I don’t think Reagan or Trump were/are charismatic at all.
In fact any of them. Their messages maybe.
There’s a few local politicians I admire, including one guy in our school board that I didn’t vote for and never would have voted for…in fact we had some knock down drag out debates over policy during the election.
But in the recent crisis…which has devastated public school budgets, BTW…another major crime among many during this time…he has really stepped up and put aside partisan politics and ego for the good of the district. He listens to people and will change his mind with a good argument…so rare nowadays.
I pretty much despise all politicians above local.
My feminine side betrayed me.
1 Like
At the Presidential level this is easy fixed by having a single 6 year term. This way a President can focus entirely on their agenda with no re-election distractions.
1 Like
On the face of it, I wouldn’t be opposed:
- Repeal the 17th
- Some type of term limits for Congress
- Mandatory retirement for judges at 75.
- Lobbying
- Cap of $1 on donations per person or entity.
I admired Reagan. That’s the last time I can think of a politician that I genuinely admired on the national level. I admire Dan Patrick (Lt Gov TX) as well but I’ve met him a few times and he strikes me as a genuinely good guy.
No. Not really In regards to modern politicians. They are generally opportunists and careerists. At least the ones of my lifetime for the most part.
I have a few historical politicians that I admire.
- Thomas Jefferson
- Marquis de Lafayette
- Thaddeus Stevens
- Abraham Lincoln
I suspect if you lived during their times, you would have the same concerns about those guys that you have about the current politicians. I always hear how we’re so divided today, more than any time in our history… I laugh and say “Really, even 1861?” I could be wrong though, certainly they were all good men.
Of course. Hindsight is always 20/20.
Jefferson, who is basically loved by all Americans (as he should be) today, was basically called a Jacobin radical in the press all the time. And then they got real personal with him, some of it true, some of it clearly lies. But all of it said in the worst ways possible.
And Stevens? They thrashed him in the press in ways that would have made Obama, Trump, or any other modern politician break down and start crying.
Lafayette… Wooh his legacy in his time was mixed. Americans loved him universally. In France… Well he wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (my third favorite historical document of all time after the US Constitution and the DOI, and I tend to package the DOI and the Rights of Man together since Jefferson helped him write it) and he’s loved for that.
But by 1792 had he not made the decision to throw himself at the mercy of the Prussians he would have been guillotined for “counter revolutionary” behavior. He was ordered back to Paris to answer the Revolutionary Tribunals concerns. Had he made that trip, his head would have been in a basket.
So the Hero of Two Worlds was both a saint and a pariah. Just depended on who you would have asked at the time.
BTW, as hated as Jeannette Rankin was during her lifetime, perspective changes with time and her courage of her convictions ultimately came to be appreciated.
So much so that she has been immortalized in Statutory Hall as one of the two statues from Montana.
1 Like
The quote, “I cannot vote for war.” is inscribed on the bottom of her statue.
That’s not a bad idea actually.
I agree with you fully.
She made the right call during World War I.
We should have never gotten involved with that psychotic mess.
Had the Germans and the Allies fought it out for one more year it’s likely that a more fair peace would have been achieved. Well either that or Germany and France would have completely collapsed simultaneously since they were both being held up by some real rickety foundations by that point.
Either way, a more just peace would have emerged out of humanity’s greatest nightmare. And maybe WWII wouldn’t have had to happen to rectify the mistakes made in its aftermath.
I’ve met most of my local politicians and find them by and large likable. At the local level they are more like genuine representatives and not the mini kings and queens at the federal level.
It’s not only them but their family members as well in so many cases. Some time back I actually put out a thread on term limits and to my surprise I was in the minority on that by a long shot.
1 Like
Which is fine unless you are part of the half of the country who thinks his agenda stinks, whoever is President at the time. Then you can hardly wait till the next election.
Totally agree.
And I don’t want any politico leading me thru my life. These folks are flawed and imperfect just like the rest of us. Most of what I want in government went flying out the window decades ago, keep the country safe don’t tax me to death and stay out of the way so I can live my life. I don’t need Trump, Clinton, Obama or anyone else to lead me…
FYI this is also why I’m a huge believer in term limits…40+ years of Pelosi and Schumer and any R that’s been there more than a couple of terms in office gets us nowhere.
Dont respect or admire any of them. They are elected. If they are doing the job they are elected to do, good for them then they did their job.
3 Likes
You do realize who would be picking our representatives if personal and business donations were disallowed right? The media. Hope you like socialism.
