Half A Loaf in Politics
Those of you following me on Twitter (@TimMcNabb) know I have been pimping Ed Martin Jr. for Congress really hard. My goal, frankly, is to help Ed raise money for a run to defeat Russ Carnahan, my current congressional representative.
On Twitter today, I got this reply:
@TimMcNabb what does ed martin jr think about congressional pension and insurance, if he’s for it, I’m against him, http://tinyurl.com/pvtagk
If you follow the link, you will find an excellent, even cathartic, set of rules that I would LOVE to see congress have to follow Item #9. Nothing will make you a conservative faster than cutting a check for Federal, State, and local payroll tax. Throw in the double whammy of having to pay both halves of your FICA tax and you’ll want to smack yourself in the head with a hammer and scream “Ronald Reagan”.
Given the current controversy over health insurance, I would like to see them have to go out and buy insurance like a sole proprietor as suggested in item # 4. I have had to do it, and while I liked it a lot better than not having insurance, or (gasp) expecting my neighbors to cover it, it is nerve-wracking to know your contract is for just one year.
All that said, I think we can shoot ourselves in the foot if we start setting our expectations at impossible levels. Does Ed have to introduce legislation? Does he have to just vote against new goodies?
What if Ed has to go along with a pay increase in exchange for repealing cap and trade? Is screwing congresscritters more important than getting that abomination off the books (assuming it passes)? While it is a VERY close call, I’d have to take that deal.
This is the rub of politics. I understand good men and women have to hold their nose and cut the deal that is best overall. Rather than set a single thing that is our tripwire, I think we will be better served with a hierarchy of expectations. Free market health care reforms, no cap and trade, end bailouts. We’ll work our way down the list to less important issues.
We’ll all have different lists. Some of us will be more easily satisfied. However, if we allow ourselves to be satisfied with half a loaf rather than demanding the whole thing, we can begin the trudge back to a government that is less insane.
This is certainly not an invitation to let ourselves be screwed, but we did not get into this mess overnight, and President Bush and the “Moderate” Republicans did their fair share. Ed, or any other future freshman congressman will certainly get on my nerves as compromise is inevitably made. I plan to just keep my list and keep watch. I may want to head Due West and gun it until I hit the ocean, but I know as a grown-up we’ll hit nearly all the points on the compass as we unwind this monstrosity.
