Carlin slams polar politics

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June 9, 2010 - 12:00 AM

As Tuesday night’s thunder storm took center stage, so did former Gov. John Carlin as keynote speaker at the annual dinner of Iola Industries, Inc.
Carlin, governor of Kansas from 1979 to 1987, delivered a speech on American politics today to about 90. He prefaced his remarks by saying he was no longer interested in running for office and remarking, “Anyone running for pubic office in this day and age would not be willing to share with you,” such strong opinions about today’s political scene.
But before his analysis, he bathed Iolans in praise for their celebration that evening of 55 years as a successful corporation that works to promote industry.
“It’s a competitive world we live in. These jobs you have created haven’t been done easily,” he said. “Let me tell you, it makes a huge difference in a community whether it has the leadership willing to lead and really make a difference in difficult circumstances.
“Iola Industries has certainly made a difference to the future in Iola,” he said.

LAUNCHING INTO the current political scene, Carlin dove back into his many years in the state legislature.  He recalled that as Speaker of the House he and Iola’s Sen. Bob Talkington, a Senate leader, hashed out many a bill.
“We made progress because we were willing to put the state of Kansas first, work out our differences, and work together,” Carlin said.
Three political developments make such efforts significantly harder today, Carlin said:
* The belief that Kansas should be independent of federal aid;
* Political polarization that denies there is a middle ground between political ideologies; and
* The corrupting influence of money in elective politics.
In Kansas, Carlin criticized the trend “where it’s very popular to be anti-Washington, to be anti-incumbent,” he said. “People say ‘Throw the bums out. Cut the budget. We need less government, less interference. If we were left alone, we would be so much better off,’” Carlin said.
Instead, “we need to understand that as a state we don’t have enough wealth to tax to do what we must do. We have to have the federal government. We get back more than we send in.”
Carlin noted such examples as the state’s reservoir system such as John Redmond Dam that was built with federal, not state, monies. The dam not only protects from flooding but provides irrigation for farmers and recreational opportunities.
“That was all federal money,” Carlin said of the funding that built the state’s many dams, as well as its wastewater treatment systems and interstate road systems.
“Despite the fact that Kansans have benefited so tremendously from such federal investments, we hear some argue we would be much better off without them. It sounds good, but we can’t afford it.
“I’m not suggesting some wild change for huge increases in federal aid,” he said. “I’m just asking for a sane discussion in what’s practical for the state, instead of saying the federal government is terrible and let’s do without it.”

AS A PROFESSOR at Kansas State University, Carlin said he talks a lot with his students about “black and white politics: the ‘I’m right, You’re wrong’” way of thinking which also tends to be “simplistic, and doesn’t allow for any reasonable middle ground.
“It’s focused, simple, and reaches a lot of people. But it doesn’t help us,” Carlin said.
Effective government requires a coming together of minds, he said, and is hampered by today’s polarized climate.
The influence of money has made a mess of the election system, Carlin said.
“When you have U.S. senators having to raise thousands and thousands of dollars a day to get re-elected in six years’ time, they’re not spending too much time resolving issues. Worst of all, that money does have influence, on both parties, and in some degree on every elected official. You can’t raise that much money and say I don’t care what you want, I’m going to be independent,” he said.
The most lucrative source of contributions is from special interest groups with short-term goals, he said.
“Such a system is not working for the best interest of the masses. We would get much better results if our elected officials didn’t have to raise so much money to campaign.”
Carlin recalled how former Kansas U.S. Sen. Bob Dole said that after an election there was an “18-month window of opportunity to do the people’s business,” before the need to think about raising money to run again in the six-year cycle.
That “window” doesn’t exist today, he said. “There isn’t a five-minute window today before the focus is on the next election. Everything is so partisan, so vicious, so competitive with so much at stake on the political point of view that the foucs is immediately on the next election.”
“We need some time where we can sit down and do the business in the best interest of the people with less emphasis on re-election.”
Carlin cited the state of Maine and how it uses public funding for legislative races as well as Arizona for the governor’s race.
In Maine, candidates decide if they want public funding. If a candidate chooses to use his own funds and his opponent does not, then the state matches that put up by the privately funded candidate.
“It stays an equal fight from the funding point of view,” he said. About 90 percent of candidates now opt for public funds since Maine began the system eight years ago.
In other funding matters, Carlin was asked whether he favored a flat or “fair” tax as opposed to a tax based on one’s income.
“My experience with taxes is that a ‘fair’ tax is the one that you pay and I don’t,” he said to laughter.

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