This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Guest Post: The Politics Of "Consensus" Is The Politics Of Failure
Submitted by Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds
The Politics of "Consensus" Is the Politics of Failure
Persuading those in power to limit their power via "consensus" doesn't work. Both the legal system and the horse-trading politics of "consensus" have failed.
How do you get "consensus" in politics? You horse-trade. You give everybody something they want. You cut everyone into the deal. That passes for "consensus" in politics: divide the swag.
If you want to understand President Obama's failure as a leader, ask (as my friend G.F.B. did) where did he learn politics? In Chicago. Big-city politics boils down to getting the ward bosses, ethnic-neighborhood leaders, Chamber of Commerce and public unions together and making them all happy with concessions, give-aways or some other slice of swag so they all agree to to support some minor policy tweak of the Status Quo.
Any constituency left out of the swag distribution squeals like a stuck pig and kills the "consensus."
This "making sausage" consensus is passed off as "the only way to get anything passed," but the truth is that it's the politics of failure: nothing meaningful can possibly get done in the politics of "consensus" because 95% of any useful reform must be traded away to get everyone willingly on board.
What you end up with after all the horse-trading "consensus" is 2,319-page monstrosities of self-defeating complexity like the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act" or the 2,074-page healthcare bill. I have addressed these simulacra "reforms" many times:
What If We're Beyond Mere Policy Tweaks? (February 6, 2012)
America Is Just Going Through the Motions (November 19, 2010)
The theory is that tiny baby-steps of hopelessly complex (and thus hopelessly corrupt) "reform" that everyone has been bought off to accept will eventually restore equilibrium to a political and financial system heading for a cliff.
In this view, President Obama had to trade away this to Big Pharma and that to Big Banking and so on, in order "to get the bill passed." This bribery-based "consensus building" is the politics of failure. Those engorging themselves at the trough of Federal swag and power are the very forces that need corraling, yet they are the same forces that must be persuaded with give-aways and concessions to agree to limit their own power and revenue stream.
Dodd-Frank and Obamacare are two examples of what you get with this sort of politics of failure: the underlying problems have not been addressed or solved, they've been made more intractable.
Those feeding at the trough of swag and power will never willingly agree to limit their share of the tax revenues and power. Big-city horse-trading works when a mayor needs to get everyone in power to agree to a new subway line; there are billions of dollars in "free" construction money to give away, so there's plenty of swag to distribute to buy agreement.
Limiting power and shrinking budgets cannot be accomplished with big-city type "consensus." Nobody "agrees" to their power and budget being slashed or their power base and revenue stream demolished. That sort of structural reform can only be accomplished by those in power losing to the will of the people: either fix what's broken or we'll vote the whole lot of you out next election.
This kind of national revulsion at the "consensus reforms" of the Status Quo does occur from time to time, and the political Status Quo is thrown out en masse.
American jurisprudence may also have a hand in the politics of failure. 25 out of the 43 presidents (Grover Cleveland served twice) have been lawyers, and so having a law degree (or self-educated, in the case of Andrew Jackson) does not in itself qualify or disqualify a candidate for the presidency.
But as "it depends on your definition of it" Bill Clinton proved, a law background colors one's understanding of ethics and power. What is just and right has lost all meaning in a system based on "getting the best deal possible for your client" regardless of guilt or justice. "Justice" has devolved to persuading a jury or judge that your client is blameless or justified, and "guilt" is now a PR pantomime of rationalizations slicked down with a blatantly insincere and hurried apology to the injured parties.
Indeed, we can understand President Obama's signing of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as the perfection of the current legalist mindset: claim authority over a wide range of action and limit any legal constraints on that range of action.
Indefinite Detention, Endless Worldwide War and the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (www.aclu.org)
Welcome to the United States of Orwell, Part 1: Our One Last Chance to Preserve the Bill of Rights (March 26, 2012)
Obama's legalist power-grab mindset is also clearly revealed in his Orwellian Executive Order National Defense Resources Preparedness.
Welcome to the United States of Orwell, Part 3: We had to Destroy Democracy in Order to Save It (March 28, 2012).
