To boldly go where no political cliché has gone before
Aweek from now, the campaign ads we all are so sick of will begin fading from memory. However, most of the tired, bankrupt clichés that have haunted this election cycle will never die. You don’t need a Ouija board to know that most of them will be back to haunt future elections. Like bad pennies (I know, I know), bad clichés always turn up.
Here are some of the ones I most love to hate:
Career politician: This is a phrase frequently used by politicians casting themselves as political outsiders and/or everyday folk, just like you. If “politician” is a dirty word, then “career politician” must be even worse. You don’t want to send “career politicians” to solve state or national problems. And next time you need dental work, you wouldn’t want to trust a “career dentist.” And never let a “career plumber” anywhere near your toilet.
In the primary, Democrats Jeff Apodaca and Joe Cervantes both proudly stated that they weren’t “career politicians” — though Cervantes has spent nearly two decades in the state Legislature. (Joe probably would argue that in this state, lawmakers are just part-time and get paid only modest per diems. But still …) In the U.S. Senate race, Republican Mick Rich attacked Aubrey Dunn as a “career politician” during Dunn’s shortlived time as the Libertarian candidate for that office. Rich himself has pointed out that he’s no “career politician.” And, if the polls are anywhere near correct, Rich won’t start being one in the near future.
Vision: The first President George Bush took a lot of flack back in the early 1990s when he scoffed at the idea of “the vision thing.” But from countless campaign ads and literature from all parties at all levels of government across this great land, there is no shortage of political “visionaries.” Democratic gubernatorial candidate Michelle Lujan Grisham on Facebook posted, “I have the vision and leadership for a much brighter future for New Mexico.” Meanwhile, her Republican opponent, Steve Pearce, recently announced on his website “his vision to make New Mexico an international trade hub between the United States, Latin America and Canada.” So many politicians, career or otherwise, yammer on about this, I have to believe that many of these “visions” actually are hallucinations.
Bold: I know I’ve ranted about this overused word before. I poked merciless fun at Gov. Bill Richardson for all his “bold initiatives.” Then in 2010, Susana Martinez adopted the slogan “bold change” for her gubernatorial campaign. It’s much harder to find a candidate who doesn’t call himself “bold” than it is finding those who do. Just last week, Pearce, in a news release about the crime problem, said, “Through bold leadership and hard work we will overcome this painful time.” And last month, U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján’s re-election campaign gave us a twofer in the cliché sweepstakes: “Congress-
man Lujan Delivers Bold Vision to Put New Mexicans First at League of Women Voters Forum” was the subject line of the press release. To boldly quote myself from a column years ago, “Nobody is allowed to use the B-word anymore unless you’re singing about Wyatt Earp.”
Fight: This is another extremely overused word that I pledge to fight. Every politician is going to fight for you, fight for the working families, fight for the children, fight for taxpayers, fight for border security, fight against Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco agenda. Fight for their bold visions and fight against the career politicians. But unlike some of the other clichés, which are just annoying, hypocritical or stupid, all this fighting might actually be harmful.
No, I’m not some weepy peacenik who thinks all words of violence should be put to sleep. But maybe Congress wouldn’t be such an ineffective institution these days if there weren’t so many “fighters” from all sides fighting it out. I know there are plenty of issues worth fighting for. But I’d be very tempted to vote for the first candidate to say, “If elected, I’ll go to Washington, try to make friends and allies — even with people I disagree with — and work hard to come up with solutions for our problems. I’m even willing to compromise if that’s the best way forward.” But that’s probably more of a hallucination than a vision.