The House of Representatives announced today that it was preparing formal documents to impeach the President of the United States. This follows on the heels of weeks of testimony and refusals to testify. And months of tweets. There has also been a variety of public debates as the Democrats attempt to find a viable candidate for next year’s election. Then there’s Ukraine, Russia, Israel, and Afghanistan — among other countries — flexing their muscles. And all kinds of organizations asking for my dollar.
I have followed none of it, except for what I couldn’t avoid. It is a conscious decision because the state of affairs is most distressing. And there’s not a lot I can do about it.
Still, the question remains: At what point does a serious citizen need to become more involved? It’s appalling that almost half of the eligible voters didn’t vote in the last presidential elections. I was not one of them, nor do I wish to be.
But much of this Sturm und Drang is just that. I don’t want to hear it.
My political alarm clock will wake me when Iowa holds its caucuses on February 3. I plan to be up to speed by the end of March, because half of both party’s delegates will already be in place. I remember when none of this was that important and the nominee was chosen at the national conventions. It’s not that I want to return to the insiders picking a candidate, but neither do I want to be wooed for over a year.
One solution is to limit the weeks that one can legitimately campaign prior to election. The British do it in six. I’d be happy with eight. And while we’re at it, let’s limit campaign funding too. More on February 3.
Leave a Reply