Right Angle

ABOVE THE FOLD

I WAS FEELING MISERABLE on the 51st day of the 2005 Nevada Legislative session. I was at my desk trying to focus on the list of bills for the morning's floor vote, but my mind was still on the legislature's unconstitutional vote on property taxes the previous night. My arguments had failed to prevail in the face of clamorous opposition.

Just then, Will Rasavage, my legislative intern, burst into the office and exclaimed, “You did it! You did it! You're my hero! You're above the fold!”

Will was 19 years old and just beginning to grow into his genius. With youthful enthusiasm, he waved a copy of the Nevada Appeal, jumping up and down, slapping the headline. Will was a political science major at the University of Nevada, Reno and an intern in my legislative office. He was one of three students who volunteered to do “go fer” work to enrich his studies. Without knowing it, he displayed one of the traditional virtues of an effective aide: Help keep your boss's name “above the fold” of the newspaper in order to build name recognition to enhance a politician's career.

I smiled, losing my self-pity to his exuberance. He fluffed the paper and began to read aloud, “Property tax plan goes to the Senate on a 41 to 1 vote,” he read, and then skipped to the body of the article.

“AB 489 was approved 41 to 1 by the Assembly Tuesday evening. Only Sharron Angle, R-Reno, voted “No”. She announced that instead, she will push for a California-style Proposition-13 amendment slashing property taxes …”

He continued reading on full-auto, eagerly turning pages. Then he thrust the front page toward me. “This is what every politician wants! Your picture and name on the front page, ABOVE THE FOLD!”

I took the paper and sighed, “It is not all good news, Will. Here's the spin.” I pointed out the caption below the colored legislative picture of me. It read:

“Assemblywoman Sharron Angle was the sole hold-out vote on the tax plan.”

“So?” he challenged. “That's why The Club for Growth called you. This is why the people want you to be their Congresswoman. He pressed on. “Do you think you voted wrong?” His implied doubt of my convictions stung.

“No,” I said, “the vote was correct. I just wish it was easier to stand alone and take the heat knowing that it may give both Democrats and Republicans the ammunition to demagogue me as just a `no' voter.”

At that time in the Nevada Legislature, conservatism seemed alive only in my office and in the hearts of the voting public. I felt I had a target on my back by being a practicing Christian. Being both, Conservative and Christian, made me a favorite whipping girl for my liberal opponents in the legislature and in the media.

Will's joy drowned out my plaintive explanation and, without missing a beat, he said, “I'm going to frame this.” The next day he gave me the article framed. On it, he had written “Always above the fold!” Vintage Will.

Since my priorities never included being “above the fold,” I knew then I was not the kind of “politician” whose vocation had become something of a negative epithet. I was not casting votes in the legislature with my eye on the next election. I was voting my conscience. I was voting for Will, for his generation, for my children and grandchildren, and for all those who cherish our “American Dream”.

I was also voting out of humble gratitude for my father who holds the Purple Heart for injuries sustained in WW II. Along with millions of others in the military, my Dad selflessly defended this nation so that we may enjoy our liberties. I voted out of a heartfelt responsibility that my mother taught me to do what is right. As a politician, I cannot vote for political expediency, but out of genuine conviction not for personal gain, but for the public good; not to enhance my career, but to preserve and protect the country I love.

Long-term Incumbency: Not what the Founders intended

Our nation is in trouble because professional, career politicians populate the legislative branches of state and national governments. This was never the intent of our Founding Fathers. The interests of career politicians seldom align with the interests of the average citizen. Typically, to sustain a career in politics with job security, the career politician must first bow and submit to party leadership in order to collect funds, favors from individuals, and interests that get him or her re-elected. Sadly, for the nation, job one is job security for too many politicians. The first priority of the career politician is to protect their “seat,” their incumbency.

The original notion of engaging political service for a few years and share the burden of representation on behalf of one's community has long been widely abandoned. Few elected officials intend to serve for a time and then return to their hometowns and non-government jobs. Too often, the call to civic duty has been replaced by the desire for full-time, lifetime, government employment with the power, influence and perks associated with holding office.

Additionally, many professional politicians now desire to change our culture and governance along the leftist progressive lines that have long been prevalent in our educational institutions. Since the sixties, schools have widely taught that government is too complex for amateurs and should be entrusted to self-appointed “professionals”, many of whom adopted the faddish liberalism that permeates Ivy League schools.

Protecting incumbency requires constant fund-raising, complicated political alliances, slick image-makers, and spin meisters. None of this is fundamentally about representing the genuine interests of the folks back home. Inevitably, payback to a coalition of special interests requires selling out the interests of citizens in favor of lobbyists and power brokers.