Ever notice how much questionable stuff is done in the name of that which seems unassailably good?
Recall “accountability.” No one, of course, is against it. In the abstract. But we don’t live – let alone politick – in the abstract. Remember how it was used to sell FCATs? Thanks again, Jeb!
Or how about our sacrosanct, forefather-revering “First and Second Amendment rights”? Where would Joe Redner be without the former or assault-weapon-selling gun shows sans the latter?
The list is as endless as rhetorical expedience itself. The rubric of patriotism, which we all subscribe to, can also accommodate “wars of choice” and mercenaries. The perverted morph of “freedom fighter” to terrorist is all too familiar.
On a statewide level, we will soon confront “Hometown Democracy,” which could lead to hometown chaos. “Referendumb” might be more accurate.
Or how about the Pyrrhic victory that has resulted from having passed feel-good, throw-the-rascals-out “term limits”? Arguably, it’s resulted in more lobbyists and more experience-challenged legislators, some of whom become leaders-in-waiting without having proved much of anything except the ability to get anointed.
The current Exhibit A is Rep. Chris Dorworth of Lake Mary. He was elected a little more than two years ago. He’s now, incredulously enough, slated to be the Florida Speaker of the House – for 2014-16. By then, hopefully, he will have put foreclosure behind him – as well as that nagging $2.7-million legal judgment. And maybe put up enough of a legislative track record to actually warrant being the House’s presiding officer.