Kick the crazies out

But I know it when I see it

Photo by Tengyart on Unsplash

The current state of American politics feels toxic to almost everyone, and there is plenty of evidence to buttress that assertion.

According to a report released late last year by Pew Research:

A little more than a year before the presidential election, nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%) say they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics, while 55% feel angry. By contrast, just 10% say they always or often feel hopeful about politics, and even fewer (4%) are excited.

Citizens hate where we are as a country politically and don't yet see a path to a better landscape. Ordinary people are so turned off and exhausted by our politics that they check out, but the political environment becomes more toxic as normal people further disengage. It's a downward spiral.

Voter turnout and excitement are low - and disgust and distrust are at an all-time high. It's a depressing place to be. Voters are angry, they're sick of it all, and they don't like anyone anymore.

As a 40-something mom who has spent my professional career in politics, I'm embarrassed to tell "normal people" what I do. I avoid the question or try to talk about anything else while at my kids' school or the Pilates studio. I assume almost everyone I meet will judge me negatively for working in a business that is becoming more universally reviled every day. 

It's sad when I think back on myself as a 20-something who thought politics would be a vehicle to make people's lives better. Given my skill set, I chose it as the career I thought would do the most good for the most people.

So now, when asked about what I do, I'm careful about how I frame it.

Yes, I work in politics, but I'm not like "them." But who are they?

I don't know how to describe it other than the crazy people. Not in a diagnosable way (necessarily), but in a bad faith, toxic, generally diminishing to our whole body politics kind of way. My “normal” friends get it - "crazy" people are ruining politics. 

Plenty of organizations are trying to build a political environment for the "middle." Policymakers are building third parties and pieces of political infrastructure to create structural changes.

They run bills and ballot measures to change voting methods, ballot access, election timing, and rulemaking. Depending on your particular view about what's wrong politically, there is likely a solution for you. Your mileage may vary on which you think are the best answers, and there is a lot of room for debate as to which will have the most significant and most effective impacts on the landscape.

Look at the rules, but also the players

But, in this sea of attempts to fix toxic politics structurally, another side needs to be examined: the human side. Yes, we need to look at the rules of the game, but it's also time to look at the players.

Parties, politics, and government are all a function of who is involved - and we must reincentivize better people participating. Across the country, legislators are quitting and simply walking away - many cite the toxic environment as creating too high a cost for personal participation.

The challenge becomes, though, how do you define these toxic players? As the adage goes, one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter.

It's not necessarily an easy definition, but in the same way we have an entire political industrial complex aimed at defining the "left v. right," so too, can we create objective standards toward "good v. bad faith."

In his book, "What's Our Problem: A Self-Help Guide for Societies" (highly recommend), Tim Urban lays out different approaches to looking at this question and refers to it as "high-minded" and "low-minded" thinking. 

We are so used to operating on the spectrum of what is conservative or liberal and basing our "tribes" around those definitions that we forget to engage more seriously with what is good and bad for our republic as a whole. The era of "do anything to win" has gotten us here incrementally through debasing the entire system. There is no party or political philosophy in the U.S. immune to the corrosive nature of the crazies.

Where to start?

Until a more formal frame can be put around the good faith v. bad faith conversation, the first step is to look at, and expel, the most egregious bad faith actors. 

How do we know who the bad-faith crazies are? Like the famous Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, when asked to describe his test for obscenity in 1964, "I know it when I see it."

It's become a political joke - but it's true. We can see those who are acting in bad faith all around us - those who are entering into politics to "grow their brand" instead of serving their constituents. They'll do anything for power or to be elected - damn the consequences. We’re past the art v. porn discussion when people running for office are the political equivalent of a snuff film.

It seems as if we’re in late-stage influencer/politician politics, and the future is bleak if we don't start to look at character as a key underpinning of qualification for office.