The DC Clown Show

I woke up this morning to the earth-shattering news that the House of Representatives - the political body that most directly represents the voters at the Federal level - had passed a resolution condemning socialism.

Whoop-de-doo. What a wonderfully productive use of that most precious of all commodities: time.

The libertarian cynic in me is usually pleased when government engages in such pointless posturing rather than making real mischief - a government that does less is a government that serves us better - but when government is as big and all-encompassing as ours is, I hope (usually vainly) for our public servants to actually do things that might undo some of government’s worst failings.

I recently flew to another state for a quick business trip. I was fortunate that the government shut-down ended long enough before my flight to allow a return to air travel normalcy, but if it had lasted another week, I could have faced a disruption. An obvious question that arose during the shut-down, when air traffic control (ATC) became snarled, is why such a vital function is subject to such man-made disruptions. Why is ATC in America a government bureaucracy? Why isn’t it privatized, the way it is in Canada, Germany, the UK, Switzerland, and elsewhere? We know that government anything never works as well as private, and we have as a great example our neighbor to the north, where the “near-miss” rate is 6x lower than America’s, and where the technology is at least a decade more advanced. In fact, America’s ATC is wildly antiquated compared to that of many nations around the world.

I cite ATC as but one of many issues that the government should be addressing, especially since it apparently has time to pass pointless proclamations.

Unfortunately, our Congress today is more interested in the electoral chess game than, you know, actually legislating. The fixation is on winning the mid-term elections - by trashing the other team - rather than on passing bills that might improve things like ATC.

The Press that covers DC is no help. Most of our Fourth Estate acts, reports, and opines in a fashion designed to help its preferred team and harm the other team, and back-seats real problems in favor of sensationalism such as the Jeffrey Epstein circus. While we are learning more and more about how many people Epstein interacted with, we see virtually no new revelations as to misconduct with minors. Instead, we get “he knew Epstein, he must be a pedo as well” innuendo. With absolutely zero minds changing about anything, I would conclude.

The perpetually aggrieved protest-hobbyists recently staged a “No Kings” stunt that was remarkably ironic even for them, given how they blithely overlooked both Obama’s and Biden’s executive excesses. Might as well have chanted “Our kings, but not yours!”

This is all a result of politics having turned into a full-contact, zero-sum sport instead of a mechanism of compromise. Compromise is now deemed treason, in both directions, with only a few out-in-the-wilderness sorts actually understanding that the current Congressional split requires it for anything to happen.

Meanwhile, Trump, who is as much a ringmaster of this circus as anyone else, leans into his carnival barker persona, often with great effect. Far too few understand that he is a deliberate button-pusher, and fall for his stunts every time. His latest bit - the love-fest with NYC mayor-to-be Zohran Mamdani. Everyone expected fireworks, but Trump instead glad-handed Mamdani and promised some support. Part of this is alpha-dogging, I’m sure, but part of it is also Trumpian transactionalism. Like it or not, Mamdani is going to be the mayor of America’s biggest city, and freezing him out will only harden the resolve of those who voted for him. They will both play their games, of course. That’s politics. It’s also a reminder that Trump is not ideologically anchored, no matter what some of his apologists tell us.

Thing is, mayors, governors, and Presidents have executive roles. They have to actually do stuff and make decisions, and suffer direct consequences for failure. Legislators, on the other hand, increasingly do nothing of individual value. They pontificate, but then they vote as they are told. Those who really want a “No Kings” nation should be after their representatives rather than after the “king” they dislike, because the path to limiting executive power goes through Congress.

But, with Congress full of clowns, I’m not holding my breath.