Once again we see the President's clear legal intent: claim unconstrained authority over the entire infrastructure and populace of the U.S. so his future "freedom of action" is unlimited by legal constraints. Read the Executive Order yourself if you doubt this: National Defense Resources Preparedness.(www.whitehouse.gov)
The politics of horse-trading power-player "consensus" fits perfectly with a legalist mindset that places a premium on "getting the best deal possible" and claiming wide authority via Executive Order. Has the legal mindset poisoned politics, or has power politics poisoned our understanding of the law, ethics and justice?
Perhaps both law and politics have drunk from the poisoned chalice, and President Obama's abysmal failure as a leader and his vast power-grabs via Executive Order are the result of gulping the poison twice: once as a lawyer, and again as a politician.
»
- 7988 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
Consensus politics USA:, Obama and Romney licking my twat and picking my pockets while fingering each others assholes.
I much prefer the politics of compromise. The middle of the road rocks. Moderate is so Modern. Humdrum is hip.
Middle of the road equates to road kill (literally: dead on the road); give me someone with desire and passion as opposed to some cold heartless bureaucrat or bean counter ...
Someone with passion will at least make the 'show' interesting.
The only way this "politics of consensus" works is if the people in charge have huge pots of other people's money to hand out. Take that away and this is all bullshit. Well, guess what? Those days of bottomless pots will be gone when the Government Bubble blows sky high.
The Obamas of the world will have no clue what to do. Sadly for us it is the Obamas of the world that keep getting elected.
Also the result of bath salts.
The pellet with the poison is in the chalice from the palace.
The vessel with the pestle is the brew that is true.
Yep, a good one:
A true leader serves his people, instead of some hidden private interest groups. A true leader is charismatic and leads the pack into a better future, rather than managing failures. But true leaders are rare in current times.
Sorry but there is no "true leader" ...never has been, never will be
nobody can represent you or your own interests. They will pretend to while they enrich or empower themselves and their crones.
Only you can lead yourself, that's what nature built you do to. The perversity is the paraites taught you how much you needed them and everyone believed it, that we cannot manage ourselves
i say everyone needs to wise up and grow up
Govt is the barberous relic, we never needed it in the first place and 2,000 years of failure proves it was nonsense from the get-go
the business of politics is to increase the Govt Empire, never cut its fat, and keep vested interests happy.. as you say, "divide the swag" of productve peoples money and when that's not enough to keep the begging bowls happy, borrow yourself into oblivion
this is supposed to be a way of "governing" society but in truth it's just socialised theft, the very opposite of helping society... Govt is quite simply a criminal activity covered in liberal nonesense
and we wonder why our economies are in shit state and there's social chaos!
that's what happens when you put a parasite at the top of the tree
thus the beauty of the constitution...
the concept of de centralization.. rigorously
have to have some collective.. but just keep them as small as possible...
centralization whether socialist / fascist etc... is the model for monopolization...
the business of politics is getting elected. once elected, getting reelected. that simple. of course an electorate with a clear idea of what it wants can get more out of the deal.
no problemo.
Diebold voting machines can be hacked by remote control ...This "making sausage" consensus is passed off as "the only way to get anything passed," but the truth is that it's the politics of failure:
Includes Pink Slime right?
More BS. Thing is, who's making the consensus? Shaping the thoughts that in turn shape the boundries of what can become a "consensus"
Who has the power and resources, and as always: Cui Bono? Who benefits in the main from the "consensus" once it's achieved?
Is the "consensus making machinery" more or less another application of the elite's tried and true Problem/Reaction/Solution approach?
That's a less technical term for the Hegelian dialectic: Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis. The result being the new "consensus" that was in your interest to manipulate into existence in the first place.
Ring any bells? Should it?
Compromise and consensus gets us Ron Paul promoting an establishmentarian...
http://silvervigilante.com
Back in the early 90s it finally hit me the word compromise was a negative not a positive.
The headline was "Nasa compromises" and you get the space shuttle Challenger.
If you can't build consensus now without the seven deadly sins it's time to start over.
the fascist bankers have taken over the political and financial systems, they bought them with the people's
debt and money. it is simple control fraud and con-artistry.
Mike Malloy Comments on the Presidents Interaction with the Republicans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWHu5hsfuT0&feature=relmfu
.
