CULLMAN —
The long struggle to determine how large and influential government should be in Americans’ daily lives is at the forefront of this year’s presidential election.
Republicans, rallying at their convention in Tampa, Fla., this week are sending the message that the American people cannot afford more taxes and greater intrusion into their lives. Coupled with that message is the viewpoint that taxation and restrictions from the federal level are preventing small business growth and sending more business owners overseas to make greater profits.
Democrats, set for their upcoming convention in a week, are heralding government’s importance in caring for the people and ensuring future generations have health care and other means of support.
Alexander Hamilton, the primary figure in convincing Congress of the need for a strong central government in the nation’s infancy, was thinking forward when he saw the need for the government to have taxing powers for the purpose of maintaining a consistent military and funding national debt.
In fact, Hamilton was largely responsible for influencing Congress to order a convention aimed at writing a new constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation because it lacked executive, judicial and taxing powers. Looking back, Hamilton saw the need to grant the federal government enough power to exist and ensure that the nation would endure.
Springing forward Americans, Democrat or Republican, surely understand that the nation is in a crisis on the opposite end of what concerned the great federalist Hamilton. He had the vision to give the government — the nation — a chance to survive. Today, the people are wondering if they can survive the government.
Most people understand that government is stretched to its limit in trying to finance wars, social programs, and layers of other services. Arguments about the value of scope of government from Democrats and Republicans all have merit. But if no one is willing to yield, to compromise, the ugly stalemate that grips Washington today will continue and produce far-reaching consequences.
Americans are more likely to bounce back and forth from political party to political party than politicians. That’s not because the voting public is unstable. That simply shows people think and evaluate issues with open minds.
Understanding that Americans are flexible and willing to vote for candidates with high values should be a sign to all politicians that political parties are too often limited in their ability to respond to the public’s mood and needs.
Voters have a lot more wisdom and conviction about what is right for the nation than any set of party platforms.
With November fast approaching, the true believers who are attached so firmly to party rhetoric should take a breather. This election needs to focus on how candidates respond independently to the people’s concern. Perhaps at that point, no matter who is elected, Americans will have a president in step with reality.
Editorials
Getting in step with reality
- Editorials
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Editorial: Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
This amounts to spying on an American news organization -- common practice in dictatorships but scary conduct in a democratic system that prizes the public value of an independent watchdog press.
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EDITORIAL: The IRS' Turn to Answer Questions
Washington is now sinking its teeth into a real scandal: the Internal Revenue Service using ideological criteria to choose the targets of its attention.
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Editorial: The house of death
The grisly details emerging from the murder trial of a Philadelphia abortion doctor place a glaring spotlight on a national disgrace.
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Editorial: Murder, insanity and guns
James Holmes, the accused movie theater shooter in Colorado, would like for the public to believe he killed a dozen people because he was insane.
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Lasting partnerships
Economic development officials have long noted the importance of expansions by existing industries and businesses in a community to lead growth.
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COMMENTARY: Why does young adult fiction keep giving its heroines makeovers?
Over at This Ain't Living, s.e. smith (who, full disclosure, has guest-blogged for me at ThinkProgress) has an excellent post about one of the most pernicious trends in young adult fiction.
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A spirit for moving forward
This weekend marked the two-year anniversary of a deadly day of tornadoes that streaked across Alabama, claiming lives and property and changing the landscape of many communities.
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Faith and bombs
The investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing is pointing to the all-too-familiar theme of religious faith playing a major role in violence.
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Keeping the US safe
The empty streets of Boston as authorities searched for two terror suspects was an eerie reminder of the vulnerability of innocent people.
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A time for change
Alabama lawmakers will head into the final stretch of the legislative session with a new member on board, Randall Shedd of Cullman County.
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Editorial: Seizure of AP phone records insult to independent press
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