Ice Cream Politics

Brazil Times Blog of July 13, 2010 (edited for relevance as of April 17, 2020)

Ice Cream Politics

“All politics is local” -- former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill

Our favorite son-in-law and now official candidate for Congress Steven Skelton will be proud of us. Saturday night [July 10, 2010] we went to something billed as a “Stars and Stripes Ice Cream Social”. The announced purpose of which was to promote interest in the political process by conservative church folk such as we. We don’t go to meetings all that much, not being social gadflies as is our son-in-law; nor nearly as interested in the political process. The result being I’m not sure what I expected, but this probably wasn’t what I expected. The main reason I went was the free ice cream.

Two candidates for State Representative were in attendance. Personally I’ve always had a kind of awe of anyone who serves in state office: There’s not a lot of money, little glory, and you have to stay around for a very long time to gain any power.

There was the mandatory Q & A session. The questions were mostly what you’d expect from a conservative, church-going audience: Schools, taxes, right to life type things. The answers proffered indicated no great ideological chasm.

The question which seemed most germane to myself was how the current anti-incumbent atmosphere in the nation will affect local and state elections? This is an issue to which I have given a bit of conservative political process thought.

The quandary is that we really don’t want politicians, so there is always the urge to throw the bums out. On the other hand, there are certain things we want our representatives to accomplish, which require they learn to be political animals. The result being we elect some well-meaning, qualified person to a given office; then by the time they have actually figured out how to play the game, we’re looking around to replace them because they’re “politicians”.

What I propose is a new political movement which I’ve named [insert fanfare here] The Ice Cream Party

Our platform would be “Two-Twenty-Plus”.

2 Nobody could serve in any one political office more than two terms. It usually takes the first term to learn the rules of engagement, by the second they become a dreaded “politician”. After two terms, having gotten their political footing, they have developed something of a “fiefdom” mentality.

20 Nobody can serve in elected office for more than 20 years. There has got to be a point in everyone’s life when they have done their bit for God, Country, and the American way. At some point there must be something just as worthy that intelligent, well-qualified folks can do with one’s life beneficial to their fellow man.

PLUS No political meeting could be held without free ice cream.