Patriot act : consensus.
NDAA : consensus.
War : consensus.
Every single time they do a ``consensus``, they come back with even worse bills than before... You better fear ANY bill that is built on censensus...
LOL SWAG!
Stuff
We
All
Get
We could have had, single payer health care system, consensus gave us health care hot-dog. No one knows what's inside.
What's the alternative?
Corporations: How can we have a more riskaverse business?
Govt: Give us money!
Corporations: Sweet, here you go, guys! See you at Morton's around 9?
The problem isn't with "consensus." It's with the separation of the "deciders" from the stake-holders.
If you and your friends are trying to decide what beer to pick up for the barbecue or what movie to watch, consensus is the only approach that makes any sense. But if there were some OTHER party making those decisions, you and your friends wouldn't be happy just because that other party had all "agreed" to pick up Michelob Ultra and Legally Blonde 2.
Representative republic can only work if there's a straightforward mechanism for the "public" to veto bad law.
There isn't--this cycle's over. The US government has passed the point of no return.
Couldn't have typed it better myself. Thank you.
I find it intersting how some of you blame bankers, politicians, etc., for the mess we're in, just like I find it interesting how people blame Hitler for WWII and extermination of the Jews in the concentration camps. People are driven by greed/self-interest/power... those who are driven to "run things" are among the worst. The point is the banksters/politicans/elite are no different than Hitler in the respect society at large allowed them to screw the rest of us (the sheeple) over. I am constantly amazed and concurrently horrified that people would choose to follow laws/orders of those who hold the reins of power and gas innocent people, steal taxpayer money to payoff gambling debts in the market, allow politicians to debase our currency via monetization, reward CEOs with generous rewards of OUR money, and in general allow a few to screw the many. It's not Hitler et al's fault people... it is however the sheeple's fault for going along with their infamous plans and helping the few to carry out those plans out and screw the many. Keep the masses scared and you can do as you please is their mantra...
horrified that people would choose to follow laws/orders of those who hold the reins of power and gas innocent people,
Funny expression really. If you are given an option of following an instruction and being executed for failure to comply, I guess you would be the dead piece of meat the next guy moves aside so he can do the job. There was a man called Blokhin who spent 2 months in a room draped in leathers shooting Polish Officers and Intellectuals in the back of the head, one after another despite the room being bloodstained - the bodies were then carted off to Katyn.250 a night shot in the back of the head, 7000 in all. Well he was a Major-General and no doubt enjoyed the work. The NKVD was a prestige appopintment and Stalin was a cruel taskmaster. Must be hard being an American and trying to imagine living in a country where people simply disappear and end up in mass-graves.....but there are countries where American Government makes that happen too. Why do you stand for it ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_Blokhin
It could happen today, and probably will in the near future. The victims will be "domestic terrorists", their executions will occur via drone attack and HRT incursion. A movie will be made lioinizing the exectioners as heroes who risked everything to keep us all safe. The sheeple will turn out in droves to see it, and gobble it up like ice cream. Kinda makes ya' wanna puke, doesn't it?
Hayabusa erupts:
" I find it intersting how some of you blame bankers, politicians, etc., for the mess we're in, just like I find it interesting how people blame Hitler for WWII ... "
Gee, invading your neighboring countries is not enough? Oh, you say he was invited in? Well now, that's different Bucky, in an Obama-Plough-Axelrod-Valerie Jarrett triad/quartet kind of way ...
You mix Consensus and obama as if they were one. Obama was a front-man for wealthy interest groups in Chicago just as he became a front-man for wealthy interest groups on Wall Street. He has done his job, he drew votes from an angry electorate promised Change and gave them renewed satisfaction in the Status Quo. He has protected Wall Street from the hangman and the judicial system and he has served his purpose. The American Public has funded Wall Street and accepted The New Order and that is brilliant because Obama has shown he can do what he was recruited to do
agreed, following "leadership" into the darkness
is its own punishment and no amount of blame
can correct it, but thinking can correct it; and then
something must be done immediately.
.
Mike Malloy supporting Barack Obama's re-election? In a pig's ass!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSmyttfYZZM&feature=relmfu
.
choosing between mc hussein or mc milken will not do.
