The Missing Ingredient in American Politics

Note that this post first appeared in the St. Louis Suburban Journal on 10-24-12

When I was young I loved to watch my mother bake all kinds of desserts. Not much time passed before I was asking if she would teach me; and so, eventually, she did. Since I was an independent sort, it wasn’t long after that I boldly insisted I was ready to bake a cake from scratch without her help. Although reluctant, she finally agreed and wrote out the list of ingredients.

I eagerly donned one of her aprons and got busy measuring, pouring, mixing. And then I waited anxiously, not able to open the oven in fear of spoiling all my hard work. But when the pans came out the cake was flat. I forgot to add baking powder and the batter hadn't risen. The cake was ruined.

A similar situation has developed today with American politics. The polls reveal that people across the country have very low opinions of politicians. For example, a Gallup poll on Confidence in Institutions found Congress ranked last out of the 16 institutions rated and half of the people polled said they had "very little" or "no" confidence in Congress.

Most of those disgruntled people would probably find comfort in Samuel Clemens’s famous quip, “It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.” Or with that consummate politician, Ronald Reagan, who hit the nail on the head when he said, “Politics is supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.”

Something vital is missing in our relations with our elected leaders. From my point of view that missing ingredient is trust.

Most people I talk to in West County, Republicans and Democrats, express uneasiness at the role big money now plays in election campaigns and in Washington. Getting elected to national office takes enormous campaign chests, so aspiring politicians cozy up to people with money and brazenly hold their hands out. We all know where that leads. Joe Lieberman has been accused of being a shill for the insurance industry. Chris Dodd was roundly criticized as Wall Street’s front man. And George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were attacked for being in bed with the energy industry. No small amount of truth resides in each of those characterizations.

Of course, the ridiculous promises politicians make and the out and out lies they tell about their opponents during election campaigns stretch the trust factor well past the breaking point. I mean, does anyone really believe the nonsense you hear crawling out of the mouths of politicians on the make? Today, lying in political campaigns is a must, especially given an electorate that does not demand honesty and integrity from candidates. It’s almost as if most Americans no longer care that they are being lied to if the lie strengthens their preconceptions.

Congress made the trust problem worse when they exempted themselves from Social Security and Medicare and created retirement and healthcare programs for themselves that are shockingly generous. How can you believe in someone who has purposely elevated himself above life’s uncertainties but has the nerve to tell you that he understands your plight? Get real. Add to that the role lobbyists play today in influencing the passage of legislation and you have what has become a nearly perfect storm of voter mistrust.

Here’s how things have changed in my lifetime. Although I didn't always agree with Senator Jack Danforth, I greatly admired and respected him. I was convinced that if he told voters something it was because he believed it. I looked up to Danforth because of his unimpeachable integrity. But he’s long gone from office and couldn't be elected in today’s political climate. To top it off, a few months ago we learned that Senator Olympia Snow, always a voice of reason, is retiring. She and Susan Collins are two of the few moderates in Washington and now Snow, like Danforth, will also be gone.

I don’t have a magic formula for putting that missing ingredient back into national politics, not with rivers of money flowing into election campaigns from sources that the Supreme Court has allowed to hide under the cloak of anonymity. To find a solution acceptable to both parties, Republicans and Democrats would have to sit together and hammer out a meaningful compromise. No one who follows current events believes that will happen soon, not given that recent polls show the gulf between Republicans and Democrats has never been wider. How sad for all of us that an essential ingredient in representative democracy seems destined to stay missing well into the foreseeable future.