Down With the Establishment

Throughout history, man has tried to explain strange occurrences, such as the missing airliner from Malaysia. However, despite huge advancements in technology, some things remain a mystery.

Because many things are beyond man’s comprehension, I prefer to put my trust in God instead of experts. I believe God exists. No data or evidence could convince me otherwise.

Because of my faith in a higher power, I’m not willing to hear any explanations from experts about why House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R. Va.) was trounced by David Brat, an unknown small-college economics professor, in last week’s primary. Didn’t these same experts predict Mitt Romney would win in a landslide?

Rather than bore you with complicated facts and statistics about why Cantor lost, I will give you my personal analysis.

Cantor’s defeat is a symptom of an underlying frustration with incumbents and the political process. This rage isn’t just directed at Washington. It includes the institutions associated with Washington: lobbyists, special interests, big business, labor unions, school boards, city council members, bureaucrats and government employees. If any of those are up for election, voters will defeat them.

To me, it seems like neither party is solving the needs of everyday Americans.

While many Democrats blame Republicans for the current hostilities on Capitol Hill, let me remind you the Democrats controlled Congress in 2008. But, rather than compromise, they rammed through a taxpayer funded stimulus bill. While Democrats were spending money, Republicans got more conservative. The Tea Party gained momentum. Republicans gained control of the house in 2010.

However, even though the Republicans of 1994 were led by former Congressman Newt Gingrich and were just as partisan and belligerent as the Tea Party, they helped to balance the budget, raise taxes, and create jobs during the Clinton presidency. But the Tea Party refused to compromise with President Obama on anything. They blocked his judicial appointments and nominees and obstructed bills that once found bipartisan support, such as funding infrastructure improvements and extending unemployment insurance and shut down the government twice.

Because both parties have become more extreme, more Americans have moved toward the middle. According to a recent poll, 55 percent of people in this nation consider themselves “centrist.”

Despite this warning of anti-establishment fervor, the pollsters predicted Cantor would win his district by more than thirty points. He was supported by powerful special interest groups such as the National Rifle Association, the Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Realtors. Armed with a juggernaut of cash, he outspent his opponent 26-to-1, while Dave Brat ran a shoestring campaign with a budget of $200,000 and a 23-year old college student for a campaign manager.

Many in Washington want to you to believe the nation is polarized and divided. There’s too much emphasis on whether you are a Republican or Democrat or a liberal or conservative, instead of who is benefiting versus who is suffering from government.

However, many are beginning to think there is a moral, spiritual, and cultural rot in Washington. Some see this rot from the right, such as Brat; others see this rot from the left, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Truth is, to rid the rot, we need to abolish the whole system.

I am fed up with limited American political choices. I am tired of charismatic speakers promising to change the status quo, only to become part of the status quo. But Americans should not rage at a group, party or individual; they should focus on the institutions that continually fail us.

information about New Signature, a Washington DC tech solutions and consulting firm

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