Political Parties, Politicians, All Alike

To a post complaining that the parties are all the same, I wrote the following:

True certainly, but not entirely accurate ... there was a difference between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, between Abe Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, between Hoover and FDR ... Goldwater and Johnson, Hillary and Trump. 

Historically, our choices have always been limited, but such is life - we have to parse the differences, and go with the differences that have a better chance of calling forth some of our better angels. 

Every president has caused problems, and solved problems - some have catered to the Oligarchy, some have remembers the people.

Our present darkness is unique to Rumpy. Hillary might very well have created her own set of problems that we would protest, but the current configuration of wealth and religion would not have occurred with a Hillary administration.

Jeremiah and the Benghazi Hearings

In today’s (Oct. 23) lectionary, Jeremiah the Prophet is confronted by “insolent” men who called him a liar (Jeremiah 43.2).

I think, too, of the young men who gave counsel to King Rehoboam (I Kings 12.6-11) ... while others urged the king to ease up, the young men, who had grown up with Rehoboam (mostly in the lap of luxury, I’m sure) told him to double down on the people. Out of the houses of their ease, they despised the people and couldn’t have cared less.

Who were the insolent men who called Jeremiah a liar?

Who were the young men who told Rehoboam to up the ante on cruelty?

Yesterday, catching bits and pieces of the Benghazi “hearings” - I didn’t hear a lot of “hearing” going on, but saw lots of grandstanding and insolence.

Watching Trey Gowdy yesterday, Mike Pompeo and Jim Jordan, the only words that repeatedly came to mind were “insolence” and “cruelty.”

I saw neither patriotism nor love of truth, but only a partisan hatred of The Secretary, a hatred that has deformed those who harbor it.

I was proud of Hillary yesterday ... she was in the hot seat for 11 hours ... and conducted herself with aplomb. 

When faced with insolence and cruelty, she responded with intelligence, wit and firmness. 

If nothing else, she proved herself a candidate for the Presidency.