Government in an industrialized nation...

...requires us to outsource to others when it comes to policy.  There are only 24 hours in a day.  One doesn't have time to work, raise a family, and become an expert in every single area and question of policy that comes before our government.  Its true for citizens and legislators alike....

Policymaking, after all, is complicated business these days. Understanding most issues, especially those affecting business, now requires a level of expertise that, as generalists by necessity, few members of Congress possess. Even their staffers typically cover far too much ground to develop substantive expertise on anything in particular and rarely stay in one position long enough to overcome this handicap.

The question we must ask about our elected officials is this--when that bell rings, can I trust that they will vote yes or no according to the interest of my family and my community, using the best most accurate information out there. 

Government in an industrialized nation doesn't mean any "nice guy" can be trusted to vote the right way.  The job requires strong critical thinking and analytic skills, as well as an understanding that each policy has unintended consequences that must be weighed with each decision.

My biggest problem with where the Republican party has gone in the past decade is that one can no longer say that you can trust a large majority of their elected officials to be able to make these kinds of complex decisions.  This was not always so, as one of my learning/growing experiences during the anti-war movement was learning more about the Bush I administration and many of the policy makers in their midst. 

During the war, because I was active giving talks, writing public essays, and participating in public debates I did a lot of background work on Iraq war 1 and actually used a lot of material from the  Bush I administration folks who were speaking out on the rush to war that the current administration was trying to incite.  They used good analysis and sound judgement--even on some of the things I did not agree with them on I could concede that the reasons they gave were sound.

This has not been true of most Republicans we see now a days.  I think Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the examples of Republicans I hope to see more of in the future.  Having said that I can think of some Democrats that I don't hold in high regard when it comes to this barometer either....

Posted via email from jimnichols's posterous