In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Chapter4 a Two-ring Circus with elephants and Donkeys From Baja to Bangor, a predictable cry rises from the hoi polloi any time highlevel officials of the government travel into their midst. If that official is a member of the Republican Party, nearly everyone associated with the Democrats—from the lowliest ward heeler to chairman of the state committee—will object to this “ridiculous, outrageous, dare-we-say-criminal waste of the public’s money!” Conversely, if that official is a Democrat, the moaning , groaning, and hand-wringing from GOP circles will be just as loud, just as visceral, just as emotional. When George W. Bush was president and came to Knoxville for a speech, the Dems reacted as if Air Force One was burning gold ingots instead of jet fuel. Not surprisingly, in September 2009, several days after Ken Salazar, secretary of the interior under President Barack Obama, visited East Tennessee as part of rededication ceremonies for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I received a number of phone calls and emails from hardcore Repubs, demanding our newspaper investigate “how many millions were wasted!” on this partisan fluff. (Just for fun, I scrolled through microfilm and checked on the aftermath of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1940 trip to Gatlinburg to mark the original dedication of the park. Sure enough, there was a story from Washington, quoting Joseph W. Martin Jr., chairman of the Republican National Committee, who excoriated Hizzoner’s trip as nothing but political pandering funded by taxpayers.) You can cuss this phenomenon, or laugh about it, but it should be filed under the heading of “’Twas Ever Thus and Ain’t Likely to Change.” Same thing with spending at virtually any level of government. A Two-Ring Circus with Elephants and Donkeys 76 Doesn’t matter if you’re Joe Blow from Plowhandle, Idaho, or U.S. Senator Big Cheese, fattest cat in the Beltway: If it’s “your” party that’s writing the check, or it’s “your” state that’s receiving the benefits, this is a brilliant example of prudent expenditure of taxpayer dollars; indeed, a great investment in the future of America. Just as predictably, if “they’re” writing the check, and the cash is flowing “out there” instead of “over here,” this is pork-barrel waste at its lowest , grossest level, an economic holocaust for which our great-grandchildren will still be suffering long after we have been crated to the boneyard. Forgive me for taking such a flippant look at government and politics, but that’s the way things operate. Unless you’re a radio talk-show host who rants incessantly about how the United States is going to hell in a handbasket because of “them,” you might as well worry about the weather or the stock market for all the difference it’ll make. Yet please understand: Voting for the clowns who occupy our public offices is not something to be taken lightly. This is a sacred privilege, and I always do my part to encourage participation. Nonetheless, things can go horribly wrong—and I don’t mean with chads, pregnant, hanging, or otherwise—before the final tally. On Election Day 2008, in the borough of Clemmons, North Carolina, a young man named Nathan Wood was about to cast his first ballot. Nathan, then a senior at West Forsyth High School, had just turned eighteen, making him eligible to vote for president. He took his role seriously. Unfortunately, events quickly went downhill shortly after Nathan showed up. I learned about it from Janette Amos, a retired school teacher who lives in Etowah, Tennessee. Janette is Nathan’s grandmother. She was delighted to share her grandson’s travails—which neither she, nor I, am making up. “He went to the polling place, a church in Clemmons, and noticed he was the only person under ninety years of age,” Janette began. “Nathan was on his way to football practice and was dressed in shorts, a muscle shirt, black knee socks, and flip-flops. To make matters worse, he had a gaping hole in his mouth because a front tooth had gotten broken off in a game the week before.” OK, so he wasn’t exactly your stereotypic Victor V. Voter. Big deal. The kid was still ready to perform his civic obligation. “There were six voting booths, all in a row,” Janette continued. “Nathan went in, marked his ballot, then turned around and said, ‘I’m done!’ very proudly.” That’s when...

Share