This, however, seems to be the year in politics when facts are not only irrelevant, facts are the enemy. Facts are wonky, they’re nerdy. They’re intellectual…To some, facts get in the way of what I choose to believe. And as we have seen recently, in politics it’s okay to mock facts and make the speaker of such facts, not just the opposition but evil incarnate. It is this demonization of logic and those that speak it that’s scary.

A friend of mine, also a student of politics, is an editorial writer at the Tampa Bay Times; his credibility on all-things-political certainly exceeds mine.  He was expounding on this growing phenomenon of our electorate – the ability of someone to completely discount and disregard facts if those facts do not support the voter’s narrative. It is a new zeitgeist – that I can believe whatever I want regardless of scientific evidence or facts and those who disagree are morons, eggheads or simply “loooooosers”.

It is a complete reversal of logic in favor of sophism – I’ll look for facts that support my belief, and if I cannot find them, I’ll make up “facts”. See the contorted brilliance of this? If evidence to prove a theorem is no longer essential, tossed aside like so many boring details, then my made up facts are just as relevant as your “actual” facts.  And when confronted with your pesky actual facts, I’ll just tout that my made-up stuff is true-ier than your facts and discount your argument (apologies to Stephen Colbert’s ‘truthiness’). But beyond the debate, why not finish off your opponent  with falsehoods, intimidation and threats? Beware the amateur debater for he does not play by the rules…

There are lots of religious examples of this – typical is where the speaker will hide behind the Bible rather than acknowledge science- based facts – and state the earth is 6,000 years old.  If you dispute this you are a heretic and are going to hell. Take that!, fact-based person….

Climate Change deniers are a subset of this. They not only deny man-made climate change, they claim the 999 scientists who tout empirical scientific evidence are corrupt and have been bought by tree-huggers and Solyndra types who want to put solar panels on every  shed and out-house. Instead, their true confirmation bias points to one scientist who contradicts scientists numbered 1 through 999.

Notice the similarity in both instances? Evidence is irrelevant; and, more importantly it’s more effective to devalue the speakers as charlatans. It is the ultimate in personal politics. The goal is to intimidate into silence.

The media doesn’t help in this regard. As my favorite blogger, Steven Benen has written, for years it has been reported like this: “Candidate A said two and two equals four…….However Candidate B, states that actually two and two are 83.5.” Now one is fact based; one is nonsense. For some reason, political reporters rarely feel a journalistic imperative to correct the statement that is obviously wrong, leading viewers to their own judgments over facts.

It is no wonder successful politicians these days look more like Donald Trump than Jeb Bush. Governor Jeb who was a wonky numbers guy while in office apparently could run circles around his staff when it came to policy discussions. Ah, but that was more than a decade ago. How things have changed. Now, he’s a mere political punch line, body slammed in the Arena of Trump.

To Trump, wonky details are for wimps. His minions are much more interested in pronouncements, in declaratory statements, in promises……None of it backed up with………well, anything. Except a public that wants to believe so badly that they’re willing to suspend all facts, evidence, proof of concept, in animation. After all, we’ve been groomed this way for years now.  It’s the louder voice that has the clearer vision and just by fiat of volume presumably can get it done. Trump’s unique ability to effectively eviscerate an opponent who speaks out against him has resulted in effective intimidation of political opponents by a public that has more tolerance for ugliness than those who speak truth to power. And that’s truly sad.

PolitiFact, the Tampa Bay Times political fact checking division recently anointed Donald Trump as basically the Liar of the Year.  Many people don’t care and most discouraging, his fans probably think he should wear that as a crown of distinction in this year, the year of the Liar. Anyone who lives a fact-based life should be appalled. I hope I live through it.

Image credit: tiler84 

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My current thoughts go to President George Herbert Walker Bush, or “Bush 41”, currently the subject of a new biography by John Meacham. President Bush was of my father’s generation, he also served in WWII like Dad, he enjoyed a very long and distinguished career in public service and, frankly, was a pretty good president. He certainly knew when to invade and pull out of the Middle East with a very defined and modest goal of getting Iraq out of Kuwait with little to no bloodshed.

