Urbane Politics

By: Joe Blue

Let’s face it, private interests fuel politics. Initially, most politicians run for a cause. To aid the will of the people or make a difference. Somehow that message got perverted. For some, a seat in Congress and the power it wields turns our Congress into something that we would see on Scandal. Art imitates life, right?

We currently sit and watch the Republican Party deny Merrick Garland a hearing for appointment as a Supreme Court Justice. Since Justice Scalia’s passing the seat is vacant and will probably remain so in opposition to current President, Barack Obama. We, the people, elected these Officials to govern our law making processes. Instead, they fight one another. The Bipartisanship was initially designed as a checks-and-balances system but now it’s all checks, with no balance.

Even in the midst of political unrest and upheaval Presidential candidates, such as Donald J. Trump, stick to staunch protectionist strategies as a platform. This, coming from a man who has married an immigrant woman. Twice. Ted Cruz is opposed to Islamic Political Asylum although his father was granted political asylum after his student visa expired. The ideology, hypocritical as it may be is supported by votes.

According to a poll conducted by the NY Times, four out of 10 Republican voters disapprove of how Trump handled violence at his rallies yet he still held 46% of the Republican primary vote. Followed by Ted Cruz at 26%. "We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized," said Ted Cruz. This method is reminiscent of the Southern Strategy, appealing to racism to garner political support. It’s not systemic bias that keeps you from employment. It’s illegal Mexicans. It’s not the lack of regulations concerning gun control that leads to mass shootings but Mental Health issues and terrorists. It’s not the GOP’s fault that its own political party is divided by its voters choosing Donald Trump over the establishment’s choice candidates, it’s President’s Obama’s fault.

This farce that passes for government has many citizens taking various approaches to express their discontent. Our country is polarizing to aprehensious extremes. The likes of which we thought were put to bed after the Civil Right Movement but race still matters, religion still matters, but progress is still up for debate.