tie me kangaroo down, Mr. Speaker

In the late nineties while working as a lobbyist at the state level, I noticed a trend of

behavior - attitude - entrenched expectations

among some newly elected state representatives and senators and it was weird because it was a trend completely unexpected by me, and undeniable as I observed, even though I wanted to mentally "deny" it -- no no, think positive, pretend it's better. ...

I found it really difficult and somewhat psychologically painful to watch a situation go from being Positive and Admirable and something you were honored to be part of, to -- instead -- something that was devolving right in front of your eyes.

It's like -- I think as human beings we naturally want things to
Progress,
to Get Better --
or at least Stay the Same if they were already good. ...

To watch things get worse is a bummer.
(Or, as Hunter Thompson would write, "a King Hell bummer"....)

The attitude and approach I noticed with a lot of the new legislators, elected after Term Limits took effect, could best be described as emotionally immature and subtly hostile.

I noticed it with one person, then a couple of others, then stepped back and forced myself to be willing to see what I was seeing, and was sort of mortified / horrified -- felt like,
What is this?!
Where is this behavior and these attitudes coming from??
Why are these people behaving alike??
(pods?  body snatchers?)

Felt some exasperation, and one evening in a telephone conversation with a member of the Appropriations Committee, we got on the topic of the many newly elected people, and he said something and I responded, too quickly without softening my words, "Some of these people -- they just act like big babies...!"
and was a little sorry the minute it came out of my mouth, thought I'd taught myself to "modify" better...obviously not well enough...
and this Republican representative answered immediately, with equanimity, "Yeh--they do cry and bang their rattles, don't they?"
ha-ha-ha
I had not been expecting him to say that...
he was right on the Same Page with what I'd been observing & thinking....

Crying and banging their rattles

Kicking their feet and throwing their toys

-------------- Are these exhibits of immature, belligerent behavior mostly in politics?  Or in our society at large?
Do people copy this behavior from our political representatives and leaders?
Or do politicians do it because the whole society does it, & they are just a sub-section of the whole society?

The Whole society does not behave in an immature fashion.
Sometimes I blame reality TV shows because they set up situations where people are supposed to misbehave and argue over nothing, for the cameras (which is not the same as Really Meaning what you're saying) -- then it's on TV, which magnifies the behavior, and makes it seem like behavior that's desirable to emulate, by virtue of being ON t-v.

During this "shutdown" of our national government, so many Comments from people over the Internet call the foot-dragging and tantrum-ing "immature," "childish," etc., and I keep recalling the "Banging-Rattles" conversation ...

(the Indiana guy):  "I am not getting What I Want and I don't even know what that is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We will Not Be DISRESPECTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

(when first read that, thought: 
Hmmh.  Has he been -- uh -- "dissed" in -- some sort of, er,...'hood?? -- -- or -- something?

How could he be "dissed" in a "'hood"?  looks like he lives on some kinda farm .  ...

This Evening -- headlines in IBTimes:
** Shutdown Splits GOP As Disapproval Of Party Hits 70%
** Attack Ad Compares John Boehner To Wailing Baby

Oct. 3 Citizen Comments

--------------
==    Claude R., New Jersey -- Mr. Boehner has had many opportunities before to do the right thing, but he has never shown the backbone or moral fiber.  Mr. Boehner's problem is that the GOP is a victim of its own success.  It created a majority by assembling a coalition of one-issue voters who only oppose but never propose anything positive.  Their 40 votes to repeal the health care law, and now their scorched earth tactics that threaten to destroy the economy, only exemplify their intellectual and emotional infantilism.

These are the fruits of Karl Rove's strategy of appealing to haters and fanatics, and only looking as far ahead as the next election.  Now Mr. Boehner is in the sway of cultists, and must choose between his Speakership or the country's future.  Which will it be?

--------------
==    Rob, Cortlandt Manor, NY -- It is completely unfathomable to me that a few, and even one person (speaker of the house) can hold up the wheels of progress here, and in the world.  Who's watching the store?...The majority has already spoken on health care, taxes and a host of other issues, that's it.

When these people who are obviously in the minority are disrupting things like this, and definitely not doing their jobs, how do we fire them?  They go back to their re-jiggered electoral districts and get re-elected by a demographic that they essentially created in their own district.  That has to change, and these incompetent extremists need to be voted out (fired).

We need new rules on our governance that close these ridiculous loopholes, and come into the 21st century....None of this should be allowed.  Life is hard enough.

--------------
==    JTH, Tennessee -- Boehner's House of Cards needs to Fold.

Their destructive folly demonstrates their interest is not in the interest of America.  It's all about power and imposing their viewpoint on the majority....The Tea Party are just the opposite of Patriots.

--------------
==    Ozark Homesteader, Arkansas -- I never thought I'd see the day when John Boehner was among the most reasonable Republicans in Congress.  It says a lot for the radical turn that many in the Republican Party have taken for Boehner to look so reasonable.  The turn is causing the wheels to fall off the party.  At least Boehner recognizes that fact.

--------------
==    Bri, Columbus Ohio -- The Australian government shut down once in 1975, because the legislature had failed to fund it.  There was a deadlock that couldn't be solved.  Governor John Kerr got order from the Queen and dismissed the prime minister and appointed a replacement.  The spending bill was passed immediately.  Only 3 hrs. later the rest of the Parliament was dismissed.  There was an election held and they started from scratch.  There hasn't been another Government shut-down ever since.

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