Greetings world watchers. Just a quick digression for you today on why Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's visit to Syria is actually an important event.Doesn't matter to me if you are a Democrat who supports her bold political maneuver in defiance of the White House, or if you are a Republican who thinks she is the anti-Christ.Political bullshit is not the Plaid Avenger's concern.Small moves which may have large impacts in the future are what we deal with in this forum, so here we go…
To repeat: I am not expressing any opinion on whether or not Pelosi's visit to the Middle East is a good thing or a bad thing.That's just not my thing for now.You readers can do your thing in the comments forum to beat, berate, and bash her, or each other.The Avenger's interest in this news event has far greater impacts than the current political power stand-off in the US, or even the goofball US foreign policy towards the Middle East.No, I see something much bigger here.I see the potential for a re-working of the whole American government system, specifically in the foreign policy arena.Perhaps just a bit of background to start though…
You already know, or you damn well should know, that since the last election cycle the US Congress has been controlled by the Democrats.The White House is of course still staunchly Republican.Thus: friction.As has been over-reported in the last several months, many Democrats favor US withdrawal from the current Iraq War, while most Republicans—including those in the White House—are sticking to their guns.Pun intended.So what's this got to do with Nancy?
Nancy Pelosi is the first woman to become the Speaker of the House.Quite frankly, the woman part is of no concern to me, or this story—but I do likes the women!And women in power?Hell yes!What a turn-on!Oops, I digress as usual.Anyway, Speaker of the House is an important position in the US government. A damned important position.Like third in line of power after the President and Vice-President.As part of her political agenda to change US foreign policy, the Speaker went to visit the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as well a host of other folks in the Middle East. Since the official US foreign policy from the White House has been a 'no-talk-to' Syria since 2005, the administration has been pissed to say the least. Which brings us to this:
Speaker of the House on a foreign policy tour?Ballsy.Ballsy to say the least.And new!No Speaker has done anything like that before!At least not without a nod from the White House.And that's why it's a big story to the Plaid Avenger.This turn of events here in our lifetime may mark the start of a new age of American politics.Since American politics eventually affect all world politics, it is an important story for the globe.What the hell am I talking about?
Foreign policy has always been an exclusively executive branch/President thing.It's one of those powers that only the President of the US wields, on behalf of the rest of the US.This Pelosi tour seriously challenges that notion.This idea that only one dude sitting in the White House calls all the shots on how the US will work with the rest of the entire planet may be getting seriously outdated.Why?
Hell I don't know why.Perhaps the world is now just too complicated for a single man with a single plan to deal with.Perhaps it's due to the globalization of communications and news: too many of us now know too much about what's happening all over the planet…which of course results in lots of different opinions on how the US should be dealing with those happenings.Perhaps it really is time to have a greater democratic political voice in US foreign policy. That's democratic voice with a small d, not a big D—meaning the people (the demos) should have a bigger voice, not just the Democratic Party.Perhaps it's time the US considers altering is 'un-alterable' system to allow more room for other voices in the foreign policy arena.
Ah, the good old days of foreign policy…before global communications and global news updated second to second, and before the widespread accessibility of all kinds of information…the government of any state could so easily dictate foreign policy on behalf of its citizens, because by and large their citizen were totally clueless about what was happening in the world.I'm sure it made things much easier on the rulers.They didn't really need to explain their actions to the masses; they could make up any story that they wanted…and hell, some rulers even made up the results of their actions regardless of reality.I'm sure many US Presidents of the last decades have yearned for those good old days.But they are gone.Dead and buried my friends.So what is the future?
That I do not know.But the Speaker in Syria has opened a can of worms that will never be closed again.From now on, look for more and more high-ranking government officials to be very assertive in their US foreign policy moves, even if their actions are not condoned by the White Hose.It will also be used more as a political tool of in-fighting between the political parties from here on out too.
There are many parliamentary democracies around the globe that have a prime minister position—think Tony Blair or Dr. Manmohan Singh.In many of these systems, the President of the country deals with domestic issues, while the Prime Minister is the foreign policy guru that deals with all the international issues.Perhaps its time for a republic like the US to experiment with such a division of labor.Is it really realistic in the 21st century to think one person can do it all?Yeah, yeah, I know the President has his Cabinet, but let's be honest: those are just a bunch of lackeys towing the line on the President's policies.They don't stray too far off the path.(That's one of the reasons Colin Powell quit a few years ago—he was too assertive.)
Anyway, that's the rant for now.The Plaid thinks that perhaps we need a Prime.
Prime Minister of Plaid….Hmmmmmm….I wonder if I would get my own jet?
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