Martha in Wonderland Meets the Tweedles

In Vermont, they tell a story about an elderly lady who declined a ride to the polls saying, "I never vote.... It only encourages 'em."

I never watch political debates ... for much the same reason. I mean, who needs to waste 90 minutes watching Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dumber talk over and around and through each other about their plans for the future of Wonderland?

But after reading various positive accounts of moderator Martha Raddatz's running of the recent vice-presidential candidates' alleged debate, I decided I ought to at least read through the transcript.

I came to three conclusions:

(1) I'm glad I didn't watch it.

(2) It was a sad day when the League of Women Voters lost control of the debates to the two dominant political parties.

(3) Though Raddatz did try a couple of times to pull the candidates back into the real world, she mostly operated under the assumption that the Wonderland the candidates live in is the real world.

Here are three examples (quoting from the transcripts):

(1) Raddatz: "Both Medicare and Social Security are going broke and taking a larger share of the budget in the process." This has become The Big Lie of this political era, repeated so often by so many for so long that "everyone" knows it's a fact. In fact, however, both are doing quite well, and will be for decades without any action whatsoever. Some minor tweaking would keep them solvent for even more decades. Where did the lie start? With those who would like to privatize both programs (the very wealthy) and their employees (the politicians and the press). Why? So they can get their hands on yet more trillions of public dollars. (In America, you can never be too rich.)

(2) Raddatz: "Let's move to Iran. I'd actually like to move to Iran because there is really no bigger national security [inaudible] this country is facing." Whether the inaudible word was "issue" or "crisis" or something else, to state, in a way that implies that everyone knows this, that Iran represents the biggest national security concern this country faces is nothing short of laughable. The US is deeply threatened because Iran might be planning to acquire a nuclear weapon? In the real world, both Pakistan and Israel (not to mention the US) actually have nuclear weapons. Personally, I find that much more threatening. And of course there might be some slight national security concern about our crumbling infrastructure, our persistent unemployment, our increasing poverty, and -- oh, yes -- climate change.

(3) Raddatz: "I would like to ask you both to tell me what role your religion has played in your own personal views on abortion." What??? Point of order, Madame Moderator! Please take time out to review Article VI, paragraph (3) of the US Constitution, which states that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." Now, we all know that some people may decide whom to vote for on the basis of their religion; that's their right – and their problem. But to inject the issue into a public forum, to ask the candidates to state their religious views on a particular subject, is completely unacceptable. What were you thinking, Martha?

In short, Wednesday night's performance (which is all it really was) gets two thumbs down from me. But that's not the point. The point is that these kinds of shenanigans are what pass for electoral politics in 21st-century America. No wonder some old ladies in Vermont don't vote.