Reflections on the Oklahoma Bipartisan Panel

I wrote yesterday that the meeting at the University of Oklahoma was a curious blend of exuberance and anger. Let me both explain what I mean by that and provide additional impressions of the event.

For a political junkie in a room full of other political junkies, I will tell you that the room hummed with an excitement I have only seen elsewhere at significant sporting events or highly anticipated concerts. There was an air of electricity that could make the hair on your arms stand up.

I was treated as a member of the press and seated early. The room was filled to standing room only by the public who started lining up at 8:30 for the doors opening at 10:00. When the panel walked in the room gave them a standing ovation.

The opening statements by President Boren and former Senator Nunn set the tone. In medicine, I’ve often heard that proper diagnosis is 95% of the cure. Their opening statements clearly and unflinchingly stated the seriousness of the problems that our country faces. No spin. No equivocation. The feeling in the crowd, reflected in their applause and questions, was, “Wow. These people are actually willing to tell us the truth.” (The problems are available at a link I’ll provide at the end of this.)

My feeling is that this event was so well attended because of anger towards politicians who were unwilling to tell voters the truth about our circumstances when the actual circumstances are clear. The mood of anger turned to exuberance then, because of the rarity of being in the presence of truth telling. As someone I was talking with before the panel arrived said in essence, “Why do politicians have such a problem telling us the emperor has no clothes?”

I think anger was also a motivator for the members of the panel. Here’s why. Career military officers have something in common with the type of politicians who were on the panel. Career military officers know their time in their profession is limited by factors of age, competition and the nature of the profession itself. Those who achieve high rank realize this even more acutely. Those officers see themselves as temporary stewards of the institutions they serve. They see their responsibility as safeguarding the integrity of their institution and leaving it in the best condition possible for the people who come after them. In fact, they hope to leave it in better condition on behalf of the nation they serve than when they began their duties.

I think the people on Boren’s panel exhibited those same beliefs and were motivated by anger at seeing those beliefs violated. The culprit for allowing that violation to occur is not just the current administration. The true culprit is the polarized partisan politics that enabled the current administration to violate those beliefs.

The panel made a number of remarks I want to highlight for you. I’ll do one tonight and the rest tomorrow.

Senator Danforth noted that the two political parties used to nominate candidates who would appeal to centrist voters. That is no longer the case. The two political parties now nominate candidates who will appeal to the base membership of the party and the centrist voters can take it or leave it. Danforth’s revelation is what I have been saying for a long time. If you are a voter who thinks the primaries are not for you; that the primaries are a waste of time and you will make your choice after the parties make theirs, then you are making a bad decision. If you want to have a candidate who appeals to you, then you must participate in the primaries in order to find such a candidate.

Otherwise, the general election is likely to have two candidates with no appeal for you at all.

I made this point on the radio in Texas today. Voting in the general election is like getting ready to go to your high school reunion. You promise yourself that you will do the things necessary to impress your classmates. You know you need to go to the gym, lose weight, go to the tanning salon, get a new haircut, but you don’t go when you should. That usually means you end up not going and missing all the goodness you might have enjoyed.

Voting in the primary is the equivalent of going to the gym, losing weight, and all the rest of it. Now is the time to get ready to go. Don’t miss it. Life’s too short.

To be continued . . .

Here is the link to the transcript. You may also be able to find video coverage on YouTube or CSPAN. CSPAN carried it live, but for the reasons I mentioned above, I was glad to be there in person.

http://www.ou.edu/etc/medialib/web/pdfs.Par.35945.File.dat/BIPARTISANFORUM.pdf