The real reason why Republicans have kicked our asses for years.... [View All]

[Skidmore]

is not because we can't get ourselves all worked into a lather over ill chosen words and other flash in the pan, here today-gone tomorrow outrages of the moment. It has nothing to do with forming ranks and marching lockstep on symbolic issues. It has a lot to do with the one true cult--the cult of the unending election campaign.

The cult of the unending election campaign demands politics as usual and not change. It demands fuel for the bonfire of the vanities to keep conceits alive and front burner. What it means is that problems do not really get solved, real work doesn't get done as essential rancour is steeped in bitterness to keep the campaign going. This is what has to change. The cult of the unending election campaign has brought us two decades of ever increasing social and economic injustice. It has brought us wars and unrest. It has brought us to the point where families and neighbors could no long be civil to one another. It has brought us a gluttonous media feeding off the fear and hatred sown by the political class. It has brought us a class of political officers who make compromises only to assure that issues are available for the next cycle of the campaign.

Yes, this is the change we must demand. That the unending election campaign be contained, that there be a period of time for rhetoric to cool so that real work can be accomplished. This is why we need someone out front who is willing to engage the cult of the unending campaign on both sides of the spectrum and reset the game. It is time for this cycle of history to end and a new one to begin.