By J. Randolph Evans – “We want our country back.”
This has become the rallying cry for people across the United States heading into the important midterm 2010 elections. The question is, what does this mean? Certainly, there are those who want to make it about a lot of things that it is not.
Oddly, the media and political insiders think that it is about a time gone by and a desire to go back to the way things were. It is not.
In fact, there are many things it is not. It is not about race, gender, national origin, religion, political party, or geography. It is not about any one issue. It is not about what, it is about how.
It starts with the fundamental concept upon which the United States was founded and with which the United States Constitution begins: “We the People.” It is about a government and political system that seems to have forgotten this most basic and fundamental principle – a principle that distinguishes the United States from virtually every other place in the world.
It is a rather simple concept, actually. While scholars can debate, average people completely understand it. The people, not the government, are the final say, the ultimate arbiter, and the true source of power in this country.
Somewhere along the way, this simple concept got lost (or forgotten) by those in power in Washington, D.C. and in state capitals around the country. This is a costly and politically fatal mistake.
In the context of this election, it occurred on March 23, 2010 when President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which had been passed by the Congress over the loud and clear objections of the American people. A large part of the opposition by Americans was to healthcare legislation itself. But, an equally important and large part of the opposition was based on the President’s and the Congress’ priorities.
During all of 2009 and the first part of 2010, Americans were laser-focused on one issue – the economy. The country was mired in an economic muck that threatened jobs and financial security. In 2008, Americans hired a new Chief Executive Officer (President Barack Obama) and a new board of directors (the Democratic Congress) to do one important thing – fix the economy. It was not complicated. There was no ambiguity about what was the first and foremost priority. Instead, Americans had made clear that their single most important job was to fix the economy.
Yet, it became rather obvious in 2009 that this priority had been lost on the President and the Congress as they continued, repeatedly, to focus on anything but the economy. New comprehensive and expensive healthcare legislation became their highest and most important focus. But Americans are patient people, and so they sent a few loud clues that the President and the Congress had gotten off course.
In 2009, there were elections for governor in Virginia and (the very blue) New Jersey. The President’s picks in both states lost. For the average bear, these elections (especially New Jersey) would have been a pretty good wake up call. It was not.
Instead, with renewed zeal, the President and the Democratic Congress pushed even harder on the healthcare legislation amidst continuing poor economic news. Eventually, on the eve of Christmas, Democrats in the U.S. Senate (with the help of the President and at great political expense to individual Democratic Senators) pushed through the healthcare legislation.
So, as Americans struggled through Christmas, the President and Democratic Congress remained focused on things other than the economy, and Americans were not happy. Polls showed Americans were not happy. Town hall meetings confirmed that Americans were not happy. People said that they were not happy. The President and the Congress ignored them.
Americans are a persistent group. So, they tried again. Voters in (also the very blue) Massachusetts then sent an even louder signal. They elected Republican Senator Scott Brown to fill Senator Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat. Some might think that even the dumbest bear could figure out that message. But, the President and the Congress did not. Instead, with the economy teetering on the edge, the President and Congress pushed the healthcare legislation through and signed it into law on March 23, 2010.
Somewhere along the way, Americans figured out that those in power can’t hear them and so they need to speak even louder.
Once a different President asked a piercing (but simple) question to a different group in the aftermath of a horrible American tragedy – “can you hear me now?”
On November 2, 2010, the American people will ask a different President the same question in a different setting – “can you hear me now?”