I’m not sure if this is WTF entry, just some observations now that the primary is over out here in good ol’ Oregon.
Oregon Republicans are fielding a former pro basketball player for governor; at least he has a degree in political science with a minor in economics. Near as I can tell, he hasn’t done anything with them but he does have the degrees. At least the ‘Pub running for Ron Wyden’s senate seat is a law professor. No political experience but I assume he knows something about the law.
And the local candidate running for Defazio’s congressional seat appears to be a real prize. He appears to be a right wing nut scientist from Cave Junction. He doesn’t believe in global warming, markets his own line of home school products, seems to believe that Creation Science is a good thing and markets survivalist books from his web site. The one thing all these candidates have in common, loudly trumpeted, is their total lack of political experience.
If you follow the “lack of experience’ argument to its logical conclusion I’d expect one of these candidates to show up at Lisa’s café looking for a good mechanic or checking out the local garage when they need a surgeon. After all experience isn’t everything, right?
Note: The candidates are a little thin on the Democratic side too. Although it’s been repealed the one item both parties could agree on a few years ago was making it harder for anyone who wasn’t a democrat or republican to get a spot on the ballot. Hell of a way to run a railroad.
3 comments:
Oh yeah...when I found out about the basketball player running for governor, the first thought that popped into my head was, "Oh, boy! Just what we need. Another unqualified celebrity candidate advanced by the Republican party." It seems to be one of the GOP's favorite tactics, and it is not new (anybody remember Ronald Reagan?)
There are people who don't believe in the system, not a lot but they're vocal. Between the lobbyists who prey on inexperienced newbies and the folks who believe in little or no government; heck the more unqualified candidates in the field the better.
And for the folks who want to "run government like a business." I can't see Lisa hiring a brain surgeon to run her kitchen. He might know what to do with a scalpel, but can he make a German chocolate cake. :-)
There seems to be a HUGE anti-intellectual movement in this country. At the corporation where I work, after years of providing tuition assistance for employees who wanted to pursue additional degrees, they've stopped doing this, and they're downgrading all the positions, because "degrees don't matter", unless you're an MD, that is. There are many jobs where I'd agree, but we're doing pharmacovigiliance...and education DOES count. But not to management, and again, this just seems to be a reflection of what's going on all over the country. I'm about ready to emigrate, but dunno to where.
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