Bill Dalton: The next election

EDITOR'S NOTE: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not of Ottawa News Network.

“Meet the new boss … Same as the old boss”
~ “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who

Every election brings the promise of a new beginning.

A political spring, with green shoots of democracy emerging from the cold, barren ground. A fresh, clean smell of change drifting in the wind.

Then, six months later, the disappointment sets in. The familiar stench of decay wafts from the direction of Washington, and that promise of new beginnings wilts like a bridal bouquet before the honeymoon is even over.

Welcome to American politics. As The Who wailed so trenchantly following the turbulent '60s: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Even though many decry an aging Congress and 80-something presidents, Americans keep sending the same old tired men (and a few women) back to Washington election after election.

Maybe this election will be different.

But just remember, Donald Trump appealed to so many angry Americans in 2016 because he was an outsider who’d never held political office, a savvy businessman who promised to shake up Washington and “drain the swamp” of waste and corruption.

We all know how that turned out.

Trump failed the first time because he quickly discovered the federal bureaucrazy (sic) was so entrenched that even an unscrupulous president couldn’t reform it. So, four years later, voters suffered a relapse and elected an “insider” professional politician, Joe Biden.

Biden proved to be a brief breath of fresh air after four putrid years of Trump’s administration, until even Democrats realized — too late as always — that Americans really did want change in Washington.

The biggest mistake voters made in 2024 — and it was a whopper — was returning Trump to the White House to try again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice … well, we should all be ashamed.

But this fall’s election isn’t about Trump — is it? — so, there’s still hope the country can be saved from its self-destructive tendencies when it comes to picking presidents.

If the polls on Congressional races are right (and common sense tells you they probably are), Democrats and voters are going to give Republicans the rump kicking they so richly deserve.

If they do, Trump and his friends are in deep doo doo, with the next two years likely consumed by impeachments, investigations and indictments. It won’t be pretty, and our democracy will be tested even more than Trump has tested it these past two years.

But to what end? Justice must be served, regardless of the costs, but will it result in a less divided nation and better government?

Unfortunately, the problem is this: The Blue Wave of 2026 will supplant the Red Wave of 2024. But it could result in a Red Wave of 2028, which could result in a Blue Wave of 2030, and on and on.

That’s because the election of the same old tired Democrats, opposed by the same old tired Republicans, will be unable to effect real change that is meaningful for most Americans.

Will they work together to lower interest rates and make housing more affordable? Will they work together to rein in inflation and lower the costs of energy and groceries? Will they work together to make government more responsive to the needs of ordinary people, and not kowtow to the super-rich who finance those ugly political ads you’re seeing on TV?

Besides big money corrupting the political process and our two-party system, another problem is that the nation’s biggest challenges are far too complex to solve in just two or four years.

Without continuity in public policy, little can be accomplished if a new administration simply undoes the work of the previous administration. Without cooperating, Democrats and Republicans will never accomplish anything and remain trapped in a revolving door of political power.

Real long-range problems will go unsolved that can destroy our democracy or our way of life, such as denying climate change or ignoring the growing gulf between the Haves and the Have-Nots.

Haves and Have-Nots, of course, have been around since the beginning of time. There will always be some people who will always have more than others. But the economic divide is quantitatively different now and getting worse worldwide. Just take a look at the recent protests in France.

In medieval Europe or colonial America, people didn’t know they didn’t have as much as other folks unless they rode a horse for 100 miles and stumbled upon other human beings eating better and not living in a hole in the ground.

Thanks to the Internet and social media, the Have-Nots — who usually can at least afford a cheap TV or a smartphone — can easily see 24/7 all the things they will never have.

Someday, they’re going to get really angry.

— Bill Dalton is a former reporter and editor for The Kansas City Star and worked for several Michigan newspapers. He spends summers on the family farm near Fennville. His novel “The Bank Game” is available from Amazon along with “Dalton’s Bend.”

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