It seems that every time I turn on the news lately I hear a sound bite of some politician invoking “the American people.” Usually they’re discussing the ongoing budget and debt ceiling mess.
From President Obama, “The American people may have voted for divided government, but they did not vote for a dysfunctional government.”
Republican John Boehner said, "The American people don't want higher taxes".
From Michelle Bachmann, “I want to state unequivocally for the world, as well as for the markets, as well as for the American people: I have no doubt that we will not lose the full faith and credit of the United States.”
I have to disagree with President Obama. The American people most certainly voted for dysfunctional government. When they cast their ballots for men and women so thoroughly steeped in ideology, be it left or right, that they wouldn’t budge one small fraction of an inch, they voted for dysfunction. I’m an American person and of late when I’ve voted it’s been with a resigned sigh, realizing that it would result in one more term of bickering, name calling and ideological posturing. And amidst all of the grandstanding the least of the concerns is for the oft mentioned, “American people.”
And Mister Boehner, I’m willing to pay higher taxes. If we want services we’re going to have to pay for them. We’ve reached the point at which we’re closing courthouses indicating to me that we had better start coming up with more coin of the realm.
Michelle Bachmann raised the bar dramatically by speaking for everyone; no really, everyone, as in the whole world.
Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah said, “I wouldn't call any plan 'bizarro' that 75 percent of the American people support. That's how Americans feel about the need for a balanced budget amendment.” The senator was probably referring to a CNN poll citing 74 percent of Americans favoring a BBA. Another poll, the Sachs/Mason Dixon, came up with 64 percent favoring a BBA. Well, fair enough, if I were the senator speaking for “the American people” I’d cite the poll that best supports my position.
I doubt that Senator Lee would cite a Washington Post/ABC poll taken in April that found 72 percent of “the American people” would support taxing the rich to help balance the budget. Understand though that now I’m speaking for Senator Lee but that’s a damn site less ambitious than the senator speaking for “the American people.” A scant six weeks later a Gallup Poll found that only 47 percent of “the American people” favored taxing the rich to redistribute wealth. I guess that just goes to show what a fickle, waffling lot are “the American people.”
Pollsters advertise their surveys as a reading of the pulse of “the American people.” A diagnosis might find that “the American people” have an irregular heartbeat. And just who are “the American people” that are being polled? Whoever they are it isn’t very damn many that’s for certain. The CNN poll surveyed 1009 “American people,” the Mason Dixon 625 “American people”, the Washington Post 1001 “American people” and Gallup 1077 “American people.” The surveyors go to great pains to explain the methodology which is essentially random phone dialing. They also cite their margins of error. The Mason Dixon folks put their margin of error at 4 percent while the CNN poll a few weeks later cited a 3 percent margin of error. All of this makes the 10 percent swing between the two polls very puzzling unless you figure that in six weeks “the American people” just got more pissed off.
I guess it’s assumed that the random dialer contacts a broad spectrum of the country but someday I would like to see a survey in which the random dialer goes out of whack and “randomly” dials 1000 people in, oh, Berkeley, California. That would put a whole new spin on who “the American people” are; “New poll shows that 95 percent of “the American people” regularly smoke pot.” But there I go, speaking for “the American people” of Berkeley, who some other “American people” don’t consider real “American people.” Does that sound confusing?
A quick look at one of those internet quote pages turns up all kinds of quotes on “the American people.” Most of the good ones speak about “the American people” and not for them.
For instance, Will Rogers said, “For the American people are a very generous people and will forgive almost any weakness, with the possible exception of stupidity”
Gore Vidal offered a rather cynical view when he said, “Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.”
But I think one of my favorites comes from a former U.S. President who said, “I think the American people—I hope the American–I don't think, let me—I hope the American people trust me.”
This posting could be linked with the next one and called "The American People, parts one and two". The quotes you listed go to show that "The American People" often means "the people who agree with me and share my opinions". I am one of those who believe that higher taxes are necessary to pay for services which come with a higher price tag than they did a few years ago. Why is it that people are willing to pay more for consumer goods that they want (and not necessarily need) but don't want to pay higher taxes for services that greatly affect them and their neighbors? The answer, I suppose, is that they are directly in control of the money they spend and don't trust our elected officials to be in control of spending tax money.
ReplyDeleteThe other part of your answer might be that they've been convinced that regardless of the circumstances, there should be no tax increases. There are, and you well know it, factions that exist in legislatures at the national and state levels that have dug in their heels against any taxes. They do not intend to negotiate and so we have small factions who have held us hostage and ground everything to a screeching halt.
ReplyDeleteI'm not quite sure why many middle class Americans are so dead against raising taxes on the very rich. They are a group that have benefited greatly when the middle class and poor have either stood still or regressed. The middle class is being killed and that self same middle class is helping to load the murder weapon.