Rick Ayre: When reason fails

Our elected officials have sunk to new lows.

What if President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court is an unbiased, qualified candidate perfectly suited for public service? The president really and truly believes he is fulfilling his sacred duty called for by the office of president? What if Congress actually put the country first and upheld the tenets of its elected positions? Then Congress would embark on a thorough review of the candidate and his qualifications and vote in accordance with the Constitution of the United States; according to the will of the people.

It could happen, but it won’t. Because our petulant, self-centered demagogues won’t let it. And that is when reason fails. Politics supersedes governance.

We don’t need more political rhetoric and campaign speeches. We need honest and factual assessment of specific initiatives, based on objective and realistic problem categorization. Not every single issue can be solved immediately.

This strategic thinking and prioritization of plausible solutions must have the support of the majority of the American people. Alas, this demands that reason prevail. It demands that people vote rationally.

But what do we do when there are no available candidates and issues are entangled in partisan selfishness?

This story was originally published March 27, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Rick Ayre: When reason fails."