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A View from the Cheap Seats by Garren Shipley
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We're packing up the cooler and preparing to close down the Cheap Seats for a long weekend of grilling, swimming and fireworks, possibly all at the same time.
Independence Day is one of the few times it's safe for a Virginia political reporter to stop paying attention for a few hours. Politicians in Richmond and Washington almost always run for the exits, and campaigns slow to a snail's pace as voters generally stop caring about candidates for a day or so. Barbecue and beaches make health care policy and tax rates take a back seat.
But for someone who spends their days watching and reporting on the political process, the Fourth of July is truly a remarkable holiday.
Maybe it's just reflective of the fact that I grew up in the hills and hollers of East Tennessee, but Richmond and Washington never cease to impress me.
For most of my life, the biggest building I encountered was a 12-story hospital in Johnson City, a sprawling metropolis of about 50,000 at the time. To walk the halls of Thomas Jefferson's Capitol and stand on the South Portico of his Temple on the Hill is truly an awe-inspiring experience. So much more so in D.C.
From here in the Cheap Seats, though, it's hard not to be even more impressed with the fact that the voters have total and complete control over who occupies the seats of power in those monuments. Later this year, the American people can quietly and peacefully walk to the ballot box and, if they so choose, fire almost every one of our elected leaders at once. (Yes, I know we only elect one-third of the Senate at a time, but I've got a theme going here, so work with me.)
Politicians who lose elections in our country may occasionally appeal to the courts, but they don't rally militias, nor do they refuse to leave their office once all is said and done. One only look at the recent tumult in Zimbabwe to realize that the trappings of democracy do not always a democracy make.
So as we of the Cheap Seats prepare a burnt offering of chicken on a stick, various adult beverages and some gunpowder, we'll also be thinking about the American Revolution -- and the peaceful revolution that has happened every Election Day since then.
Independence Day is one of the few times it's safe for a Virginia political reporter to stop paying attention for a few hours. Politicians in Richmond and Washington almost always run for the exits, and campaigns slow to a snail's pace as voters generally stop caring about candidates for a day or so. Barbecue and beaches make health care policy and tax rates take a back seat.
But for someone who spends their days watching and reporting on the political process, the Fourth of July is truly a remarkable holiday.
Maybe it's just reflective of the fact that I grew up in the hills and hollers of East Tennessee, but Richmond and Washington never cease to impress me.
For most of my life, the biggest building I encountered was a 12-story hospital in Johnson City, a sprawling metropolis of about 50,000 at the time. To walk the halls of Thomas Jefferson's Capitol and stand on the South Portico of his Temple on the Hill is truly an awe-inspiring experience. So much more so in D.C.
From here in the Cheap Seats, though, it's hard not to be even more impressed with the fact that the voters have total and complete control over who occupies the seats of power in those monuments. Later this year, the American people can quietly and peacefully walk to the ballot box and, if they so choose, fire almost every one of our elected leaders at once. (Yes, I know we only elect one-third of the Senate at a time, but I've got a theme going here, so work with me.)
Politicians who lose elections in our country may occasionally appeal to the courts, but they don't rally militias, nor do they refuse to leave their office once all is said and done. One only look at the recent tumult in Zimbabwe to realize that the trappings of democracy do not always a democracy make.
So as we of the Cheap Seats prepare a burnt offering of chicken on a stick, various adult beverages and some gunpowder, we'll also be thinking about the American Revolution -- and the peaceful revolution that has happened every Election Day since then.
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