Thursday, January 1, 2015

Horace Miller or Jefferson Smith?

The 2016 GOP primary is well under way. We have two candidates that are running. The honorable Horace Miller, and the upstart Jefferson Smith. The former is a career politician; a machine candidate who takes their orders from the puppet masters. The latter is a underdog; an upstart with naive ideas of idealism and democracy. 
For those of you who get the reference, congrats. For those of you who are furrowing your brows, shame on you. The names Horace Miller and Jefferson Smith, are two characters in Frank Capra's film in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington". This film is so true in it's themes of idealism vs the establishment machine. The political landscape has not changed since Jimmy Stewart's filibuster. 
The machine has their candidates. The Taylor Machine, or the Rove machine, has their boy, Jeb. Jeb Bush has the pedigree and good sense to do whatever the Chamber of Commerce and good ole boys want. He will cut a tax or two. As one line in the movie goes, "A born stooge, he will perform like a trained seal." Shuffle a few agencies around. He will not make waves to rock the yachts. 
Then you have Jefferson Smith. The wet behind the ears candidates like Cruz, Carson, and Walker. They embarrass the establishment. They talk about God and abortion too much. They align with the TEA party. These candidates are the ones that will filibuster the Willet Creek Dams of the Bush's. They will actually try to rid of us of the EPA and Department of Education. They might actually institute a flat tax and end corporate welfare. They might actually secure the border. Oh no, we can't have these boy rangers stomping all over the Taylor Machine. 
The movie was made in the 30's but the iconic film of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", is timeless. If you haven't seen it, watch it. Not only is it great cinema but also real truth. You will be surprised how the story and the characters are so similar to today, and the upcoming 2016 race. 

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