More Curious Than Worried

2010: The Year Of The Battered Incumbent

As much as I like arguing politics with people, I try to keep my political thoughts out of my blog. When it comes to arguing politics on the internet, I prefer to do it under a screen name because there are some people out there who just get scary when it comes to their politics and I don’t want them knowing my real name.

There is one thing I noticed that I have to talk about though: This has to be one of the worst times to hold any political office at any level. At every level of government, from city all the way to the federal government, there are too many needs and not enough budget. And it is painfully easy to campaign against those who currently hold office!

Here’s how: Right now citizens want 2 things from their governments..

1. Balanced Budgets – We’re reigning in our debt, so our governments should too, right?
2. Help! – There are tons of people without jobs. Businesses are struggling. Those of us who have jobs are performing more work for less money. The government should be helping us, right?

The problem though, is that governments can’t help all the unemployed, the struggling businesses and the debt-ridden consumers while working under a balanced budget. The 2 needs go in opposite directions! So challengers, here’s the painfully easy way to campaign against an incumbent….

• If the incumbent works towards balancing their budget, they don’t care about the struggles of the every day American. They are putting the needs of the government over the needs of the people.
• If they want to spend money to help people, then they’re fiscally irresponsible. They want to bankrupt America and spend all your hard earned money by taking it and giving it to everyone else.

There, I just wrote the campaign strategy for just about every challenger for political office at every level. If I was in office right now, I’d retire or refuse to run again, too! Does anyone else find this as ridiculous as I do?