I love when the old politicians say "back in my day we were able to compromise and work together." Here is an analogy to explain why this time is different.
On Friday afternoon I stop by the local convenience store and buy a six pack and scratch tickets. I hit for $10,000. Because I am newly married, I tell my wife about winning. (dumb move) My wife and I then compromise on how we are going to spend the $10,000. It's a lot of fun and we probably roll around on the money and make passionate love (unless we already made the mistake of having kids) We probably pay down a little on a credit card, buy a toy for me, toy for her, and maybe a vacation.
On another Friday afternoon, I get the news that my salary has been cut 10% which means $10,000 less a year. We have bills and kids and cars that are old. We now get to "compromise" on who is giving up what. It is not fun and someone is going to think they are giving up more.
And this is where we are today.
Continue to buy physical.
The repubican party getting rid of all moderates has doomed compromise.
So we need MORE copmpromise?
Half a year on ZH, and still stuck in that box they built around you...
I think if we can kick the 55 gal drum full of gunpowder for 20-30 years (I know I know) we might make it. RP's message of liberty rang very true this year with the 18-29 yo demographic. I watched some of the news clips of the Republican convention here in TX over the weekend and the VAST majority of people there were 60+. Those are the real Kool-Aid drinkers (BTW they all had a propensity for corpulence).
Charles,
You, like almost everyone else in both the MSM and alternate media, assume that the Elites including Obama as PR spokesman-in-chief, wish to save the global economy. I recommend a new hypothesis to put in your pipe and smoke. Suppose their agenda is to crash the world's economy - ram it into the jagged rocks at top speed? Then pick up the pieces while everyone is hungry, cold, and in shell shock, and construct their neofeudal order run by the Rockefellers, the Rothschilds, and the British Royal Family - our modern day philospher king bankers, with a minimum of interference or resistence? Suppose that instead of a malinformed and misdirected idiot, Bernanke and his puppet masters are geniuses and their agenda is right on schedule and running down the tracks smoothly? Suppose when writers on Zero Hedge refer to BSB as a moron, he smiles to himself with satisfaction? Thinking of him as a de facto idiot might feel good until it is time for us muppets to walk the plank.
"it is the money system, stupid." ala bill clinton
end the fed.
"If you want to understand President Obama's failure as a leader, ask (as my friend G.F.B. did) where did he learn politics? In Chicago. Big-city politics boils down to getting the ward bosses, ethnic-neighborhood leaders, Chamber of Commerce and public unions together and making them all happy with concessions, give-aways or some other slice of swag so they all agree to to support some minor policy tweak of the Status Quo."
The years upon years of the Chicago Way are coming home to roost. The results of this mafia style of government are mounting debts in Chicago and Illinois and increasing violent crime along with countless other negative effects. Chicago is becoming a third world rat hole. This weekend there were 8 murdered and 46 injured in shootings. Also, the wildings have started again with the arrival of the warm weather. Below is a blog (Second City Cop) that like ZH, includes information that the government and MSM won't report.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/06/10/10-arrested-for-downtown-muggings...
http://secondcitycop.blogspot.com/2012/06/wilding-night.html
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Weekend-Violence-in-Chicago-1584140...
Blankenstein:
...
" The years upon years of the Chicago Way are coming home to roost. "
Succinctly and poignantly stated.
The problem is not politics or congress or the president. The problem is with democracy itself. Have you forgotten this quote:
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy."
Democracy will collapse as a form of government in the US. Less than half of the eligible population votes anyway. How democratic is that? Singapore is not a democracy. Is it a rotten place to live? Is it an oppressive place to give? I don't think so.
Good article. Consider past government defence of bad actions as "perfectly legal," as though that somehow transcends morality.
Manipulation of "consensus" is an advanced evil in modern marketing. Many here know of the Delphi Technique. You want to see it? Attend a "sustainability community conversation" led by Delphi-trained Agenda 21 devotees. Genuine group decisionmaking works only in the absence of sociopathic manipulators and predetermined outcomes. In today's manipulated culture, promotion of "consensus" should be taken as a contrarian indicator to run like heck in the opposite direction.
Rgds
At a certain point the government also discovers that if they compromise they can get more power and swag.