No Way to Run a Country
On Saturday, officials at BWI/Thurgood Marshall airport in Baltimore told travelers to arrive at least four hours early to get through security. Later, interviews with travelers revealed that many took five, six or more hours to clear security — and not just at BWI, but at major airports throughout the nation. TSA agents are quitting or calling in sick because they have not been paid in weeks. The reason is gridlock in Congress over the question of how to reform the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and specifically ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). TSA agents are what some might call “collateral damage” in the political wars over funding ICE and DHS. The need for such reform clearly emerged from the horrific actions of ICE in Minnesota and its brutal presence in many cities largely against the will of local authorities and citizens.
Congress is responsible to authorize funding for government agencies, but this particular impasse has been going on for more than a month. Late last week, the U.S. Senate actually managed to pass a bill with bipartisan support that would end at least part of the problem; then the Senate went on a two-week holiday. Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives decided to ignore the Senate bill and instead, passed a piece of legislation that will never pass muster in the now-vacant Senate. Neither side seemed invested in finding a truly workable solution.
At the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, the real strings are being pulled at the White House which also happens to be (a) escalating a war (what the president calls an “excursion”) against Iran that seems fated for catastrophe, (b) demanding hundreds of billions of dollars more to fund said war, (c) sending thousands of American ground troops to the Middle East, (d) pushing a piece of legislation (the SAVE Act) that would make voting very hard for many citizens, (e) designing a ballroom, (f) gutting the institution formerly known as the Kennedy Center…. and…. oh, well, you get the drift.
And for good measure, gasoline prices have skyrocketed, now more than $4 a gallon and rising, all thanks to the current administration’s miscalculations about how Iran would respond to being bombed for reasons that remain opaque to most people. Most of us never thought much, if at all, about the Strait of Hormuz until it became a global fuel and supply problem two weeks ago.
This is no way to run a government or a country! The absolutely stunning disregard for the safety and needs of ordinary American citizens who have places to go, work and families to support, and clear preferences for peace and economic security is a betrayal of the American system of government and service to the people of our nation. I keep thinking of Abraham Lincoln’s soaring rhetoric at Gettysburg demanding national resolve to ensure that, “…government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”
Such a government seems almost a fiction of the last century. Today’s American government is ignoring its most fundamental duty to ensure prosperity for We, the People. While it’s true that Congress has always been somewhat chaotic when the political parties cannot agree on legislation, the current environment is exceptionally dangerous for the durability of this political system. On the surface, since one party controls both houses of Congress and the White House, we might think that there would be less chaos. We would be wrong. The rise of authoritarian leadership in the White House defies conventional political rules and processes, and too many members of Congress appear unable or unwilling to exercise the courageous independent judgment that would lead to sensible and humane compromises for the good of the nation.
The American people are suffering the consequences of legislative cowardice, self-serving leadership and legislative gridlock. Millions of Americans took to the streets over the weekend in another “No Kings” display of unhappiness over the current state of affairs. But marching is not enough. We the People need to demand more of our elected leaders on both sides of the aisle. Leadership starts with a commitment to the people who need service, not to the bluff and bluster and threats coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Congress must act immediately and decisively to get the airport lines moving again, to demand a peaceful resolution to the Iran War, and to demonstrate a genuine commitment to making Americans secure and satisfied again with their government. Congress doing its job would be a big step toward making America truly great again.
