Dirty Politics

My niece Leona Bastow with Congressman Ike Skelton during a flag-presentation ceremony at the opening of the new Vernon County Senior Center a few years ago.

Dirty politics is what the other party engages in -- not yours, your party is the party of principle and compassion. If someone doesn't believe that all they have to do is ask you and you'll tell them.

I'm sorry but I'm just not a party person. The Constitution doesn't mention them and despite what all the talking heads say, this isn't a two-party system. Don't believe me? Want to argue?

Before you start you're going to have to point out which article in the Constitution set up the two-party system to begin with. Since it isn't there you can't do it, therefore you've lost your argument so let's move on. I'm right and you're wrong, get over it.

Confrontational paragraph? Sure it is, but it points out the inherent faults of a two-party system. Such a system encourages just such either-or, yes-no, my-way-or-the-highway type of situations.

I'm ready to run to the hills and find me a nice, cozy cave to curl up in until after the elections. I'm not just sick and tired of the campaigning, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired of the campaigning.

Both Democrats and Republicans have some members who are acting like psychotic raving loons. McCain isn't conservative enough for the really conservative Republicans and Hillary is not liberal enough for the really liberal Democrats.

The Democrats seem to be more wacky than the Republicans if only because it wasn't that long ago that they anointed the junior senator from New York Saint Hillary. Now they are treating her worse than they treat the Republicans.

I'm a conservative person. I have some ideas that don't conform to the traditional conservative ideology but overall I'm center-right on most issues. The thing is I don't demand that my representative share my views exactly. I would rather vote for a candidate I felt was an honorable person than one who was in lock-step with my politics but wasn't as honorable.

I think we are fortunate in this area to have representatives at the state and national levels that are honorable people. One is a Republican and one is a Democrat.

State Representative Barney Fisher is our man in Jeff City. I'm proud to know Barney and consider him one of our area's great assets. He has a good overall grasp of the issues facing Missouri and does a lot for constituents. I hope Barney continues to be our representative for many years, he's a keeper.

Congressman Ike Skelton represents us in Washington, D.C. and is Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. I've met Ike several times and believe him to be an honorable man who serves us well in D.C. Apparently enough people in the district think the same, Ike seems to have a lock on re-election as long as he wants to run.

The thing is if partisan affiliations were all that I considered one or the other of these fine people would be off my radar, and I would be the worse because of it. The problem is there are many people out there who are so focused on one or two issues they can't see how that focus negatively affects other, equally important, aspects of their choices.

Party affiliation aside I don't think either of these men would find the other repugnant, I think they would find a kindred spirit within the other. Sure, they may disagree about the means and methods of getting something done, but I bet they don't disagree that much about what the end goal should be.

That's well and good. We don't need representatives who are in lockstep with each other but we do need representatives who are willing to listen to the other side and be able to reach across the aisle and work out their differences for the good of the people they represent, after all isn't that what they are supposed to be in office for in the first place?