Politicians Will Be Politicians

On August 2, 2007, Senator Kyl (R-AZ) voted against the State Child Health Insurance Program bill. Two and half months later, he's criticizing democratic earmarks because he says the money should be used for children's health care (among other things).

I can't even really blame Sen. Kyl. Who doesn't want to have their cake and eat it too? He can stick to the ranks, vote against SCHIP, maintain his relationship with his fellow republicans on the Hill, yet say he supports children's health care and retain his voter support. He can even criticize the democrats while he's at it. It's really the best political choice, regardless of how he actually feels about children's health care.

And yes, this is why politics suck. But whose fault is it? Ours. It's the voters' fault for making our decisions based on rhetoric and media characterizations (if even that). Most Americans never delve any deeper. Senator Kyl says something that makes sense, like 'we shouldn't be earmarking money for a Woodstock museum, we should be spending it on children's health care,' and most voters are sold. They believe that Senator Kyl is a logical man who supports health care. It's of no consequence that he voted against a bill to provide health care to millions of American children. How many Americans look up voting records? How many even know where to look?

Here I think many might place blame on the news media. Why don't they report this stuff? Why don't they tell the public how its representatives vote? Because the public doesn't care. New media need the ratings or subscribers to get sponsors, and policy issues don't get that - Anna Nicole Smith does. Again, the responsibility is ours. If we cared about how our senators and representatives were voting, it would be reported.

This also exemplifies why I can never vote for a Republican in a federal election. Politicians, especially junior politicians, lose much of their individuality on the Hill. It takes a solid amount of political capital to break party ranks. Unless a rep has the ability to stand on her own two feet, she needs the support of the party. Consequently, successful politicians rarely do it. Besides, as evidence by Sen. Kyl, why should they? This means that even if I sincerely believed a Republican supported my issues, I know I could not rely on her to vote in support of them. It's just not the way our system works. It's 100% possible that Sen. Kyle really believes we should be spending money on children's health care, but as you can see, that does not translate into a vote.

So next time you get ready to criticize a politician for double-talk (or a person for straight-ticket voting) remember we have a system that demands it. Rather than lambasting the politicians, educate yourself about the issues and break the cycle.