It has been eleven months since this blog has addressed a political topic. The accuracy of that previous observation is yet to be determined, but certainly appears to have gained credibility following some of the recent comments by President Obama.
Now, we see a number of prominent Democrat politicians opting to retire or resign from the House and Senate in a trend that is threatening to become an exodus. The apparent reasoning is the electorate tide has turned and many of these long-serving incumbents cannot be re-elected. Anger over out of control spending, loss of jobs, and a depressed economy are all good reasons for this trend.
But could it be there is something more?
In my experience, most politicians are not afraid of fighting for re-election. No matter the poll numbers, seasoned candidates — especially incumbents — are more than willing to battle to keep the position and perks of public office. Also, a number of Republican members of Congress have also decided to “pull the pin” and retire…even though the 2010 elections are trending strongly in the Republicans’ favor (at least, this month).
So why would so many of the “senior” political class choose now to abandon their careers?
One possible answer: the fragile economy is about to suffer a major body blow — such as bankruptcy — and none of these pols want to be in office when the earthquake hits.
We’ve heard warnings from Radio pundits such as Glenn Beck and Neal Boortz that the country cannot sustain our insane spending and borrowing. What if the top-level Congressional insiders have been briefed on a coming financial meltdown and want to be as far away as possible from ground zero when the disaster hits? If you were in office, would you want to face the voter’s wrath if our currency becomes worthless?
I hope and pray this nightmare scenario does not come to pass. But a financial Armageddon is certainly one possible additional reason why so many politicians have decided to head for the lifeboats.
What do they know they’re not telling us?