Should we be led by elites or proles?
This is seemingly a very important question in America today. The Presidency is indisputably held by an elitist, and most Congressional seats are as well. This isn’t so much a partisan issue, although the two champions of elitism vs. grassroots are President Obama and Sarah Palin, respectively.
The battle is age-old, as politicians of all stripes battle for the everyman mantle, or battle to look more intelligent than their opponents. The question still boils down to who people want to represent them. Should your leaders be one with you, or one you trust to make the best decision according to his own special knowledge gained from an Ivy League institution? I’m not sure what the answer will be down the road in American politics, but the battle is certainly on these days.
On one hand, Barack Obama represents the creme-de-la-creme of the Ivies. He chaired the Harvard Law Review, led the masses in Hyde Park as gentle shepherd, and rode the intellectual superhighway to the Presidency. He is presented as a thinker, a concerned councilor, and a brooding genius.
On the other, Sarah Palin is about as meat and potatoes as you can get. Six different colleges, life in rural Alaska, caribou hunter, and she speaks with a Northerly accent that reminds everyone in Minnesota/North Dakota/Wisconsin of their grandmother. The goshes and winks during conversation, as well as her blunt manner suggest a life of rough candor far removed from any of the sensibilities of high living.
The media has made their choice, and they are making it loudly. The media has chosen President Obama, and the elitist background he represents. The tea parties are choosing Sarah Palin as loudly as possible, as well. It appears as if both major parties are choosing elitism so far, but politics are fluid, and the GOP may be teetering toward the latter due to the synergy between the tea parties and the conservative Right.
This represents a huge battle going on in current politics, and one that will determine the fates of both parties very soon.
Chris said,
March 30, 2010 at 11:25 pm
“The media has made their choice…”
So did the people.
This isn’t a battle of elites versus proles. This is a battle of solutions versus no solutions. Until the GOP understands that, they will continue to be dead in the water.
regulusred said,
March 31, 2010 at 8:53 am
I could have easily picked McCain versus Palin for this battle, Chris, but I thought Obama represented the sort of elite status that I was looking for. I am honestly not talking about the partisan side of this topic.
I was hoping for some participation from you on the matter, as I think we’re pretty aware of what the other thinks/wants to happen in the country.
Chris said,
March 31, 2010 at 9:18 pm
What’s the point?
regulusred said,
April 1, 2010 at 9:20 am
I think the tea party is a large movement that isn’t necessarily a GOP only thing. From what I’ve seen, there are plenty of independents and even some middling Dems in that mix. The one thing I do see coming from the movement is a frustration with the disconnect between what is damn near becoming a ruling class of politicians and their people.
I am getting from this that you either don’t care or don’t grasp the concept I’m getting at. Probably the former, but I still wondered what you thought about it.
Chris said,
April 1, 2010 at 6:06 pm
Well, to me it is the former at this point. I see what you refer to as the disconnect, but I see it as a conscious decision on the part of those people who prefer to keep themselves entrenched in what I believe is provably propaganda or near to it.
I also see the Tea Party in an entirely different light, as I’m sure you’re aware. To me, it’s nothing but ideology over reality, thus form over function. The angry tone doesn’t help, either, although such tone admittedly doesn’t run through the entire movement. I think the so-called “Coffee Party” is a much smarter endeavor, but it doesn’t have the same draw as the Tea Party.
In order for the Tea Party movement to be of any interest to me, they’ve got to weed out the extremists. It’s far too easy for right-wing conspiracy theories to run rampant among Tea Party types, and that worries me. Much of that movement are simply following a few far-right talking heads, and they should be educating themselves on the realities of the current situation in America. If I brought up the fact to a Tea Partier that President Obama enacted the largest tax break in American history, I’d probably get laughed at, or even spit on (tongue-in-cheek). It doesn’t change the facts, however, and when you’ve got a movement filled with people taking ideology and media sensationalism over fact, all the while believing that the aggregate coverage of any topic (that is: everything that’s not Fox or covered on Drudge) is leftist, you’ve got a dangerous concoction of ignorance fueled by a hatred of anyone who fits into their arbitrary categorization of Socialists.
I firmly believe that most in the Tea Party don’t even have a clue what that term actually means, nor would they have the wherewithal to learn the definition.
Sorry for being tangential there.