“ALL POWER CORRUPTS” Lord Acton
Everyone of us are prone to protect our own ideas and position. We begin with principles but as soon as we achieve just a little power, influences begin to manipulate us and the corruption begins to creep in. NO politician can live up to our expectations over time. We remain comparatively uncorrupted over the same time frame, not experiencing the same temptations as do they.
Washington politicians have it the worst. Living away from the moral and conservative influences of their friend’s and supporters, they are overwhelmed with temptation as no other; pride, money, power, flattery, position; wanting to be liked by the press, the bureaucrats, legislative colleagues; wanting to please their spouse and children who want THEM to be liked by others so THEY will be liked by others, eventually to be motivated by their own legacy.
This is why even a conservative hero like Reagan was far more principled and far more conservative in the beginning of his first term than at the end of his second; why one time conservative legislators are today’s RINOs and why yesterday’s conservative Justices of the SCOTUS are today’s moderates. “The temptations are too powerful for someone who already has a fairly large ego anyway, to be uninfluenced.
Pigs don’t know pigs stink. After a while a once conservative senator doesn’t notice he’s become a RINO. McCain really does think he’s a conservative. In his own mind, he compares himself to the others that he works with every day in the Washington and the national politically liberal cesspool. It’s human. The conservatives we respect most are fairly new to national politics, or they have VERY strong personal religious commitments. We’ll see if their conservatism can survive it.
Makes for a strong rationale for term limits for ANY federal job, elected, appointed or otherwise.