8-29-02, Political Footnotes
Promises, Promises
By Stuart James
IPS Features
"Read my lips, no new taxes."
President George Herbert Walker Bush
"If an income tax passes, I will veto it."
Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist
"Read my lips, an income tax will not happen on my
watch." Congressman Van Hilleary, Candidate for Governor of Tennessee
Three political candidates made promises to voters.
The voters listened to two of these candidates, electing them to office.
Unfortunately, for the people who listened, the candidates broke their
promises.
The promises are prime examples of what is wrong in
politics—candidates make promises we want to hear, not statements we need to
hear. Candidates make these
promises with one goal in mind—winning.
"Read my lips, no new taxes"--After making
this promise, President George Herbert Walker Bush proposed one of the largest
tax increases in the nation's history. President
Bush made a promise he could not keep. His
broken promise contributed to his defeat.
"If an income tax passes, I will veto
it"--Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist, in his second term, is the
"champion of the income tax." Again,
a candidate made a promise he did not keep.
"Read my lips, an income tax will not happen on my
watch." The candidate making
this promise is running for Governor of Tennessee.
The voters are faced with the same type of promise made by the two other
Republicans. Congressman Van
Hilleary’s promise is an empty one, made for the sole purpose of winning.
Like the candidates before him, Mr. Hilleary knows he is making a promise
he cannot keep.
We live in an age of "sound bites",
half-minute commercials, and political pandering.
Political candidates appear to be in a race to identify sound bite
issues; packaging the issues in "palatable political packages” telling
the voters what they want to hear, not what they need to hear.
Candidates are long on promises and short on solutions.
In Tennessee, Van Hilleary is the epitome of this “slick political
packaging.”
And who is to blame?
The voters--we continue to vote for the “read my lips” candidates.
Until we demand more, we can expect more of the same.
When President George Bush said “read my lips, no new
taxes” he did just the opposite. When
Governor Don Sundquist said, “If an income tax passes, I will veto it,” he
did not mean it. Van Hilleary of
Tennessee is saying “read my lips, an income tax will not happen on my
watch”--the voters can expect just the opposite to happen.
Does anyone see a pattern here?
Stuart F. James Sjames139@comcast.net
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