BRACK: On dysfunction, for what it’s worth

By Andy Brack  |  An old Buffalo Springfield song popped up on the radio the other day and its lyrics seem fresh in light of continued dysfunction in governing at the state and national levels.

There’s something happening here

But what it is ain’t exactly clear

There’s a man with a gun over there

Telling me I got to beware

In Washington, there’s dysfunction related to the debt ceiling, abortion, guns, the Jan. 6 overthrow attempt, the Supreme Court’s ethics, and continuing battles between the House and Senate. 

In South Carolina, there are continuing culture wars over – guess what – abortion, guns, court reform and battles between ideologies.  

Leaders are talking at each other, not to each other.  They’re talking to their tribes, not working to bring everybody together.  

There’s battle lines being drawn

Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong

Young people speaking their minds

Getting so much resistance from behind

Compromise seems to be a 10-letter dirty word.  Avoidance of real discussion seems to be a leading political behavior.

South Carolina Republicans have run state government for 20 years.  Despite boatloads of tax money in recent years, look what we’ve still got: an education system stuck at the bottom, a health care system that is clunky and unhelpful to many, crowded prisons that are unsafe for guards, gerrymandered voting districts that exacerbate unfair elections, too many guns on the street leading to too many deadly shootings, and persisting poverty that hasn’t truly been addressed in at least two generations.

Imagine how politicians might be forced to deal with issues if they started answering and discussing tough questions, instead of avoiding them out of some odd sense of noblesse oblige, politeness, awkwardness, fear of losing power or fear of losing relevance.  

Paranoia strikes deep

Into your life it will creep

It starts when you’re always afraid

Step out of line, the men come and take you away

So here are some tough questions, particularly for those leading South Carolina:

Democracy.  What are you actively doing to protect and defend our democracy and make it stronger as too many people, domestic and foreign, seem to be trying to destroy it?

Poverty.  What active steps are you taking now to end persisting poverty?  And don’t just say “creating opportunity” or “creating jobs.”  Skill levels and schools have to be improved radically, not incrementally.  Better health care has to be widely available.  

Abortion.  White male Republicans: When will you get over the obsession with abortion.  Two-thirds of Americans want abortion options.  You haven’t built a majority on the issue since the Roe decision came down 50 years ago.  Can’t we move on beyond culture wars and act like other developed countries?

Guns.  South Carolina’s police chiefs by a large margin advise that permitless carry of guns in South Carolina is going to make it less safe for law enforcement officers and the general public. Why can’t lawmakers and leaders like you stop pushing this dangerous policy that, if enacted, surely will lead to more deaths?

To be clear:  It’s not just Republicans who are culpable for the mess that our state and country is in.  Democrats, particularly at the state level, haven’t won any awards for stellar leadership to try to get the country out of its current miasma.

Regardless of whether you like Joe Biden as president, he seems to be one of the few leaders we have with his head screwed on straight about how the country needs to pull together to stay strong.  Perhaps we should listen to him as a veteran leader, not just as a Democrat.  From this week’s announcement that he’s running for reelection at age 80:

“The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer. I know what I want the answer to be and I think you do, too. This is not a time to be complacent.”

We better stop

Hey, what’s that sound?

Everybody look, what’s going down?

Andy Brack, recognized in 2022 as the best columnist in South Carolina, is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper.  Have a comment?  Send to: feedback@charlestoncitypaper.com. (If you didn’t figure it out, the song was “For what it’s worth,” by Buffalo Springfield, 1966.)