Corruption, Partisanship, and Everything Else

Who’s more corrupt Milwaukee or Chicago?  OK, that’s an easy answer – Chicago right?!?!?  Not so fast; Milwaukee,with impotent DA’s and more importantly do-nothing federal prosecutors (Buskupic not included), Milwaukee has made leaps and bounds to equal their southern counterparts – but I digress. 

I know it’s been several days since the IL Governor scandal broke, and every newspaper, blogger, and TV newstation has beaten the IL machine horse to death, but I wanted to look at this in a slightly different, somewhat biased way. 

We Milwaukean’s, along with the rest of the American public have been able to sit on our proverbial soapbox and look down on the people and politicians of the Chicago/Illinois machine, but is any community, state, or government really that “clean”?  Chuck Chvala, Scott Jensen, three Milwaukee Aldermen, THE Michael McGee debacle, and the Milwaukee County pension scandal…and that’s just Wisconsin politicians, off the top of my head.  How many other “back-door” deals have MKE aldermen, county supervisors, mayors, county executive, assemblymen, senators (state and federal), and congressmen been able to get away with, without retribution (not to mention the boundless other politicians strewn about the American political landscape)?  My guess is as good as yours, but sufficed to say, we are not a community, state, or government without skeletons. 

Why do I bring this up?  Simple….I read and comment on numerous liberal blogs, and for the most part I try to be civil, but I am sick and tired of those on the left accusing me and others on the right of demagoguery, stupidity, hypocrisy, double standards (you name the insult and it’s out there), when they are as guilty or culpable of the same corruption, maneuvering and political pandering as the right. 

I consider myself a realist.  I understand that people that I may agree with on an ideological front may be absolute jack-asses.  I get it….don’t like it, but I get it.  What I despise, and what I believe creates a serious divide in political discourse, is when one side doesn’t acknowledge that there candidate/PARTY can a) be as corrupt b) be as dishonest c) perpetuate and support the “same-’ol-same-’ol” – “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” mentality. 

Pontification is easy.  I should know, I probably do it more than I should, but I’m admitting it…..I’m out there.  I’m admitting that there’s a partisan problem.  We talk about it, we complain about it, but when it comes down to correcting it, AS VOTERS, we do nothing about it.  Couple that with the fact that if there are two people in a room with differing political opinions (God forbid, egregiously different opinions) not only will NOTHING get accomplished, but there is a good chance that there will be a physical altercation.

I’m a conservative.   I’m a family man.  I am empathetic, giving and kind.  I’m not a racist, misogynist, or a homo-phobe.  I just have an opinion(s) as to how to better move our country forward.  Do I have all of the answers?  Will you agree with me 100%, 75%, 50% of the time?  NO!  But here’s the kicker…because I don’t vote for Barak Obama, because I believe in the free market, and because I believe that there needs to be some societal boundaries, I’m called a neo-con, racist, homo-phobe, anti-feminist and the like.  Calling people names, especially “charged” names (racist being a big one) all you’re doing is creating division, shoving people in corners and forcing one to defend themselves.  Sometimes without merit and honest discussion…..unfortunately.