Tag: Great Recession

It affected not only our own economy but rippled across many of the world’s other developed economies. What we need now is a political correction. Talking heads chat endlessly about the very real decline in civility among leaders at all levels of government. Americans are witnessing the confirmation hearings of U.S Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh -- a political spectacle if ever there were one. He was supported by Republicans and Democrats because the U.S. Senate has historically abided by the Constitutional advise and consent authority given to Presidents to appoint Supreme Court justices. The authors refer to governmental customs and traditions within and between various branches as “guardrails,” safety features not enshrined in Constitutions or in law, but very real and accepted practices that keep democratic governments operating. As for our own state, the authors say North Carolina is now without guardrails at all—a state hijacked by intense partisanship and much the worse for it. The pendulum has always swung back and forth in American politics. Many talking heads agree that correction could and should come in less than two months in the November elections. The midterms are an opportunity to say “enough” to intense and corrosive hardball partisan politics, to divisive policies and rhetoric, to incivility, and to begin repairing the guardrails that have been our safety net for more than two centuries.