The view depends on where you sit

Those who work inside the D.C. beltway have a view from where they perch. Their view is important from their point of view. Most Americans live elsewhere, and their view is just as important, though immediate control of the vast public monies and policies is more limited. But rest assured, the control is there. After all the politicians and their hired professional staffs cannot exist without the voters who make it happen.

Exposure to this is as simple as being from elsewhere and reading the newspapers from the rest of the Country vice the Washington Post. If one wants to add in the media’s view, then even New York Times and its subsidiary Boston newspaper reflect much of the same. The view depends on where one sits. And the newspapers published outside of D.C. better reflect the citizens we are today. Thanks to the Internet, one does not have to travel and read as in the pre-Internet days.

The incestuous power of living and working and socializing in this D.C. beltway type environment is mesmerizing, and vicious. Whether the rest of the Country knows it or not, those in our capital have vast powers over our lives and our children’s lives. Mostly it is about money, but also it is about what our Country does. And it is about what “they” think is important.

This voter is particularly alarmed by Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen who choose to bail out of Iraq. I am sympathetic to those who cite the mismanagement of the “win the peace” by the executive branch. My political alarm is one as simple as when and where do we finally fight, as in the problem will come home to roost for us and our children. My political alarm is also one of those inside the D.C. beltway are responding to D.C. forces, not American forces. This begs the question, just who is in charge? Where is the Congress in all this, especially given the Iranian overt war actions?

To bleed my American heart out, the view of what is important in our Country applies more to domestic issues. Social security and Medicare and Medicaid promises for which most people and companies pay taxes are the simple and obvious choices. Or how about free trade and globalization effects on communities in America. While I am a believer, politicians explaining all this is a requirement for a future vote.

Last the view also depends on time in service, as in professional politicians and their staffs making a “career” out of serving inside D.C. It’s a lucrative retirement compared to most Americans, and suggests that idealism is fine, but so are benefits. This whole phenomenon is recent, as in the last half century. This is a lead-in to another call for congressional terms limits of 12 years, to include staffs. If one believes that power corrupts then limiting time in Congress for those elected and their staffs, will benefit our National Interest.