Through it all, he has remained a very modest and humble man who can bring own his grown sons, George and Jeb, to tears just retelling stores of their Dad growing up.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about a Bush story from years ago that rings very true for me:  Looking at his growing children getting ready to go off to college, he advised that that if they decided to venture into a life of public service, it’s a very noble calling, but “make your fortune before you make your mark in politics.” It’s what Bush’s father had done and what Bush 41 had done.
Why? Because a life in politics does not and should not bring individual wealth.  The salary of a DC congressman isn’t a fortune when you factor in the need for two residences, one of which is in one of the most expensive places in the US. Those with younger families have a financial drain back home with private school and a mortgage and every other incidental expense. Realistically there is no other way to earn additional income unless your spouse works.

The perks and privileges afforded to congressmen  and women in DC is, I’m sure, intoxicating. Politics is power. These legislators are routinely working with the most powerful world leaders and many of the richest people on the planet who might be looking to exploit the congressman’s power. Such attention is no doubt exhilarating. The difference lies at the end of the day: When the world leaders go back to their suite at the Four Seasons, many of these DC politicians are going back to their congressional office where they sleep on a cot in the corner rather than spring for an expensive DC flat.

To say money is a corrupting influence in Washington is beyond trite. Money is the root of all evil in politics. Period.

However, I do truly believe that people like George W. Bush and Jeb Bush, both of whom struck it rich before running for any office, have the best antidote for the infection of corruption – personal wealth. They both listened to Dad. Nevermind that they both traded in on the Bush family name and helped themselves to family connections in this quest for wealth. Their careers in politics may be checkered, but I’ve never doubted their sincerity and dedication to public service.

Then there’s the case of Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. He may be running for the biggest job in the land with the largest economy but as far as we can tell, his finances are a mess. He basically admitted to rookie bookkeeping mistakes in his autobiography.  Last year he had to cash in an IRA with a huge tax penalty to buy, among other things, a refrigerator. He received a large cash advance from a book and, this man with four young children, immediately went out and bought a big boat.

When he was in the Florida Senate not long ago he was entrusted with a business GOP Party credit card that he routinely used for personal expenses until he was questioned about each entry such as personal travel, paving his driveway, fixing his mini-van. His explanation was always, “oh, that was my mistake” like the child hoping not to get caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

And this is just what we currently know. The contrast couldn’t be more absurd between self-made politicians and those who might be looking at politics as the means to an end. The list of politicians who allowed themselves to become corrupt and sell their influence is too numerous to list. I think the Illinois penitentiary is currently occupied by three former governors who learned this lesson the hard way.

A life in politics is a way to give back to a country that has provided so much opportunity. It should not be seen as a means and method of personal enrichment. Personal wealth should not be the main criteria in evaluating a candidate’s merits for the job, but it is one way to ensure that he or she isn’t subjecting themselves to claims of corruption or putting the office up for sale.

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/gop-credit-card-only-part-of-marco-rubios-story/2252778

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/marco-rubio-spent-lavishly-on-a-gop-credit-card-but-some-transactions-are/2252470

Image source: Visions Of America LLC

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It was inevitable that after establishing myself in a law practice, I’d eventually gravitate to arts organization since, let’s face it, the law isn’t the most creative profession around. I’ve been chairman of the board of two arts organizations, the Dunedin Fine Art Center and earlier, Florida Craftsman – now known as Florida CraftArt.  Florida CraftArt is a state-wide organization that promotes and celebrates Florida’s vibrant craft artisans.

Back around 2006, Florida Craftsman was hosting a charity event that featured a silent auction to raise money. All the usual people and institutions were asked for donations and many did donate. I, however, wanted to think of something different, something that you don’t see often.

Now, in 2006 I knew two things: First, Hillary Clinton as First Lady was a big proponent of the American craft industry. In fact, she solicited Holiday ornaments from the finest craftsmen in the country to decorate the White House Christmas trees back in the 1990s and they received thousands of ornaments. Everyone was thrilled to even be asked. The First Lady did a nice job of showing off the ornaments and it was a big boost to the national crafts industry.

