“After damning politicians up hill and down dale for many years, as rogues and vagabonds, frauds and scoundrels, I sometimes suspect that, like everyone else, I often expect too much of them.”
— H.L. Mencken
Politicians like to make everything about them except when it may reflect on them negatively. They are more than happy to take credit for anything good under the sun, but they eschew any responsibility when their name is to blame. Indeed, politics often amounts to taking credit for others’ victories while avoiding responsibility for any possible failures.
Just ask a politician the next time you have a private word with them. But only in private.
Privately, they’re able to speak freely. Privately, they’re quite candid and charming. In fact, politicians are some of the most good-natured, trustworthy and principled people I’ve ever met – privately. And, I must say, it’s quite a sight to see politicians' private glee when they share their most creative fib or artful dodge, especially when they unironically believe their frauds serve some higher cause.
Of course, in the public eye, most of these politicians will avoid any discussion of dabbling in the political dark arts. That’s half the game – to publicly deny, deflect and project what you’re actually up to privately.
So let us go through a few of the ways politicians avoid responsibility:
1. Denial:
Denying a problem (or their involvement in a problem) is elementary for politicians. Keep in mind that the average voter is impressionable and insecure when it comes to the truth – and often quite deferential by nature.
Thus, projecting just the right amount of confidence while denying the underlying facts is usually enough to make the average man or woman question their own grip on reality and give the politician a pass.
2. Deflection:
Where outright denial isn’t an option – sometimes the facts are so plain that no amount of confidence will do to obscure the truth – politicians often channel their inner street magician, deploying the art of misdirection. No matter the pressing question at hand, there are always more interesting questions to be answered. By answering another question no one asked, politicians divert attention away from the original issue. It’s a tried-and-true method of steering the public conversation away from uncomfortable truths.
3. Blame:
Where denial and deflection are insufficient, politicians have a knack for pointing fingers, whether it’s at previous administrations, opposition parties, or their very own underlings. It’s the classic game of passing the buck to some other poor soul. Indeed, politics is often the art of calling out other people's sins while being sure to conceal your own. One never has to prove oneself a saint in the political arena, only that one’s opponent is a worse sinner. Prove your opposition deserves a deeper circle of hell than you, and you’re that much closer to heaven. The suspicious public is an insatiable beast, and their suspicion is easily turned towards others’ guilt and culpability. Very few in public life are truly innocent and are rightfully suspected of something sordid. Their tragedy is usually being found guilty for the sins of others rather than the sins they actually earned.
4. Minimization:
Sometimes responsibility can't be denied, deflected or blamed on others. That’s when politicians embrace the policy of minimization or SHRINKAGE, making problems seem smaller than they are. Much like an outright denial, politicians escape scrutiny by downplaying the severity or importance of an issue, making people question their own wits and sense of proportions when it comes to their grievances.
5. Maximization:
The opposite of minimization, politicians can also garner sympathy from the public and shirk responsibility by claiming a problem is so big and so complex that only God himself could solve it. Never trust a politician who is quick to have the public join in the Serenity Prayer. Similar to the blame game, maximization as a policy means that instead of blaming other people, politicians blame external forces beyond anyone’s control, let alone their own. History, in particular, is a favorite scapegoat for politicians. Unrealized hopes and dreams, as well as wickedly complex societal pathologies, must always be contextualized in history. In politics, the ghosts of yesteryear can always be ritually blamed for the failures of the present.
6. Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics:
No explanation is needed for the falsity and depravity of statistics, especially when used by politicians to avoid responsibility. Thus, I will simply quote Mark Twain:
Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: 'There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.’
7. Token Actions:
When cornered and forced to acknowledge an issue, politicians often resort to token actions. These are minimal or symbolic gestures designed to create the illusion of addressing the problem without making substantive changes. It’s akin to putting a fresh coat of paint on a crumbling wall – superficial and ultimately ineffective. By doing just enough to appease the public, they dodge the real work of enacting meaningful solutions in a responsible way.
When it comes to politicians, I sometimes suspect that, like everyone else, we often expect too much of them.
Perhaps it's time we adjust our expectations, take responsibility for our own lives, and instead of blaming politicians, we privately and politely tell the next politician we see, “You do not speak for me.”
Joey Clark is a native Alabamian and is currently the host of the radio program News and Views on News Talk 93.1 FM WACV out of Montgomery, AL M-F 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. His column appears every Tuesday in 1819 News. To contact Joey for media or speaking appearances as well as any feedback, please email joeyclarklive@gmail.com. Follow him on X @TheJoeyClark or watch the radio show livestream.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819news.com.
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