POLITICIANS AIN'T ALL BAD
By Bill Kraus

There were probably a lot of things my father didn’tunderstand about me, but the one place where the un-understanding was overt was our views of politics and politicians.

He did not accept my assertion that politics was an honorable trade practiced by superior people.

As money has come to dominate politics and the need for money has become obsessive among politicians and as advantage and petty partisanship have risen in favor among the players in general and the political leaders in particular, I felt I would have had more trouble defending my assertion despite the fact that I haven’t abandoned it.

The events and the public and political reactions to the events of September 11th have given me new heart.

It was refreshing to see the public turn to the government and to the people who make it work. It was almost as if we were saying, “Oh, that’s why we have a government,” and being thankful that we do.

Even more refreshing was the demeanor of the politicians themselves. At every level the political incumbents (and their challengers as well) were no longer asking: “Is this good for me, for my caucus, for my chances of keeping or gaining a majority?”

They seemed to have an expanded view of the job and the world. The new questions politicians were posing were: “Is this good for the city, the state, the country, for the human condition?”

And ... “Is this good, period?”

There are probably going to be as many disagreements on the new questions as on the old ones. But the important difference is that the questions are bigger and better.

Maybe the arguments will be more civil as well. Maybe not. The important thing is that the discussions are on more elevated matters. The important thing is that politics has become more honorable, and politicians have risen to the occasion, have shown us their better selves.

I am feeling redeemed. Politics is an honorable trade. Politics is, for the most part, practiced by superior people. 

Bill Kraus is a long-time Wisconsin political insider who is also on the board of Common Cause Wisconsin.