Complaining about dishonesty in politics is about as insightful as complaining about the smell of rotting fish on a shrimp boat – both unpleasantries are simply the normal by-products of their respective professions.
Rather than complaining, then, let us now instead celebrate those rare acts of honesty and courage so infrequently seen in the political arena.
Yes, it’s time to present The Abe Awards for Uncommon Honesty & Courage in Politics.
Abe Award #1: Mitt Romney at the NAACP:
In the era of extreme pandering to every special interest, it would have been easy for Romney to have instead soften his message to the NAACP — to water down his words in the hopes of appearing a bit more palatable.
Something typically bland and meaningless would have sufficed:
Instead, Romney briskly took the stage, looked his audience straight in the eye and told them exactly what they did not want to hear. The resulting boos from the audience were certainly no surprise to anyone — including Romney himself.
Knowing full well that his message would not be welcomed, Romney still faced a politically hostile audience and spoke the truth, letting them know, in no uncertain terms, his very precise intentions – even warning that, “I have no hidden agenda.”
Whether or not you agree with his policies, this candor is certainly an honorable act for which Romney should truly be commended.
And while many liberal critics of Romney simply write this off as his opportunity to prove his bonifides to his severely Conservative supporters, it nevertheless still takes guts to go before an already suspicious audience and deliver what will only be perceived as a hostile message.
Abe Award #2: Republican House Leader Mike Turzai & Voter ID Laws
Almost too embarrassing to watch this year have been the extremely awkward attempts by Republican leaders (usually lesser leaders) to defend the new string of Voter ID laws currently being pushed by Republican legislatures.
Employing catch phrases such as “to preserve the integrity of our democracy” or “one fraudulent vote disenfranchises all voters” or “I think Bulgaria might require voter ID’s”, these Republicans awkwardly try to justify why they would disenfranchise a million legitimate voters to stop four potentially fraudulent votes.
As even these proponents of Voter ID laws admit there is simply no evidence of significant voter fraud in this country, such laws are clearly a solution in search of a problem (and that 80-90% of the disenfranchised happen to be Democrats is just a coincidence).
Then, just when I couldn’t take another Republican looking into the camera and stating “you even need a photo ID to fly!” (which also happens to be untrue), along comes honest Republican House Leader Mike Turzai.
When publicly touting his Party’s legislative accomplishments before the Pennsylvania State Committee, he had the political courage to speak the truth:
No namby-pambying around here. No wasted words about ballot integrity. No wish-washy defense of democracy. Just a simple admission that Voter ID laws will disproportionately disenfranchise the Democrat vote, permitting a Romney victory.
Just the cold, hard truth. Refreshing – at least in its honesty.
.
Abe would be proud.
Sort of.
the politically challenged 