The Rant
Standing down
By DOUG THOMPSON
Publisher, Capitol Hill Blue
Feb 4, 2006, 05:08

I've decided to stand down for a while. Take a breather. A break, if you will, from all this madness called politics.

At this point, I don't know if it will be a permanent break or not. I'm tired and this tilting at windmills business is exhausting.

A little over a year ago, my wife and I left Washington for good, returning to my roots in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to retire and concentrate on photography and a quality of life far away from the political world. At the time, I announced that I would stop writing about the sordid world in Washington.

But I didn't. I've tried to walk away from this more than once. I always come back. So this time I'm just calling it a break and taking some time off. I moved to the mountains to relax and writing about the corruption and failures of our government is anything but relaxing.

As an American I shudder at the consequences of the damage inflicted on America by the current system of government and the dominance of politics.  Party loyalty has replaced loyalty to country. This is true for both Republicans and Democrats. Both parties place allegiance to party dogma ahead of what is best for the nation and neither party, in my opinion, is fit to govern.

But too many Americans, sadly, are followers who cannot function unless they allow someone else to do their thinking for them. They must have a political or philosophical despot to tell them what to do. Sadly, the truth cannot be found in the words of either Rush Limbaugh or Al Franken. It lies somewhere in the middle, ready to be embraced by independent thought but lost in the mire of partisan extremism.

I'm convinced the George W. Bush and the Republican Party are destroying the America that I love. But can the Democrats rescue the nation? No. The so-called leaders of either party lack the honesty to put our country's interests above their own, to accept the sad fact that corruption is bipartisan and salvation comes from unity, not divisive partisanship.

I've been writing about the foibles, corruption and misdeeds of politicians for more than 40 years but the system we have today is worse than ever. I'm no longer sure that trying to educate a deaf audience through journalism is worth the time or the effort.

So I'm going to take the time to rest and consider other options.  Capitol Hill Blue will continue with others who still believe it is the role of a journalist to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. If there is a better way, maybe I can find it. If not, maybe I will be back.

We'll see.

© Copyright 2005 Capitol Hill Blue

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