vice president on the 2008 ticket?
That scenario would have offered the winning 2008 vice president three things: instant executive branch image and office, a comfortable position to win the White House at the end of the running mate's presidential stint, and twice the executive branch service time of the president to whom initial deference was given.
Common sense, humility, courage and the authentic desire to serve the nation's citizens should have dictated such a campaign strategy, formulated in a council chamber or in a wood shed (if need be), months ago before popular euphoria and adversarial debates had a chance to surface.
Former President Bill Clinton says he has prayed for that day when a woman and an African-American would become presidents of the United States. Without vision of a 2008 ticket cited above that might have been a providential time frame, Clinton said: "It appears God is playing tricks on our minds and hearts."
Even though a popular feature of All Saints' Eve, God is not in the business of "trick or treat." Such clever talk is a blasphemous put-down of the Almighty, the majestic, redemptive, Arbiter of nations, who is engaged in every moment of history -- God immortal, who has entered into human mortality, weeping with those who weep, suffering with those who suffer and rejoicing with those who rejoice.
As we go forward with this year's election, let there be neither tricks from an unrecognizable deity, nor dirty tricks from easily identified, professional politicians, Republican or Democrat. Enough sophomoric, frat-house mentality. Give us again, "one nation under God [recognizable] with liberty and justice for all."