The other thing I knew in 2006 is, Hillary Clinton was getting ready to run for President of the United States. She hadn’t announced her nomination at this time, but it was the worst kept secret in politics (sound familiar?).  At this time, however, she was a Senator from New York just “thinking” about making a run for it.

So, back to my idea: I decided that I would buy a copy of Hillary’s (then) recent book, “Living History” and send it to her for her signature so we could auction it off at our big event. Maybe she’d even pen a personal note for her craft friends in Florida.

Why would she do this? Why wouldn’t she? She loves fine craft, it’s a charity event, it gets her name out there, it costs her nothing but a signature and she’ll be running for President soon and Florida is a huge factor in national politics.

So, puffed full of pride with my great idea I called her Senatorial Office in Washington DC and asked for her Chief of Staff. Surely, this was as important as real world events and need the top staffer.  I told whomever my call was transferred to of my great idea and even asked if he thought she’d do something extra than just sign a book.

“Where are you?” asked her staffer. Well, as I told you, in Florida. This is for a Florida charity event.

“You’re not one of our constituents?” Uh, no, but should that matter?

“Why would we want to get involved in this?” Now, I’m getting a little suspicious Mr. Staffer doesn’t think this is such a great idea, as I do.

Well, I explain: First of all, as First Lady she promoted craft. Second, it’s a charity event. Third, we all know she’ll be running for presid……….

“You DO NOT KNOW THAT….We haven’t announced anything yet!!”

Listen, we’ll Fed Ex the book up to your office, we’ll send you a return envelope to Fed Ex it back, it’s quick and painless and will help our charity event. It will take Senator Clinton 5 seconds, if that.

“Do you have any idea how many requests we get for these things from our own constituents? We really don’t have time for this……”

“You don’t……….HAVE TIME FOR THIS??” Long story short, I unloaded on him with all the force of someone with truly nothing to lose and the intensity of 1,000 suns.

Sensing that I wasn’t giving up and was genuinely angry, Mr. Staffer finally responded in a someone positive manner when he said, “Listen, I’ll talk the Senator and ask her if she’d be willing to do this. What’s your name and the name of the organization. Let me look it up.”

Can I send you the book then?

“NO! Not until I talk to her and call you back….”

Guess who never called back…. Now did he ever talk to Hillary Rodham Clinton? Probably not. But if I had to summarize the personal relations temperament of her office I’d summarize it in one word: Arrogance. And this is coming from me, a New York liberal.

By the way, very shortly thereafter, Senator Clinton began making her way to fundraisers across the country in her run-up to announce her candidacy for president. One of our board members attended her fundraiser in Tampa and got her to sign that very same copy of her book that I fought to get just weeks earlier.

The winning auction bid was $50.

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“If you’re wondering what must happen for a thoughtful, considerate and deliberate discussion on how to prevent innocent Americans from getting slaughtered in record time, well, I am too. No one wants to touch the rights of civilians to own hand-guns for self-protection or rifles for recreational and hunting purposes, but does anyone believe an assault weapon is a necessary tool for self-protection or hunting?”

After the horrible slaughter of 20 five and six year olds with a semi-automatic rifle, I think we have our answer. There is now a moral imperative for responsible politicians to tackle this subject head on. How awful that the killings of adults, of Sikhs, of college students (Virginia Tech) and of high school students (Columbine) weren’t enough to drive home the point that honest to goodness hunters and self-protectionists do not need clips with 30 armor piercing bullets that discharge in as many seconds.

The loss of innocent life was horrific enough for many politicians to finally admit that something needs to be done about the repeated, senseless loss of life. In the words of our President, we must not let the loss of such children go without some heart felt deeper life lesson.

One can only hope that the sense of loss, the sense of despair all Americans feel in losing these students and their teachers remains raw and gut wrenching enough to outlast the desensitizing political process.

I shudder to think of the group the next maniac will target for mass assassination but I cannot think of any target worse than five year olds.  We’ve truly hit rock bottom.

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