At my time at the Daily News, I covered so many things I knew absolutely nothing about: fishing, hunting, Title V septic system regulations, invasive water weeds, boating...etc., etc., etc.
So, the only way to get enough info to put some words to paper was to ask stupid questions. The recipients of such questions usually didn't mind. They accepted that you were..well ignorant...about their area of expertise and they were eager to straighten you out. More often than not it worked. The only time I recall getting outed as an idiot was when I wrote that a hunter pointed his rifle at a flock of Canada Geese. It was actually a shotgun. Big difference.
So sue me, I grew up in the city. We hunted for parking spots.
I'm sure you know where this walk down memory lane is now headed. I have a stupid question about the politics in the city. Two stupid questions, actually.
What is a progressive?
What is a conservative?
I obviously know the larger meanings of such terms, but they are tossed around so easily in this city by politicians, bloggers and, well, I'm sad to say, myself, and I'm not really sure how they apply to the politics in our fair city.
The questions first came to me when I was reading Stephen Tait's article on the new council in yesterday's news. The article included this:
Three of the incoming members - at-large councilors Donna Holaday and Kathleen O'Connor Ives and Ward 4 winner Ed Cameron - are tabbed as more "progressive," or liberal-leaning politically. Councilor Barry Connell described those three wins as a "boost" for "progressive government."
Brian Derrivan, the new Ward 5 councilor, will join those three as the freshman members.
Moak, who is considered by many to be more conservative in his political ideals, said he doesn't know why he's been tagged with that characterization.
"That is the peg people put on me all the time, that I'm conservative," he said. "I don't know how true that is."
I guess I don't know either. That's why I'm asking. Here's my attempt at identifying progressives and conservatives. Tell me if I'm wrong. I'll use the Daily News' candidate questions as a guide.
A progressive is someone who...
thinks there should be fewer than 250 parking spots on the NRA lots.
favors historic districts.
would support an override.
opposes the practice of crotch-snif...er drug-sniffing dogs on Inn Street.
So a conservative obviously....
hopes to see more than 250 spaces.
opposes historic districts.
opposes overrides.
is okay with the sniffing dogs.
I recognize this breakdown is far too simplistic, but I'm honestly having a hard time defining conservatives and progressives. Is there a clear set of ideal assigned to each group? Or are we sort of working with a Potter Stewart type of classification. I can't define a progressive/conservative but I know them when I see them.
Or is this simply a way of saying: These guys are new to town and these folks have lived here forever and then some.
Any help would be appreciated.
2 comments:
Tom-
Don't feel stupid. After being involved with politics since I was 9 (that would make 43 years), I've come to believe that not only don't labels apply anymore, but they actually mislead, typecast and even demonize people.
Barry Goldwater, conservative, favored full rights for gays, including marriage. Hillary Clinton, liberal/progressive,has twice voted to send American troops into battle on the flimsiest and most elusive of rationales.
In my blog over the last two days, I've grappled with exactly this issue; and have come down on the side of pragmatism; radical pragmatism in my own case. Pragmatism is when Tom Jones, Gary Roberts, Greg Earles, Ed Cameron and Steve Hutcheson can agree that
we need to set up a Charter Commission, because the entire structure of Newburyport government is inadequate to meet the needs of the City. New budgeting practices on the City-side, greater transparency, term lengths for the Mayor or a shift City Manager, and considering whether the City Council terms should be restructured so they overlap for the sake of continuity- each of the aforementioned may have a different opinion on the specifics, but they all agree we need to do it as soon as possible.
The politics of pragmatism says that the schools should do a five year strategic plan; but that should also be happening on the City-side at the same time. Pragmatism recognizes that the economic situation in the schools are symptomatic of national and state trends,but that the stagnant municipal process for something as simple as budgeting on the City-side must be part of a solution.
I'm tired of all the b.s., of watching progressives who don't progress, and conservatives who don't conserve, of liberals who can't liberate themselves from unworkable processes, and reactionaries who react to gossip and rumors and can't tell the truth when they hear it.
A pox on all their houses. Make mine pragmatic. As one of the most profound philosophers of the 20th Century, Popeye the Sailor man used to say, "I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam."
Let's stop posing and get to work.
As a fellow Newburyporter and reporter, I understand all too well the "stupid" question.
Just remember. A question might seem "stupid" to you, but you know at least a hundred other people are wondering about it too.
So, thanks for asking!
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