I pledge allegiance to the republic.
The United States of America: one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
I wonder how well the crop of candidates for the most powerful office on the planet would fare in a return to high school civics class. It might prove an adventure in malicious hyperbole to substitute 4th grade social studies in said pondering (though I can think of a number of them who might benefit from that kind of generosity) so I won't. "Unelected judges" - "criminalization of Christianity" - "erode our right to religious liberty" - "legislate from the bench" - "only the latest example of an activist Court" - I mean come on!
14th amendment much? Heard of it? No? I don't believe you.
Forgetting for a moment the altogether high bar of wisdom to know the difference, our politics are constrained by what is and isn't possible under statutory and case law. More than just from celeb du jour the Donald, the citizenry is continually under bombardment by claims of the way things are which historically have proven more popular than good for the republic.
Roads, schools, airports, stadiums, libraries, regulations against the excesses of unbridled profiteering and environmental damage, standards for safety, retirement security, health care for the disabled and near indigent, utility rights of way (this list is glaringly incomplete) are steeped in "socialness," a term I prefer to "socialism" by removing the specter of full-blown Leninism or anti-capitalism in pursuit of an eventual state owned means of production. Had we had more of it the past 50 years, our atmosphere might be suffering way less Venus envy.
We might have, like most countries in the industrialized world, a basic quality of life, from health care to modern conveniences to retirement security to universal education without suffering the doing and undoing which has become like weather. The polemics we suffer is testament to how little we agree on about what's in our best interests.
The success of our all too numerous demagogues plays on the masses taking shortcuts in becoming informed and an all too easy certainty about consequences to policies. What our Republican "friends" count on is the same old okey-doke, a song and dance of personalities which much of the press will cover horse race style, but which is sure to solidify into an anything but those other guys tour de la publicité négative timed to peak just as the final vote is taken. Old movie - feeble remake.
It can only benefit from an incomplete investigation by those presumed to be in charge of that kind of thing, because of the chase for dramatic story lines and preconceived narratives into which all must be squeezed. The conspicuous absence of true journalism is well under way. See: Donald Trump - "nobody was even talking about immigration until me."
The savvy reader shouldn't be expecting anything close to fact checking that isn't too little and/or too late, accompanied by a gnawing feeling that the stupidest sounding candidates are actually smarter than they feel it useful to reveal to the electorate. Bobby Jindal: Rhodes Scholar? The list goes on; in fact a full recounting seems appropriate about now.
Jeb Bush B.A. Univ. Texas
Scott Walker D.N.G. (did not graduate) Marquette Univ.
Dr. Ben Carson B.S. Yale Univ. - M.D. Univ. Michigan
Marco Rubio B.A. Univ. Florida - J.D. Univ. Miami
Mike Huckabee B.A. Ouachita Baptist Univ. - D.N.G. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Rand Paul D.N.G. Baylor Univ. - M.D. Duke Univ.
Donald Trump B.S. Univ. Pennsylvania
Ted Cruz B.A. Princeton - J.D. Harvard Law School
Rick Perry B.S. Texas A&M
Chris Christie B.A. Univ. Delaware - J.D. Seton Hall Univ.
Rick Santorum B.A. Penn State - J.D. Penn State (Dickinson)
Carly Fiorina B.A. Stanford - M.B.A Univ. Maryland - M.S. MIT (Sloan School)
John Kasich B.A. Ohio State Univ.
Bobby Jindal B.S. Brown Univ. - M.Litt. New College, Oxford Univ. (Rhodes Scholar)
Lindsey Graham B.A. Univ. South Carolina - J.D. Univ. South Carolina
George Pataki B.A. Yale Univ. - J.D. Columbia Univ.
Jim Gilmore B.A. Univ. Virginia - J.D. Univ. Virginia Law School
Hillary Clinton B.A. Wellesley College - J.D. Yale Law School
Bernie Sanders B.A. Univ. Chicago
Martin O'Malley B.A. Catholic Univ. of America - J.D. Univ. Maryland
Jim Webb B.S. US Naval Academy - J.D. Georgetown Univ.
Lincoln Chafee B.A. Brown Univ. - D.N.G. Montana State Univ. (Horseshoeing School)
This week, it was Trump's turn at so-called traction. A more important concern to a voter might conceivably be who rejected his racist and ignorant comments straight away and who waited until toning it down seemed like a fair request to make of one of their own.
Under too many radars, Jeb (with an exclamation) ventured into Romney's 47% territory, intimating a cluelessness about the value of labor and the bargain it entails, and laying bare a willingness to be a toady to the 1% that he, an educated person, didn't care to hide. Not making enough? Work more jobs or more hours. I'll leave the mind-reading act to Politico and the rest, but stay comfortable in my assumption that B.A.'s from the University of Texas aren't given away like Halloween candy and he knows full well what he's up to.
It bears remembering that Machiavelli had one of the finest Florentine educations and that he never once considered toning down fear and deceit. Because, unchallenged, it works.
