Politico on yesterday's Establishment loss
Politico's John F. Harris & Jim Vandehei give their take on the changing scene of politics in America:
The anti-establishment, anti-incumbent fevers on display Tuesday are not new. The ideologically charged, grass-roots activists flexing their muscle in this week’s primary showdowns are the same breed as primary voters who four years ago stripped the Democratic nomination away from Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who later won as an independent.
What’s now clear, in a way that wasn’t before, is that these results reflect a genuine national phenomenon, not simply isolated spasms in response to single issues or local circumstances.
This is a stark and potentially durable change in politics. The old structures that protected incumbent power are weakening. New structures, from partisan news outlets to online social networks, are giving anti-establishment politicians access to two essential elements of effective campaigns: publicity and financial support.
My sense is that this is also happening at the local level. And it'll be great if it happens at the local level. Just because someone has a certain letter after her/his name doesn't mean s/he does a good job.
For instance, why has this Council still taken no action - other than wasting $5,000 on a consultant fact finder - toward mediating the conflict at the PD? Only thing I can venture is a too-friendly relationship with Management.
Vigilante journalism may be the only recourse available for the next 18 months.
Tim White
2 comments:
Maybe you, Tim, should set the example and be the first to resign from office. You are part of the council that is doing nothing. You are also (judging by your lack of power to do anything or even open your mouth) such a minor, unimportant member that nobody would ever notice (except local businesses hosting an open house).
Why does a council member need to public to say what he is thinking? Sounds sheepish
I'm not quite sure what you're saying, but I'll take a stab at responding...
I ran for reelection saying that I would push the Council to deal with the Town's failed management. That's what I'm doing. Why would I resign as a result of doing what I intended to do? That doesn't really make any sense.
As for "lacking power," I've never been interested in power... but I guess you are. Frankly though, whenever I hear people speak of "power," I'm turned off. I'm simply interested in making things better. And I'm comfortable letting others have the stage, unless no one is stepping up and correcting course... such is the case with the town's failed management. I just hope the Council realizes that changes need to happen before too long. If the current Council composition fails to deal with the management, then we'll probably have a different council in 18 mos.
As for rallying public support for something, I think that's extremely important especially on big issues. It's exactly what Jim Demint (my favorite US Senator) is doing with Senate Republicans.
It seems you disagree. That's fine. It's your opinion.
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