"We're not obsessed by anything, you see," insisted Ford.
"And that's the deciding factor. We can't win against obsession. They care, we don't. They win."
I remembered this when thinking about how hard it has always been to get money out of politics. In fact, it seems much harder for liberals to achieve their public policy objectives than conservatives.
Lowering taxes, especially on the wealthy, has been an obsession for the past three decades. And if that results in an economy prone to bubbles and financial crashes, then the obsession just gets ramped up with the likes of the Tea Party.
And can the wage-war-in-Iraq-at-all-costs focus of George W. Bush and his neo-conservative advisers be called anything other than obsessive?
When I talk with other committed liberals about getting the corrupting influence of money out of politics and shutting the revolving door, it doesn't quite raise to the level of obsession. The most common response is something like: "The amounts of money are outrageous. Let's make sure we elect our candidates by raising more for them."
We must make the focus on changing the process an obsession. If fundraising is the main qualification of a candidate, then we must call that candidate unacceptable--even if he is liberal. If a liberal member of Congress or one of her staffers goes through the revolving door to become a high-paid lobbyist, then we need to object as loudly as possible.
The formula for success is: We can't lose if were obsessed. We care, we win.
*The Hitchhiker's trilogy is great satire, and great satire often has insights not found in more serious analysis. This piece by Ezra Klein is a perfect example.
No comments:
Post a Comment