Michael Ramirez Essay: Knowledge is Power

From America's Premier Editorial Cartoonist

TRANSPARENCY WANTED

By Michael Ramirez, September 3, 2023

Happy Labor Day weekend. I’m sure you don’t want to read some long-winded essay, and I’m not sure how well I can write one... I’m in Needles, California, in the middle of the desert by the Colorado River, on the California-Arizona border, where it is a cool 96 degrees… I say cool because it was 113 degrees last week and cooler now because an unexpected thunderstorm drifted across the desert and drenched us with rain. Across the way in Nevada, they had to rename the annual hedonistic Burning Man Festival (or, as I like to call it, Mostly Naked, Desperate for Attention, Self-Indulgent People Festival) to Covered in Mud Man.

I was thinking about sneaking across the border to Arizona… Gasoline is about two and half dollars cheaper than here in California, but I'm not too fond of it when they yell at me and say, @#$%& Californians are crossing the border and taking our jo… uh, gas… and raising our property prices. I figure enough are already over there trying to make their way back from Drowning Man. 

My band is playing back-to-back gigs here for the Labor Day weekend.  Last night, we were in a park overlooking the river. We’re playing at a local watering hole called the 19th Hole tonight. Swing by if you’re in the neighborhood, but take a shower if you’re covered in mud.… and a dose of penicillin might not be a bad idea either.

You may have watched in horror as Mitch McConnell froze in another news conference this week.

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It is the second time in a few months he has done that. Aside from it happening to one of the few “adults” in the US Senate, the most disturbing aspect was how nonchalant his staff was. His office has since released a statement assuring everyone that the Senator is okay. People who have conversed with him have said he seems just fine, like the old Mitch McConnell. 

Old seems to be the problem that is on everyone’s mind today.

I like Mitch. We once argued over how I thought Senate Republicans were observing the Marcus of Queensbury rules in a fight with Democrats who were wielding shivs and metal pipes, but that is a story for another day. He is a keen political strategist and the architect for many of our best conservative victories. 

Conspiratorialists like to blame him for everything (like making reasonable, lucid, rational, and viable, intelligent judgments), but they also believe the election was stolen by Venezuelan engineers beaming lasers from space to start fires in California and Hawaii.  

But it brings to mind a series of questions. How many times has this “Frozen Face” happened? Is it a regular occurrence? Was he thinking about when Congressman Hank Johnson explained his theory on capsizing islands?

Everyone, it seems, is now calling for term limits. I’m not one of them. 

Term limits were in the Articles of Confederation in 1781. The belief of rotation in office was necessary to prevent corruption and detachment from your constituency. But James Madison and others argued against term limits. Madison believed it would lead to a dysfunctional government and that more frequent elections would ensure accountability and continuity and allow free choice. In Federalist 53, he explained why they were rejected in the Constitutional Convention of 1787:

"A few of the members of Congress will possess superior talents; will by frequent re-elections, become members of long standing; will be thoroughly masters of the public business, and perhaps not unwilling to avail themselves of those advantages. The greater the proportion of new members of Congress, and the less the information of the bulk of the members, the more apt they be to fall into the snares that may be laid before them."

Madison believed the American people should be able to pick the best and brightest, including those with experience and legislative expertise, to serve as long as the people wanted.

But what happens when you start to question their mental agility? Many people say the solution is age limits and mental aptitude tests for Congress. There are so many calls for this that I feel I need to address this in an upcoming cartoon. Stay ‘tooned (see what I did there? Okay, no mental aptitude tests for cartoonists either). 

Cognitive aptitude tests for Congress are a good idea. It would eliminate a majority of Congress today. Of course, I am just kidding,.… about having cognitive aptitude tests, not eliminating most of Congress. 

Age restrictions are a terrible idea. Trust me, there is little relationship between age and mental acuity in the circle of politics today.  You don’t have to be old to be mentally impaired… Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (and the Squad, or as I like to call them, the “squawk”), Marjorie Taylor Greene, Hank “Capsizing Guam” Johnson, Matt Gaetz… I could go on and on, but I promised to make this short… er, shorter anyway

The solution is in the Constitution. It’s called ELECTIONS.

Yes, you get to determine the age and mental capability of those YOU CHOOSE to represent you. It’s all there. Their age, history, political positions, past statements, or video of them trying to explain that “Guam capsizing” was a subtle humorous metaphor for a military build-up on a small island that would uh, tip over like uh, a ship…

When I hear people worrying about President Biden and possible dementia, along with Senators Feinstein, Fetterman, Schumer, and Rand Paul (okay, I just threw in Schumer and Paul because they’re knuckleheads), I want to say you knew about their age and physical health before you voted for them in the last election. Maybe you should check into your own mental acuity before you vote again.

President Biden has a long history of bad decisions, questionable intellect, and dodgy judgment from the beginning of his political career. 

You can blame gerrymandering on some of this. I blame laziness. 

In America, you get the “luxury” of freedom, liberty, and self-governance, but with it comes the responsibility to make informed decisions. If you want to blame someone, look in the mirror.

As I have said before, the two leading presidential candidates from both parties will be OLDER when they enter office than Ronald Reagan was when he LEFT office after two terms. They are 77 and 80 years old. Both have questionable judgment and intelligence right now. Mitch McConnell is 81. 

But more importantly than age, we should examine their past statements, positions, and lies. Performing due diligence and properly vetting candidates is part of the design of our election system. After all, they are civil servants who work for us. 

For that, we need transparency.

Senator McConnell should divulge the reasons for these episodes. He is the minority leader of our Senate. The American public has a right to know. 

We also have a right to know about President Biden’s pseudonyms in emails he used as Vice President. The list of names includes Robert L. Peters, JRB Ware, Celtic, the Big Guy, and Robin Ware. These were uncovered in a House investigation on the more than $20 million transferred to the Biden family from foreign entities to a mass of shell companies and accounts. Personally, I want to see if he ever used the alias Robin D. Americanpublic.

These kinds of emails are not unprecedented. Senior members of multiple administrations have used them. However, the content of these emails is part of the public record and is subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

An informed constituency will regulate the legislature and impose its own term limits, age restrictions, and cognitive evaluations via the election process. Voters should arm themselves with all the necessary knowledge tools, including demanding government transparency, to select the best people to represent us.

I guess this was another long-winded essay. Blame it on my age.

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Previous Essays:

• Transparency Wanted

• Whack Job

• Unplanned

• Sacrificing Kids

• Mountain of Debt

• Just Say Aye

• Hunting for Answers…more essays at michaelpramirez.com

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