Posted on 09/08/2001 3:55:42 PM PDT by Ada Coddington
Janet’s World
In her element.
Mr. Shiflett is a writer living in Midlothian, Va.
September 7, 2001 11:45 a.m.
Janet Reno's dramatic announcement that she will seek yet another government position, this time the governorship of Florida, has been greeted with scorn and ridicule. As many interested parties have pointed out, this is the woman responsible for the mass roasting at Waco, the betrayal of Elián, and is also guilty of failing to fully investigate the Clinton administration's gangbanging of the rule of law.
Besides that, she is hardly a compelling personal or political presence; she would be a definite mercy vote. The possibility that reasonably sane people, such as those who populate Florida, would vote her into power is treated as an outrage.
In an ideal world, such complaints would carry great weight, for it is certainly true that JR is unfit to be first mate on a garbage scow. She embraced the child-abuse hysteria while in an earlier government job in Florida, and tried to justify her assault on the Koresh cult as an exercise in child protection. In a Cabinet notable for grifters and slugs, she was the designated flycatcher. She gave Bill and pass. She gave Al a pass. It was all enough to make you believe the woman was on the take.
But the ideal world, as the preachers remind us, has yet to materialize. In this one, Janet Reno is very much in her element. The political sphere, after all, is full of slugs, drones, helots, valets, throne-sniffers, time-servers, coat carriers, snitches, accusers, hysterics and other practitioners of the mediocrity ethic. So, of course, are other areas of life, yet in the political sector these are seen as redeeming qualities.
This is hardly a debatable point, and it is not the result of coincidence. Those who work their way up the political ladder often spend decades in public jobs most notable for their demand that those who fill them behave like perfect cogs. Soul- and initiative-killing restrictions must be followed to the letter. The inner child is ground to dust, mixed with tar, and used to fill potholes. Countless millions have perished this way.
This is not conjecture. During a stint in our federal workforce, I was amazed at the grinding nature of even the simplest tasks. A press release, for instance, had to be read by eight or ten different offices, no matter how crushingly mundane the subject matter. The changes demanded were often so pathetic one was forced to feel sympathy with those who demanded them: The puniness of their plight was restated in every emendation.
Those who somehow rise to the top of this slagheap easily become bullies. Arrogance coupled with mediocrity is a mendacious combination, as Janet so deftly reminded us, and this combination also happens to animate many contenders for public office.
While JR may have a terrible record as attorney general, no stage presence, and little else to recommend her, she will probably give Jeb Bush all he can handle (if she gets the nod, which seems quite likely). She will have her party behind her. And, despite what her opponents want to believe, many of JR's most notable debacles enjoy wide support among Floridians, including the Elián heist and the Koresh disaster. She is also from an administration that was popular in Florida.
Besides that, her advisers and shills may have some luck painting Jeb as a fat target. He is part of a political family that, unlike the Kennedys on the Democratic side, has placed not one but two members in the presidency. Americans remain suspicious of heirs and legacy hires, especially when they see that there is nothing particularly special about the individuals. It will no doubt be pointed out, with some effect, that without family connections Jeb's brother might have managed a Wal-Mart or a small chain of feed stores, but nothing more. The same brush can tar poor Jeb.
More to the point, many Dems believe Jeb's brother stole the presidency, probably with Jeb's assistance. Revenge is a major motivator in politics, and for all their mediocrity politicians do excel at slicing each other up, which is one of their true redeeming qualities. While this "blood sport" is often decried by the responsible pundits and pollsters, the fact is that voters want not only bread and circuses but also sniping, bickering, moaning, and the occasional criminal charge.
This race should be very entertaining. To be sure, Janet Reno served in a cankerous administration and would, in that ideal world, now be swatting flies at some remote penal colony. But as the prophet said of the fabled boil on the rump: It might not be pretty but it is very much at home.
GOD--Help us with this one.
This smells of Weimar!
Surreal, perhaps, but consider Hillary Clinton. ... parts of South Florida are almost suburbs of New York City.
I suspect that the rest of FL has enough sane people to compensate, but there are no guarantees.
Reno for Guv? Recall *this*
You've heard the blather- now look at the record...
...and pass this on--
--The WACO horror--
Waco producer: Weapons photos falsified
FBI, Delta Force, ATF, All fire Shots into Mt. Carmal killing children
-David T. Hardy: An Interview With American Gun Owners' Best Friend ( & Waco )--
WACO: The truth seeps out good info web page
- Waco--NewsMax.com Hot Topics --
More Waco links from The War Room:
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