• About Us
  • Activity
  • Advertising
  • Books
  • Business
  • Contact
  • Entertainment
  • feedback
  • Government
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • Members
  • National
  • Nevada
  • Nevada News and Views
  • Newsmax
  • NN&V Ads
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Polls
  • Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe
  • Subscription Confirmation
  • Survey
  • Survey
  • Terms of Service
  • Today’s Top 10
  • Travel
  • Travel
  • Travel
  • Welcome!
  • Yop Poll Archive
Nevada News and Views
  • Home
  • Muth’s Truths
  • Politics
  • Government
  • Entertainment
  • More
    • Nevada
    • Opinion
    • Business
    • Travel
    • News
    • Sports
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Pinterest

  • RSS

Opinion

Five Cars, Five Blocks – Can We Say Pretentious?

Five Cars, Five Blocks – Can We Say Pretentious?
N&V Staff
October 12, 2011

(Fred Weinberg/The Penny Press) – I was in Washington, DC, last week for a little less than 24 hours, and I need to tell you that much of what is wrong with our nation is blatently on display everywhere you look.

The problem with DC is pretentiousness.

There are several definitions of that word.

1) Acting as though more important or special than is warranted, or appearing to have an unrealistically high self-image.

2) Extravagantly and consciously showy or glamorous.

Most of them seem to fit.

I have no problem with the President of the United States and the Vice President being flown around in what we colloquially refer to as Air Force One and Air Force Two. Because when the Air Force 747, which is tastefully painted with the words “United States of America” on the fuselage pulls up on the tarmac in Rome or Tel Aviv or Moscow, it is a serious projection of what we mean to the rest the world—even if it is carrying Barack Obama or Joe Biden.

But when the Speaker of the House has a five-car, Mike Tyson-style entourage to go five blocks from his capital office to the Republican National Committee building, flashing lights and all, something is wrong.

John Boehner cannot walk five freakin’ blocks? He and his predecessor seem to have forgotten that they’re just one of 435 people who were sent to Washington by their neighbors to handle the people’s business. They are NOT any more or less important than anybody who voted for them.

Now they might give lip service to that concept, but let me tell you they do NOT act that way. Especially when they are in DC and you are back home. Neither do cabinet secretaries or many senior staff people. And many of these people NEVER come home when they leave office.

They get to thinking that somehow they are important.

When you are waiting on the tarmac to take off from Reagan National Airport for an extra 15 minutes because there is some “special activity” (read that some VIP aircraft jumping the line to get to the runway), you realize that you can’t even leave the nation’s capital without getting a dose.

What’s the result of all this pretentiousness?

A congressional approval rating right around 12 per cent. Or, put another way, even their mothers don’t like them.

This nation is not a police state. We don’t have cops on every corner, we don’t audit every tax return.

What we have is a citizenry with an abiding respect for the rule of law based almost entirely on voluntarily compliance. When people come here from other parts of the world, they are amazed at the lack of police presence here.

What allows us to live like that is respect. That respect has been earned by leaders over more than two centuries.

But it doesn’t take much to lose it.

You can fly an airliner into the Pentagon and it won’t do as much damage to our democracy as the concept that the Speaker of the House needs to have a five car entourage to move five blocks.

Nobody loves the history of Washington DC as much as I. But can you explain why the Library of Congress has anti-riot, anti bomb barriers at the entrance to the parking lot? I can. They had some extra money in their budget. Because there is no other logical explanation. I mean, what demented meth head terrorist is going to blow up the Library of Congress?

Washington is out of control.

The political consultants who have offices on the lettered streets (I Street, K Street, etc.) have a word for that. Optics.

The optics of official Washington are so bad that if Nikon or Canon made them they’d go out of business

Any CEO who acted like the children in Congress and the Executive branch would be stripped of his clout immediately by his board.

In the case of these clowns, that board is you and I.

Prev postNext post

Related ItemsFred Weinberg
Opinion
October 12, 2011
N&V Staff

Related ItemsFred Weinberg

More in Opinion

PR agency

You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up!

Penny PressFebruary 26, 2021
Read More
Lies

Big Lie 10 years Ago, Big Lie Now

Ron KnechtFebruary 26, 2021
Read More
Mike Lindell

Memo To Mike Lindell: Kick Some Dominion Ass

Penny PressFebruary 24, 2021
Read More

Trump Acquitted AGAIN!

Penny PressFebruary 17, 2021
Read More

More Money STILL Doesn’t Buy Better Education

Ron KnechtFebruary 17, 2021
Read More

Trump 2, Washington Whores 0

Penny PressFebruary 17, 2021
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Subscribe Free By Email

Looking for the best in breaking news and conservative views? Let Chuck do all the work for you! Subscribe to his FREE "Muth's Truths" e-newsletter.

* indicates required
Nevada News and Views
Nevada News & Views is an educational project of Citizen Outreach Foundation, a non-partisan IRS-approved 501(c)(3) organization. It is not associated or affiliated with any political party or group. Nevada News & Views is accessible by the public at no cost. It funds its operations through tax-deductible contributions from donors and supporters and does not accept government money or grants.

TAGS

Featured Article Nevada Politics Muth's Truths business government Government Opinion Obama News Donald Trump GOP Republicans Ron Knecht Adam Laxalt

Copyright © 2021 Citizen Outreach | Maintained by VirtualAlly

Roberson Vows No More Bad Legislation
The Rhetorical Blame Game