The problem with politics, it seems to me, is twofold:

• A lack of congressional term limits. This means senators and representatives are controlled by deeply-rooted interests.

• A far-reaching federal government, as opposed to the constitutional prescription for power to the individual states. This is what gives Congress its power, exacerbating problem #1.

That’s my take. That’s my politics.

And politics is a game of money and power.

As part of the playing of that game, as two sides face off in Washington, disingenuousness abounds.

I can think of no greater example than the Left’s recent praise of John McCain. And their excoriation of President Trump for his quick return of White House flags to full-mast.

Relatively suddenly, according to those on the other side of the political aisle, Sen. McCain deserves the world’s praise and tribute as if he’s Bill Clinton — a former Democratic president. And why? Because McCain was anti-Trump. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

The Arizona senator’s September 17th vote against an appeal of Obamacare certainly didn’t hurt, either. From the LA Times:

“‘We should not be content to pass healthcare legislation on a party-line basis,’ McCain said in a lengthy statement criticizing the GOP rush to pass a repeal bill without any hearings and little public scrutiny.”

So McCain’s a great man now? Where was that characterization among Democrats as the war hero faced off against Obama a decade ago? Nowhere to be found.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the worst politics has to offer, courtesy of Democratic Georgia Rep. John Lewis.

2018:

“Senator John McCain was a warrior for peace. He will be deeply missed by people all around the world.”

Senator John McCain was a warrior for peace. He will be deeply missed by people all around the world.

— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) August 26, 2018

2008, via Politico:

“Civil rights icon John Lewis compared Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to George Wallace in a posting to Politico’s forum ‘The Arena,’ accusing McCain of fostering ‘an atmosphere of hate’ and ‘hostility’ like the one that led to white supremacists’ 1963 bombing of a church in Birmingham, Ala.”

I should probably also recognize the fact that racist George Wallace was a Democrat. And that the flag seems to matter a whole lot more when Donald Trump raises it back up than when NFL players refuse to stand in its honor.

Just pitiful.

Read the entire Arena piece at the bottom of this article.

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From The Arena, October 11, 2008:

As one who was a victim of violence and hate during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, I am deeply disturbed by the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign.  What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history.  Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse.

During another period, in the not too distant past, there was a governor of the state of Alabama named George Wallace who also became a presidential candidate.

George Wallace never threw a bomb.  He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights.  Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama.

As public figures with the power to influence and persuade, Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are playing with fire, and if they are not careful, that fire will consume us all.  They are playing a very dangerous game that disregards the value of the political process and cheapens our entire democracy.  We can do better.  The American people deserve better.