Our National Deficit

My  May, 2010 column from the Sturbridge Times Magazine and an observation on the Senate.

Our National Deficit

There was a recent video of a congressman that caused a lot of mirth all across the internet.  Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia was questioning the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Robert Willard. At one point, he inquired if there was any concern that the island of Guam could, due to overpopulation, “tip over and capsize.” In one of the most adroit displays of self-control, Admiral Willard completely retained his composure. On hearing Johnson, most normal folks would have said something like, “c’mon Hank, yer kiddin” after rolling on the floor. Nope, he wasn’t and the admiral knew it. Like any military bureaucrat, Willard has to worry about appropriations. Maybe Johnson was having some fun, but why take chances?

To be fair, the congressman is suffering from hepatitis C and this does affect judgment. Still, the lower house of our national legislature has not been known for a lack of interesting characters in its history.  Wilbur Mills would make the list. He served as Ways and Means chairman longer than anyone ever did. It is a position of immense power and in his tenure he had the respect of the congress. No one remembers that. As powerful as he was, he lived in relative obscurity until October 9, 1974. In the early hours of that fall morning, he was stopped by the police because his car lights were not on. No big thing, might have blown over except that someone ran from the car into the tidal basin.  It still might have gone away had it been, say, a doyenne of DC society. Unfortunately, it was a women whose professional name was Fanne Fox. She billed herself as the Argentine Bombshell. Her dancing was known for a progressive lack of clothing. Did ol Wilbur come to his senses?  Only if you call following her to Boston and climbing onto the stage at a burlesque theater sensible. Wilbur, who had studied constitutional law at Harvard, made Hank look like the soul of reason.

You probably think I am appalled by all of this. Not in the least. True, I don’t think the antics of the solons are in anyway positive, but that’s not the point. The framers of the constitution feared democracy, but they knew the average Joe must have a voice. The House of Representatives is that voice. When we elect its members, we are electing ourselves, and getting what we deserve, good and hard.

It is the Senate that bothers me. The framers of the constitution were trying to mimic a lot of what they rebelled against. A Senate was not meant to be democratic. The closest example the former colonists had was the British House of Lords. The lords did not have to pander for votes. Men who do not have to take into account public opinion should be more deliberative.

Supposedly, Washington told Jefferson that the Senate would be a cooling saucer against the passions of the House. The hereditary title business, however, was not going to fly. What to do?

The solution was to have the Senate selected by the state legislatures. Yeah, that worked. We all know that such bodies are composed only of persons of absolute rectitude. By the last quarter of the 19th century, numerous scandals had been exposed regarding corrupt elections of senators. David Graham Phillips, a muckraking journalist employed by William Randolph Hearst wrote a series of articles entitled The Treason of the Senate.  Sentiment for direct election of the upper house became a torrent.

Understandably, the senators were happy with the status quo. Only when the groundswell got so large that states were calling for a constitutional convention did the senate move an amendment. Even today, the thought of a constitutional convention scares sane people not to mention even some lunatics.

So what have we got for the great extension of the franchise? It takes oodles of cash to become a senator. Now, who will the victor in an election feel more beholden to, his constituents or the moneybags supporters? Of course, that begets election reform and when that is gamed, more election reform.

In the electronic age, elections are beauty contests. I met our senior senator during his first campaign. What I remember most about the encounter is not what he said, but his appearance. He was perfectly coifed and exquisitely dressed. I have never seen another man as well put together. Heck, I haven’t seen many women that well done up.

That senators are little more than reps with longer terms is probably not a good thing constitutionally. Ah, but the entertainment value is increased by an order of magnitude. Joe Biden has left the upper house, but all those gaffe skills he honed for years, he is putting to use as veep.  There is our own John Kerry being for a bill before being against, or was it the other way around?

Lest you think I only lampoon Dems, John McCain provided some mirth during the presidential debates. There is a Youtube mashup of the former candidate with Miss South Carolina. The beauty queen had been asked a question which she completely flubbed. When McCain was asked an economic question he dropped names and platitudes, but did not answer in any real sense. He was oblivious, and made the hapless lass from SC look like Cicero in comparison.

I don’t think a Lincoln and Douglas could run against each other today. They would not be photogenic enough and their logical presentation of issues would do them no good. I would love to say I could have followed their marathon debates, but I am a product of my times. I scare myself.