August, 2020, Part 14, Political Class Insanity: The "Do As I Say, Not As I Do" Political Class Mantra

It is the beginning of another month which means it is time again to review the latest political class insanity from the American political class. Each month it takes us multiple posts to cover the wasteful spending, incompetent government organizations and employees, government programs that usually make a problem worse than resolving it, inane and idiotic politician comments, etc.

To review past posts on this insanity and idiocy, just click on the first few posts in each month listed to the right of this page. After reviewing just a handful of these insanity posts we think you will agree that we are currently being served by the worst set of American politicians ever to hold office in our entire history.

1) Unfortunately, this first topic recurs way too many times in this blog and in the news. As we have so often said, a basic, basic function of government, at any level, is to protect the lives and property of the citizens it should be serving. In Chicago, this basic function gets less and less viable every day as politicians there seem to have no way of understanding and then quelling the ever growing violence and lawlessness in the city:

• According to the Chicago Sun Times, on a recent single Wednesday in Chicago, 21 people were shot.
• Six people were shot in a single shooting incident.
• A nine year old boy and his mother were also shot and both are in critical condition after the shooting.
• It was the third time in just four days that at least 20 people were shot in a single day.
• The mother and son were shot at 1:15 in the afternoon when a vehicle stopped, two men exited the vehicle and started shooting.
• According to the police, the two were not the target of the shooters, they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
• The previous weekend, 64 Chicago residents were shot over the weekend.

It never ends. In fact, it seems to be getting worse and no local or state politician seems to know how to fix what they have obviously broken.

2) One possible reason that the situation in Chicago is not getting fixed is that the mayor, Lori Lightfoot, may be more interested in protecting her own life and property than the lives and property of her citizens:

• She has directed the Chicago Police Department to ban protesters from coming onto the block where she lives.
• She pulled this stunt because she does not feel safe, given the threats that have come to her.“I think that residents of this city, understanding the nature of the threats that we are receiving on a daily basis, on a daily basis, understand I have a right to make sure that my home is secure.”
• So she makes sure that her home and family are secure but has no idea to make sure that the homes and lives of others are “secure.”
• She went on to basically say she is special because of the ever increasing violent times and cannot be compared to the police given to previous mayors because, “This is different like no other.”

So this is basically a variation of that favorite politician ploy, “do as I say not as I do.” I am going to take care of myself, my family and my property first and maybe, just maybe, once I am secure, I may find a way to do the same for you. 

3) The “do as I say not as I do” process recently played out with the governor of California, Gavin Newsom. The state of California, as we have discussed previously, is a top candidate state to be the first state to go bankrupt. It has pretty heavy competition in that field, specifically Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, but California has been living beyond its means for years.

And then along comes the coronavirus and the state ends up putting out billions and billions of dollars to fight the virus. Which gets us to Newsom’ latest hypocrisy:

• Keep on mind that the good governor, according to sources, is probably worth over $20 million.
• Given how rich he is and how many businesses he owns, you could probably make a case that he should not accept the governor’s salary in these times of hardship for the state treasury.
• But he does take a salary of about $17,000 a month.
• Several months ago he recommended that he and other state employees take a 10% pay cut to help out the state’s dire financial situation.
• Nice gesture to the public, leaders helping out if only from a symbolic way.
• When he asked state workers to take the same 10% cut, he pledged he would do the same.
• However, a recent Sacramento Bee investigation found that months later, lo and behold, the governor never took that pay cut and has been drawing his full salary since making the pledge to cut his own pay.
• When pressed, a spokesperson for Newsom claimed there was an “administrative error” that prevented the pay cut."The Governor publicly committed to taking the same pay cut as other state workers when he introduced his budget in May and has officially asked the Controller to adjust his pay, effective July 1. The reductions for both July and August will be deducted for the next pay period."
• Yeah right, he makes this big announcement and sacrifice and then nothing happens, a shaky excuse for such a high visibility pledge.
• Of the top eight state government officials, only one, the State Controller Betty Vee, actually made sure that she took the 10% pay cut.

So much for leadership, tightening the belt for the greater good. One out of eight, so pathetic. Again, “do as I say, not as I do.”

4) Oh boy, it looks like we have a “do as I say, not as I do” theme underway. The governor of Oregon has been very adamant and stringent in forcing state residents to wear masks both inside and outside to theoretically combat the virus:

• But apparently that does not apply to herself and her security detail, according to a recent news story.
• Reportedly, the governor, Kate Brown, was actually out on a nature trail hiking with some of the security detail.
• An Oregon resident was out in the woods with her kids when the governor came by unmasked.
• Also, none of her accompanying people were wearing masks also, a clear violation of her own edict.

Again, this is a small gesture but a large symbolic act. If you want your citizens to wear masks everywhere, inside and outdoors, and put up with the hassle of doing so, you should do the same thing also. Otherwise, you are just another hypocrite within the American political class, “do as I say, not as I do.” 

So sad there are so few leaders in the political arena in this country today. From a Chicago mayor who makes sure she is safe while her citizens are not, to a millionaire California governor who can certainly afford a 10% pay cut but somehow it never happens until a local newspaper points it out to an Oregon governor who does not follow her own simple edict. It is no wonder that Portland is being destroyed by riots every night, this governor has little to offer in leadership skills.

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Note: we have done a lot reporting on the dire and ever worsening situation in Chicago. The crime, the violence, and the shootings have resulted in more wounded citizens, more fatalities and a more dangerous place to be. In those discussions we have always pointed out that the mayor and those in public office in Chicago have no idea how to fix this deteriorating situation. While the vast majority of people cannot help fix what the local political class has broken, may I suggest that a donation be made to the Boys and Girls Club of Chicago to at least give the kids of the city a chance, a safe place to go and just be kids. The address for donating to this fine organization is:

Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago Club Support Center

2102 W. Monroe Street
Chicago, IL 60612

Thank you, be part of the solution.

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:

https://www.amazon.com/Walter-Bruno-Korschek/e/B002KYU08Q/ref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

Please visit the following sites for freedom:


http://www.reason.com
http://www.cato.org
http://www.bankruptingamerica.org
http://www.conventionofstates.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w