Government: Mind Your Own Business

Written By: Edward H. Crane  |  Posted: Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

One of the classic examples of the failure of politicians to communicate with the citizenry is found in a video of Romanian tyrant Nicolae Ceausescu, giving what turned out to be his last speech to the teeming masses gathered in a square in Bucharest. Oblivious to the mood of the people, Ceausescu is at his bombastic, self-important best until he realizes that the chants from the crowd below are not praise, but something rather to the contrary. The look on his face: priceless.

You could say that Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, and Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.V., have just experienced their Ceausescu moments. Both longtime incumbents were booted from office by their constituents Tuesday in a fashion that, while not quite as bloody as Ceausescu's departure, was still pretty gory in political terms. The political class seems to believe they have carte blanche to do as they please. America is a democratic republic, complete with an excellent Constitution that politicians still feel compelled to acknowledge, if not take seriously. So the growing communications gap between voters in places like Utah and West Virginia and the politicians who have been "representing" them, while worrisome, is not irreparable. Solving it should be a high priority for all involved.

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