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The following is an edited interview with syndicated columnist Cal Thomas conducted by John Whitehead, founder and president of the Rutherford Institute in Charlottesville and host of the YouTube production, 'Friendly Fire.'
John Whitehead: Today on "Friendly Fire" we have Cal Thomas, the top syndicated columnist in America, an author and television commentator on Fox News who has also been on numerous television shows. Cal is coming out with a new book in the fall, "Common Ground," about the bickering that is going on in Congress. It's good to have you with us today, Cal.
Cal Thomas: Thank you, John. "Common Ground" is co-authored by my good friend Bob Beckel. Let's give him equal credit.
Whitehead: That's right. The polls show the American people have lost total confidence in our government. The president's ratings are some of the lowest in history. There is a 16 percent approval rating for Congress. Most Americans I talk with believe there is absolutely no hope in Congress. They can't even pass a bill. They have trouble balancing a budget. Most of them only work a couple days a week. Is all hope lost in Congress? What is going on?
Thomas: I never put my faith and hope in politicians to begin with. There is an admonition of Scripture--"put not your trust in princes and kings"--and I think that can be extended to Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives.
We ask too much of government, and then when it can't deliver, we become cynical. The government is not my keeper, I shall not want. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of poverty, the government is there comforting me with food stamps and AFDC payments.
The government has a specific role. We've asked it to do things it was not designed to do, and we're not asking it to do things that it should be doing. The fault is ours.
Our Constitution opens with "We the people," but if we give the power and influence and responsibility to government like some great nanny state to take care of us, then it is incapable of fulfilling that kind of expectation. So we really do get the kind of government we deserve, and we now worship the golden calf and the Dow Jones industrial averages. It has become "in Dow we trust"--not in God, not in ourselves.
Whitehead: The Constitution says that the people we elect are there to promote the general welfare. If we are overtaxed, if we are over-regulated, if our politician is a career politician--if you look at the current presidential lineup, all are career politicians--they basically do only one thing. Everyone knows that because they don't even answer a question anymore.
This goes for John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and others who can't seem to answer a question. If they are not promoting the general welfare, what in the world can we do?
Thomas: First of all, what you can do is demand something different. In "Common Ground," Bob Beckel and
Whitehead: Such as?
Thomas: Well, first of all, you have to get people talking about it. We believe the public is ready for it, more than ready. You cited correctly the statistics of public approval of the Congress. This Democratic-led Congress has only been in the majority for six months, and already their approval rating is in the teens.
What about pelosi?Whitehead: What happened to Nancy Pelosi? I thought she was going to come in and change some things. In fact, Nat Hentoff said in an interview I did with him that she went somewhere overseas. Nat said that it would've been nice if she had dropped by Darfur on the way back. But she didn't.
It seems like after these people are elected, the next day they are raising funds and they don't give a flying whatever about the American people.
Thomas: That is exactly right. We have to demand more collectively. We believe that this last election was a great message for Republicans, as well as Democrats, that people are tired of the same old same old. The fact that they threw the Republicans out for becoming like the Democrats the Republicans replaced and their approval rating dropped to a 14-16 percent level after only six months of the Democrats indicates how fed up a huge number of people are with the government they're paying for, which is not the government they're getting.
A lot of this is due to inattention. Thank goodness for the Internet. Thank goodness for Talk Radio and other venues that get information out.
Whitehead: The media is part of the problem. The media is not telling us what's going on. The media is not accurate enough.
Thomas: Well, they're in bed with a lot of the politicians, particularly on the liberal side. They believe in high taxes. They believe in big government. They believe in more regulation. They don't believe in human nature that needs to be redeemed. They believe in externals about reform.
No matter the number of instances we have where gobs of money have been spent and the advertised results have not been achieved, they still say let's spend more. Let's do more of the same. Pete Seeger had this song in the '60s about Vietnam: "We are knee deep in the big muddy and the big fool says to push on." Well, we are knee deep in the big muddy now, and the big fools of both parties say to push on.
Whitehead: Speaking of reform, I've advocated that Supreme Court Justices be limited to 12-year terms. Why not have congressmen and senators serve four to six years and out they go? Then maybe they will at least pay attention and stop reading the polls, trying to manipulate the way people think.
Thomas: These are two points we make in our book, "Common Ground." We think federal judges ought to serve a certain number of limited terms. And then if a future president wishes to renominate them for another 7- or 10- or 12-year term, whatever it is, they have to go back through the nominating process again with hearings, have their cases brought up and discussed and why they voted that way. We think recycling is good for trash and for politicians because each left in one place too long begins to emit a foul odor.
This is actually of benefit to the public servants. It's like being in an area with a communicable disease. The longer you remain, the greater the likelihood of your being infected.
first termsWhether Republican or Democrat, when they come to town, first term, they are all excited. We heard this with the Democratic leadership. They indicated they were going to be the most ethical administration in history and the most ethical Congress in history.
But it only took a few weeks before they were cutting corners and making deals. Much of this has to do with the lobbyists. A huge amount of money has to be raised in order to win and to preserve one's self in office.
Whitehead: Shouldn't lobbying be illegal? The American people already know that some congressmen are being flown around to play golf. The taxpayers are footing the bill on a lot of this. And then lobbyists from the pharmaceutical industry gain favors, and we can't even afford to go the drugstore and buy drugs. Let's just make lobbying illegal and let these people vote the way they should, based on the fact that they actually read the bills. We know that most of them do not read the bills for the legislation they vote on. Let's just make lobbying illegal.
Thomas: I don't know if you can do that because of the constitutional provision of the right of the people to petition their government for redress of grievances.
I think term limits is the key. But the biggest key is that the people need to pay more attention. We have these big run-ups to the election. The media focuses on politics for six weeks before an election. But after the election and after being sworn in, people pretty much go back to their own lives.
The Internet and other avenues of information have opened up a tremendous storehouse where we can actually find out what these guys are doing. It is a perfect example of common ground and a great example that now allows the individual American citizen to go on a specially designed Web page to find out the kind of pork that earmarks what their member is voting for or against.
Whitehead: Once they find out about the pork, what can they do?
Thomas: They can write and demand that they not get it. They can stop taking the government money. You have a lot of people out there taking all these government programs and services. I think there ought to be incentives if you decide that you don't want Social Security or Medicaid. You should then be given a tax incentive to invest for yourself. You get a higher interest rate or a greater tax write-off, which would be like an IRA, where you can write off the money and never pay taxes on it because you are not going to be a burden. For some catastrophic situations--we are a compassionate nation--we take care of people. But I do think these kinds of incentives allow people a greater avenue to care for themselves instead of looking to government as a first resource, not a last resort. Our representatives are supposed to promote the general welfare. That is in the Constitution.
Whitehead: People feel helpless. This ranges from the federal government to your local community. The 10th Amendment promotes federalism, which is the idea that local government governs best. We have to make our impact is at the local level.
Thomas: Most people don't even know their local politicians. Most people don't know their state politicians. You ask an average person who is your state representative, who is your state senator, and they probably couldn't answer.
Whitehead: But they can tell you the three judges on "American Idol."
Thomas: This ranges from high school kids to graduating college students.
Whitehead: That's sad.
Thomas: It is sad. You've got to be engaged. You can't leave politics to the politicians, anymore than you can leave money to the mobsters.
