On the topic of Anthony Weiner, CNN’s John Avlon reminds us that it was RFK who said, “Politics should be the most honorable profession.”
He adds “[This] seems increasingly like a bitter joke.”
Anthony Weiner, Chris Lee, Mark Foley, John Ensign, Mark Sanford, Larry Craig … Edwards, Vitter, Spitzer, Clinton.
Is it a national civic crisis as Avlon points out? I’ve been talking to PJTVs James Poulos about this topic for a while. He says we need better citizens if we want a better Republic.
But where’s the incentive in our Snookiverse?
Avlon concludes his article with this bar for public servants, as set by Teddy Roosevelt:
No man can lead a public career really worth leading, no man can act with rugged independence in serious crises, nor strike at great abuses, nor afford to make powerful and unscrupulous foes, if he is himself vulnerable in his private character.
When you hear about the story of Wisconsin’s public-sector union zombie thugs disrupting an event for the Special Olympics this week, keep that quote in mind.
I have been saying this here on PJM for some time.
“If we want better government, we need better people in government. To have better people in government, we need to become better people ourselves. People get the kind of government they deserve.”
Nice to see it catching on. Pass it on.
It was a group of college students who are union supporters, not union members, who exercised their freedom of speech, nor did they resort to violence by stomping on people’s heads as some Teabaggers do. Also, this was a law enforcement fundraising event that benefited the Special Olympics, not a Special Olympics event.
Oh, dear, where to begin:
It was a group of college students who are union supporters, not union members…
A fact of which is irrelevant and immaterial. Those of you on the Left have this “well as long as it’s not an official Democrat organized action…” as if that makes a bit of difference. This is what happened to “Joe the Plumber,” isn’t it? He dared – dared, mind you – to raise something unpleasant to Obama, and what followed was harassment by those little “unofficial” groups.
who exercised their freedom of speech
Yes, Liberals believe protesting everywhere, for anything, at the drop of a hat, is somehow “routine,” and exercising their freedom of speech. Yet, you guys have a complete mental blind spot about the when and where’s. Frankly, most of your “protest actions” seem to have little of the average citizen trying to redress a wrong, and all about a pack of spoiled people shrieking their venom on whoever they can.
nor did they resort to violence by stomping on people’s heads as some Teabaggers do.
I suspect you really do NOT want to compare that record, now do you? You expect your little lie to be taken as Gospel, when the record shows it has been operatives of the Left who’ve “stomped heads” when, and where, they can.
Also, this was a law enforcement fundraising event that benefited the Special Olympics, not a Special Olympics event.
Again, irrelevant and immaterial.
All in all, your post shows that Democrats are fanatics; have no class; no morals; no manners; no ethics, and lie like a rug.
There. Aren’t you glad we had this talk? Thanks, you’re a brick…
And what would you have said, Candy, if this had been a Tea Party group heckling a Democratic governor at the same event?
To ask the question is to answer it.
“stomping on people’s heads as some Teabaggers do”
When did this happen? Show us the video or the police reports, or admit you’re either lying or woefully misinformed.
History shows us that the list of leaders who are “invulnerable in their private character” is short indeed … how many US presidents would past this litmus test?
And the same is true in every profession … politics, military leadership, religion, business, math, science, engineering, medicine … there is (if anything) almost an inverse correlation … the greatest leaders being often among the most imaginative (and energetic) in their scandalous private lives!
Rep. Weiner’s scandalous behavior *is* juicy … but Weiner still has far to go, if he is ever to match the true giants of New York scandal … Nelson Rockefeller’s epically scandalous passing being the standard by which all are others are judged!
Oh, looky who’s back… Dr. John A. Sidles, of the University of Washington, Expert in Everythingology, including history now.
Where’d ya get your doctorate in History, John?
And it’s interesting that ya gotta go back to the mid-70s to dig up Rocky. As for which of our Presidents was without private scandal, I don’t remember Reagan ever being involved in any sexual scandals… nor either of the Bushes, nor, to be perfectly honest, Carter or Obama… at least not yet.
Maybe you need to go back to whatever institution gave you the doctorate in History, Doctor John.
Thanks for not disputing the facts of my post!
My own views are very largely aligned with this authors:
The above passage is from The Federalist #15 and the author is Alexander Hamilton … it appears that not all that much has changed since 1787.
I guess U-dub doesn’t teach logic or reading comprehension these days.
I directly challenged your unfounded and unsourced assertion that no President could pass the “no private scandals” bar… I named several Presidents of both parties who haven’t had any scandals revealed, and you completely ignored the fact that I debunked your statement.
Therefore, your assertion stands falsified and mine proven by default.
By the way, Dr. John, let’s see a link to your “everyone is bad in their private lives” defense of Rep Chris Lee (R-NY) on similar charges… unless, of course, you’re a patented partisan hypocrite with one standard for your party and another for the other.
Yes, let’s excuse corruption. Like we excuse idiocy and lies from “a physicist”.
Announcement: The old Pajamas Media guidelines are no longer enforced:
The revised Pajamas Media guidelines are:
As for *why* PJM has modified their no-personal-attack guidelines, who knows?
Again, you fail logic and reading comprehension. Remind me not to send any teenage kids of mine to U-dub… their standards appear to be very lax.
I said you were a patented partisan hypocrite with a double standard if you couldn’t provide proof that you defended Rep. Lee the same way you’re defending Rep. Weiner.
Of course, since you’re such a fine upstanding citizen, you defended both men the same way, right? Should be easy enough for you to find a post where you defend Rep. Lee, then… and then it’s not an ad hominem attack, is it?
By the way, it’s not an ad hominem attack anyway. To paraphrase something PJM Editor Charlie Martin told you a long time ago, we’re not dismissing your arguments because you’re a partisan hypocrite, we’re declaring you a partisan hypocrite because of your arguments, or lack thereof.
Now go crawl back under your rock, please.
The truth is not ad hominem.
First, its disingenuous to quote Teddy! He was a part of a very different society than todays society.
Elected officials are our neighbors, families and friends from our local communities. We are them and they are us. Elected officials represent who and what the folks are in their districts. The government truly is run by “we the people.”
I repeat over and over, the nation is broken from the bottom up…not the top down.