Every two years, the political ruling class plays us as fools. And why wouldn’t they? It’s gotten them precisely what they’ve wanted nearly every time they’ve implemented their campaigns of deception and misinformation. 

What do most of them want far beyond anything else?

Power.

Here’s how it works.

The Big Sell

As election season kicks into full swing, politicians start airing ads, making media appearances, sending emails, and posting heavily on social media. The purpose of this advertising blitz is to tell us how much they care about whatever problems we, their constituents, are facing. 

Of course, in most instances, they’ve neglected whatever issue they’re campaigning on for at least the past two years.

Even worse, many of the problems we face in this country, such as an open border and high inflation, are the direct result of the political ruling class. 

Instead of genuinely trying to fix the issue upon which they’re campaigning, chances are good they’ve spent much of their time in office engaging in political theater – gaslighting, polarizing, and exploiting the American people. 

You see, many politicians think their only job is to get elected and re-elected. In one sense, it’s absolutely true that the first order of business for anyone seeking office is to win elections. After all, one cannot exercise political power if he doesn’t secure political office.  

But that, my friends, should be just the beginning of their job. 

Unfortunately, this simply isn’t how it works for a large number of politicians. 

Rising through the Ranks

Immediately upon being elected to office, politicians enter a new, behind-the-scenes political battle that will determine the leadership of Congress. Leadership is almost always determined from a very short list of candidates — if we’re lucky! In reality, we almost always know who the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader will be. 

And what qualifies someone for leadership in most cases? How long they’ve “served” in Congress. Or how high up the ladder of seniority in their respective political party they’ve climbed. 

In short, the more they look, sound, and feel like Beltway insiders, the greater their chances of gaining these prominent positions of power. 

That’s not always the case, but it is the vast majority of the time. This is how we routinely get leaders like Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, and Nancy Pelosi. 

These folks are the definition of the political establishment. They are lifetime politicians who almost always think the solutions to our problems are more government and less liberty. It’s all they know. And it’s a big part of who they are. 

So why on earth should we expect anything different to happen when people like this are at the helm? 

We shouldn’t. 

In fact, the only thing we should expect to happen in this scenario is what we’ve seen previously: Political theater. Division. Polarization. Gaslighting. And propaganda. 

It’s been said that the best predictor of the future is the past. And the past should teach us that this is what we have allowed our government to become. 

The Solution: Active Engagement 

I don’t write these things to discourage you.  I write them to define the problem and to point us toward the solution. 

And the solution is active engagement. 

This means we must stop believing that merely winning elections is the solution to the problem. Of course, that matters greatly, but it’s more important what people do after winning.

Elections only determine who takes possession of the metaphorical football. Civic engagement demands that we actually hold these folks accountable for the way they play the game after winning the election. 

A Football Analogy

I’ve said before that the Republican Party, before Trump, was the master of what I call the “prevent offense.” 

I played football in college (cornerback, for those who care to know!), and have generally been a fan of the sport my entire life. 

So I’m familiar with the concept of a prevent defense, though I’m certainly not a fan of it in most instances. If you don’t know, a prevent defense is played by a team that holds the lead late in the game and the opposing team has very little time left on the clock, ideally with no timeouts left. The strategy is for the defense to keep the offense in front of them, giving them shorter amounts of yardage with the understanding that the offense does not have enough time to score. 

But the Republican Party has taken this concept to another level, employing what I call the prevent offense. 

In this metaphor, the Republicans draw up a very busy, sophisticated offensive play to make it appear that they are trying to advance the football. But in reality, the play is only for show and they end up in a 2nd-and-10 situation. 

We must stay engaged long after Election Day to ensure that the campaign promises Republican candidates make find their way into future legislation. 

If we don’t, all of this will have been for nothing.

 

Conservative, not bitter.

Todd Huff hosts the syndicated Todd Huff Show, and also is a podcaster, a dynamic columnist, and an insightful political/cultural commentator. His journey began in 2015, podcasting from his closet, a testament to his grassroots approach. Hailing from the heart of small-town USA in flyover country, Todd embodies the spirit of common sense in today’s discourse, proudly advocating a conservative but not bitter perspective.

Originally published at ToddHuffShow.com. Reprinted with permission.