Republican Congressman Aaron Schock resigned. Too bad. He is young, 33. He had a bright future in politics. That being said, I think his resignation is a teachable moment for America. First, the fact that I wrote, “bright future in politics” turns my stomach.
Politics shouldn’t be a career. It’s supposed to be service. Service isn’t a career. It’s something you volunteer for. In America, we treat politics like climbing the corporate ladder. This is why we have career politicians that owe favors to a million special interests, or we have extremely wealthy politicians running for office using their money and their friends money. The last American president that didn’t fit into that category was Ronald Reagan.
Our current Illinois governor Bruce Rauner is extremely wealthy. But, he worked in the real world for a long time before he decided to enter politics. He took a lot of risk to get where he got financially. It wasn’t given to him on a silver platter. The only reason he ran was because our state finances are so screwed up. He is about the only kind of person that has the potential to straighten it out. Right now, Illinois and Chicago are on the path to one way out, and that is bankruptcy.
The other thing that some elected government officials do is think they are above the law. Hillary Clinton is a perfect example. Congressman Schock thought that he was above the law and took some liberties with campaign cash. These are events that repeat themselves over and over again at all levels of government. Somehow, being an elected government official turns a person into a protected class. Like sainthood in the church. Politicians think that they get a “do over” all the time. The real world doesn’t work that way. Ask anyone that has tried to do a startup.
Being above the law, or somehow different than their constituents creates what the founders called, “the tyranny of government”. Our system of government protects us against overbearing government. But lately it isn’t like that. Government agencies have targeted certain groups or people. Politicians have used police forces, and government agencies for their own gain and to crush political opposition. House of Cards seems almost true.
Want to have a peaceful protest? In Chicago you need a permit. If the protest is big enough in some cities, the protestors will likely face off against a militarized local police department. Because of government tyranny, a lot of protests aren’t peaceful. Or, they draw wackos to them that have no purpose for being there other than to incite violence. In that case, it’s up to the protestors to call them out and help stop them.
If you search hard enough, you will see that in last election cycle, I donated to Congressman Schock’s campaign. He didn’t use my (or anyone else’s) check appropriately and that makes me mad. He and I disagreed on some issues, but that’s okay. His pitch was that he wanted to figure out ways to work with Democrats and get things done. Despite my libertarian leanings, I do realize that government has to govern and Schock wanted to be a part of that faction. In general, I think that Republicans roll over too easy, but that’s because in many cases there is no difference in the attitude of the elected official, just in who pays their freight.
There is a huge difference, yet very fine line, between dictating to someone, and actively participating with someone. Most elected officials have gerrymandered safe seats. As long as they don’t screw up, they will be there for as long as they want. That allows them to dictate, rather than participate. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Congressman Schock isn’t the only elected government official that thinks they are above the fray. There are plenty. It’s why term limits are a good idea for every elected office. But, in order for term limits to work, the size and scope of the bureaucracy has got to be eliminated. Otherwise America will be run by unelected career bureaucrats. That would be worse.
My hope is Congressman Schock doesn’t run for office for a long time. I hope he doesn’t become a corporate lobbyist. He should go work for a startup, or go work a real job in a company somewhere. He’s young. He is smart, and capable. People that serve us in government ought to have a good healthy taste of the real world before they go into the halls of legislation, where it’s hard for the real world to penetrate.
