By CARL MUMPOWER

You may have heard the old joke about how to tell if a politician is lying – it’s anytime their lips are moving. In today’s America, we actually expect our politicians to lie and routinely give those on our side a free pass for doing so. Behind a pretense of statesmanship, the myth of bipartisanship feeds this formula for dishonesty.

Disreputable used car salesmen lie to sell something broken for too much money – politicians usually lie for the same reason. Democrats and Republicans typically partner on manufactured necessities mostly as a distraction from real necessities.   

We have diverse political parties for a reason – to provide contrasting philosophies on governance that provide voters with choice. Homogenizing political parties dilutes the principles of both parties and leads to confusion about who stands for what. Much of this fog seems intentional.  If no one knows what you stand for it is hard to be called out for failing to live up to your promises. Bipartisanship is typically a political accountability dodge.

 With the language of the lie so common to politicians in today’s America, President Obama, like most of his predecessors, promised a new era of bipartisanship. On achieving power, he initiated one of the most aggressive partisan reorganizations of government in our nation’s history. Once his poll numbers began to slip, his enthusiasm for the “let’s just get along” message that got him elected was renewed in vibrant word and – once again – shallow deed.  

Republicans continue to get hooked with the same tired bait. Smarting from a reputation of being able to organize around only three words – “power, money, and no” – some members of the GOP wanted to appear cooperative. Why? Consistently Democrat political action reveals big government socialism with no track record of working with others except in support of that agenda. The Republican Party’s stated principles are about small government and being careful with other people’s money.  Those missions are not compatible and swapping principles for political breadcrumbs is naïve leadership. 

Republican leaders need a refresher course on the party’s core principles and a slap on the hand every time they repeat the error of playing politics with Chicago’s Trojan horses.  Bipartisan unity has more in common with a gang than governance. The problem in Washington is not that our politicians fail to work together. It is that they fail to work for what they say they stand for.

 A majority of self-described American conservatives do not vote. Noting the lock incumbents have on re-election, there is a “what’s the use” frustration that finds too many Americans staying home. It is to our collective detriment that so many people in what should be a dominant conservative voting bloc are thus detached. Liberal enthusiasm combined with conservative complacency elects most Democrats.

 This frustration is stirring interests on term limits as a possible solution. In that the framers of the Constitution held a preference for  citizen leaders over professional politicians, there is a surface sense to term limits. Establishing artificial restrictions on time in office is thus a tempting path to limiting the power of professional politicians.

 In America, we elect our politicians on the basis of image. As a consequence, most of our representatives, like trained seals, become masters at the arts of performance. Principles and doing the right thing are consequently replaced with comfort words and political correctness designed to please and appease supporters and special interests. Once a politician becomes practiced at these dark arts, the stage is set for a pattern of shallow service high on image and low on substance. 

 A constitutional amendment on term limits might put a cap on how long a corrupt politician could have his or her way with the rest of us. Unfortunately, our best and brightest would also be lost as we reshuffle the deck. As importantly, the administrators and bureaucrats who really run things would be the experienced constant in the governance equation. If there is anything more corruptible than an elected official, it’s an appointed official.

 The artificial protections afforded by forced term limits are similar to the equally artificial protections offered in campaign finance reform and public campaign finance.  Like any action that replaces personal accountability with a new rule or restriction, each is ripe for abuse, manipulation, and special interest indulgence.

 The authentic conservative view on term limits is that there is no replacement for voter engagement, accountability, and action. America’s citizenry will get no better than we earn. If we are unwilling to learn about our candidates and step forward as informed voters, then our fate is sealed by our own hand. Artificial limits on terms will never compensate for the corruptive impact of a lazy and detached electorate – liberal, conservative or otherwise….

Illegal immigration? Birthed in greed, not benevolence

  The decades-long violation of America’s borders is the greatest law breaking scheme in our history. Republicans wanting an exploitable labor pool and Democrats wanting an exploitable voting bloc have assured that immigration enforcement remains insincere. 

 Author Ernest Hemingway coined the phrase “never mistake motion for action.” He could have been speaking to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency which, like most Federal bureaucracies, prioritizes procedures over outcomes. In any case, though border control matters, it will never work without meaningful consequence for those who fund the migration – U.S. employers who hire illegal workers. 

 Organizations like the Chamber of Commerce assure employers routinely dodge accountability for illegal workers by winking at fake credentials and the pretense of compliance. At a time when we have 15 million unemployed Americans, we also have over 15 million illegal aliens being aided by employers, churches, Congress, and other enablers. 

 In a free market economy, importing and exploiting an impoverished underclass allows employers to suppress wages, transfer health, education, and social service costs to the rest of us, and undercut the competition.   

 Illegal immigration enablers continue to cry crocodile tears as they spin the facts and resist enforcement efforts. The fact remains that illegal aliens break the law when they cross our borders and again when they use fake IDs.

 We are accepting one million legal immigrants a year. That is four times our traditional number. Illegally adding another million is turning our melting pot into a boiling pot. Those advocating amnesty are hoping we don’t know that others have tried that path to failure many times, including President Ronald Reagan. 

 Before any new laws are created, we must first get serious about enforcing those we have. We would do well to ignore the criticism of hypocritical detractors, including Mexican leaders who hide behind their own draconian immigration policies, and employers, politicians, and others who benefit from the importation of a vulnerable underclass. There is no amnesty from the fact that the American Dream must be earned – not stolen….

 Confidence of the black hat

 Actors James Garner and Bruce Dern once shared some special moments during a documentary on westerns. 

 Dern was one of the few to kill John Wayne in a movie – a feat that stimulated death threats from J.W.’s fans. 

 At one point in the interview Dern remarked that he “liked wearing a black hat – it was much easier to be a bad guy, evil lent itself to a certain confidence.” 

 And so it is.  In a world filled with temptations, we are all constantly encouraged to put on a black hat.  In many communities, neighborhoods, schools, and families, surrender to black-hat influences seems almost necessary to survival. 

 It takes strength and character to refuse to participate in thuggery, dishonesty, greed, and black-hat practices that harm our country and our people. 

 There is a reason that John Wayne remains  popular.  Though he rarely played a perfect person, he stood for something.  He refused to exchange his white hat for the comforts of black. 

 You and I face that same choice every day.  American needs its heroes to keep fighting for the right hat.

 We do not choose our color

 If you’re a conservative and have a friend who still judges people by color, a slap up the side of their head might be in order. 

 If you‘re not into beating people, try a little dose of reality as a substitute.  Racism centers on bias toward your fellow man on the basis of color. 

 Think about it a minute ... Can you imagine a more immature, unChristian, and irrational basis for judgment? 

 People are born with their color, and they have no choice in the matter.  How can we judge anyone on the basis of something over which they have no control?

 That kind of thinking deserves a slap right up the side of the head.  But if you’re not into that, at least raise your voice.  Judging people by color is nonsense – judging people by choices, character, and culture, well that’s another matter.

 We chose our lifestyle, mold our character, and can reject dysfunctional cultural influences. 

 What so many attribute to color is really about choices, character and culture. Yet there are some silly souls who continue to judge people on color – they may just need a slap up the side of the head.

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 Carl Mumpower, a former member of Asheville City Council, may be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .