Problems Go From Bad To Worse With The Democrats
By Robert Klein Engler (11/09/04)
The recent national election has some political analysts wondering if the Democratic Party died, or just smells that way. Those Americans who live in Red states may not notice the odor, but for many who live in Blue states like Illinois and sing the "Red Man in a Blue State Blues," that odor in the air is obvious. For those living in Chicago, nose plugs may be needed, too. Under the Democrats, the stink of problems in Chicago never gets better, it just remains the same or gets worse.
Because of 50 years of Democratic rule in Chicago, the party has entered a moribund stage. Like liberals elsewhere, the Democrats in Chicago do not wish to solve the problems of education, tax reform or segregation. Ironically, the Democratic Party here and in other Blue states just wants to perpetuate these problems so that their politicians may remain in office.
We have now entered an era of political irony, where Democrats claim they are needed to solve the very problems they preserve. These Democrats have yet to realize their policies are a wound on the body politic that will not heal as long as they are in office to treat it. Mayor Daley the Elder expressed this sentiment best years ago during the 1968 convention riots when he said, "The police are not here to cause disorder, they are here to preserve disorder."
Chicago often reminds me of an apartment building where I used to live. The elevator in that building was in constant need of repair. The absentee landlord had a contract with an elevator repair service, but the service knew that if they fixed the elevator once and for all, then there would be no more need for them. So, they never really fixed it right. In short, our elevator service had its ups and downs.
Now, I live in a city controlled by Democrats that runs pretty much the same way as that old elevator. If the problems of education, segregation and patronage were fixed in Chicago, there would be no further need for Democrats. So, these problems never get better here, they just remain the same or continue on a downward slide and get worse.
The three week long faculty strike at the city colleges is a good example of what Chicagoans may expect in the future, or at least until an election removes the Democrats from power in this city. Education at the City Colleges of Chicago will not get better because of the new union/board 4 year contract. Instead, it will just go from bad to worse, or remain the same. Thanks to the board and the union, the city colleges will continue to be the same confused and mediocre institution it has always been. Ironically, that's exactly how the Democrats and their supporters in Chicago like it.
Working hand in hand with the Democratic Party in this politics of irony is the faculty union at the city colleges. Local 1600 of the AFT, did not win their strike as much as they made sure that after 4 more years, the same problems at the city colleges will come around again. The faculty gained a raise, but the administration got concessions on healthcare costs. The senior faculty were allowed to keep their 12 hour a semester teaching load, but they did so at the expense and resentment of the junior faculty who must teach 15 hours a semester.
A further irony with the city colleges settlement is that all through the turmoil of the strike, both parties talked on and on about how much they worried for the students. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. At best the students were pawns used by both sides. At worst the students were like unicorns, mythical beasts, never seen in these parts.
The real problems at Chicago's city colleges; a politically appointed board of trustees, a bloated administration, too many adjuncts and not enough full-time professors, and segregated campuses, were never on the negotiation table. And why should they be? If these problems were solved, there would be no need for the union and no need for Democratic administrators. Instead of solutions, the groups engaged in the strike have a vested interest in seeing that problems at the city colleges continue, or get worse.
If you live in a Blue state or a Blue county in the U. S., then expect what happens in Chicago to happen soon where you live. More illegal immigration, minority segregation, poor schools and higher taxes are all part of the Democrat's plan to stay in power. Like the City Colleges of Chicago, your urban problems will not be solved because the Democrats who run most urban centers in the nation have no interest in solving them.
If you sing the "Red Man in a Blue State Blues," then you know what's to come. If you live in a Blue state, hold your nose, too. Like the City Colleges of Chicago, your urban problems will stink from bad to worse until the Democrats are out of office everywhere. The Democrats are not here to cause disorder, they are here to preserve disorder.
(Printer friendly version) Email: Robert Klein Engler
