“You Lie!” Screamed Representative Joe Wilson (R SC) in the middle of President Obama’s State of the Union Address. The folks in the chamber were stunned.
The only appropriate reaction at the State of the Union is applause. It is a solemn occasion, and the act of impropriety . Is The Wilson episode an example of the dearth of civility in our national political discourse?–the civility that is needed to overcome congressional logjam? It is almost uniformly accepted by most Americans–even political junkies–that there is a growing lack of civility in our political discourse–a lack of civility unfounded in the history of the two-party system..
However, the acrimony in modern American politics is not unprecedented. During our national infancy, the display of partisan tantrums was viscious and cut throat. It makes today’s political bickering seem like child’s play.
Unfortunately, we do not teach our children history in elementary school and high school–we teach them about the myth that is America. It is indeed a myth that Washington’s Adminitration was non-partisan. Washington’s cabinet was divided into two factions: The Democratic-Republicans led by Jefferson, and the Federalists led by Hamilton. Jefferson and Hamilton agreed on nothing and openly hated each other. And out of that discord and dislike the two party system was born.
Hamilton and Jefferson were Washington’s top advisers. Washington thought that it was beneficial to the decision-making process to have two men, for whom he has the utmost respect, advising him from two completely different political perspectives. He did not question their loyalty, nor did he question the purity of their motives.
However, Washington would not have been wrong in questioning Jefferson’s loyalties. His frustration towards Washington’s decision to adopt the Hamiltonian economic plan, and his ardent desire to keep America unencumbered from Revutionary France’s war with Britain, led Jefferson and his followers–who now started calling themselves “Democratic Republicans” because they stayed true to the republican principles of the revolution–to start partisan newspapers that criticized not only Hamilton, but the Washington Administration that Jefferson was an officer of. (“George Washington’s Mount Vernon.” George Washington’s Mount Vernon. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.)
Both Hamilton and Jefferson helped to create newspapers for their political parties: the New York Post and the National Gazette, respectively. Both periodicals launched vitriolic attacks on the leaders of the opposing party. The editors, with the backing of Hamilton and Jefferson, published articles that were bitter character assassinations.
In History of The United States, by James Callender, Hamilton’s adulterous affair with Maria Reynold’s, the wife of a United States Treasury Employee, was revealed. The source of the information: A Jefferson minion serving as the clerk of The U.S. House of Representatives by the name of John James Beckley.
Karma came back to bite Jefferson when, during his presidency, James Callender published an article revealing Jefferson’s sexual exploits with one of his slaves, Sally Hemmings (“Thomas Jefferson.” Library of Congress. Accessed March 13, 2015)
Jefferson continued to urge his political lieutenants to relentlessly attack the character of Secretary Hamilton: “For God’s sake, my dear sir, take up your pen, select the most striking heresies, and cut him to peices [sic] in the face of the Republic.” (Ibid.)
Secretary of The Treasury, Alexander Hamilton thought Jefferson a dangerous Francophile. Hamilton quipped, “They (Jefferson and Madison) have a womanish attachment to France, and a womanish resentment against Britain.”
Civility was not an ideal that the original partisans, Hamilton and Jefferson, aimed for. They are both the fathers of our current two-party system, and they were both heavily engaged in vitriolic bickering, character assassination, political scandals, and sex scandals. So before saying to yourself “our country has never been so partisan,” take a look at the partisan past.
The New American Progressive
I grew up in the Old Harbor Housing Development in the Irish American neighborhood of South Boston. Currently, Southie has gained fame for being the home of gangsters, powerful politicians, and as the toughest inner city neighborhood in America. It is the home of Speaker of the House McCormick; but it’s the home of three housing projects as well. It’s the home of Senate President Bulger; but it’s also the home of Jimmy “Whitey” Bulger—the most infamous gangster of our generation.
I survived the streets of South Boston by learning to defend myself in a boxing gym with national champions and professional boxers. I still box to this day. I also am very blessed to come from a family that values education and demands top academic performance. Out of my Irish grandmother, who has her high school diploma, she had a daughter that put herself through nursing school as a single mom (my mother); out of four grandchildren, I went to Boston College High School founded in 1864 by the Jesuits as Boston College, and the girls went to Fontbonne Academy. Both are college preparatory schools run by the Jesuits and the Sisters of Saint Joseph, respectively. These Catholic orders inculcate their students with the belief that we are meant to be of service to others. Three of the four have Bachelors Degrees. One has a graduate degree, and I am a graduate degree candidate at Suffolk University in marketing. My BA is in political science.
I ran a multiplicity of Boston campaigns. I managed campaigns and was field coordinator. However, as field coordinator, my role was that of a campaign manager. I developed the theme, message, and strategy. The candidate and I start off with a SWOT analysis, and go from their. It requires tremendous trust for a public official to put her reputation in your hands, to trust you with their deepest, darkest secrets, and to develop a working relationship, so that the candidate does not need to be a campaign manager. Not all candidates are political scientists who grew up in politics and knew that campaigning was one of their callings.
I remember taking on a campaign managing role in one of my campaigns en medias res, and it was a campaign manager’s worst nightmare: I had an articulate, courageous, progressive candidate from a great Latino family, including a father who was a Boston Public School teacher. However, he knew not how to campaign. I proudly took over that campaign. That candidate went on to serve as the Boston Coordinator for Kennedy’s U.S. Senate bid.
I ran a presidential campaign for a labor union, and I needed to utilize my Southie street smarts to come out with the win.
I worked for the Obama ‘08 Campaign as a co-founder of South Boston for Obama. I then worked for him for a year in NH, where I got to meet and speak with him.
I served in two branches of government. I worked for the Committee for Public Counsel Services (public defenders), and, as an Adams, who going all the way back to John Adams, believed that the keystone to free society was fair and proper representation under the law for all people, no matter the court of public opinion.
I also worked in the legislative branch for a statesman named Senator Hart. I did constituent service work, which was so rewarding. I got to give back to a community that gave me the opportunity to achieve my dreams and goals.
As an undergraduate at Suffolk University where I served as the President of the Pre-Law Association and graduated with a 3.4 GPA, I was honored to be given a scholarship to study the effects of fascism and communism on Central Europe after writing a paper about my own family’s tragic experiences in Poland during Nazi occupation. I completed an independent study with a brilliant political scientist, Kenneth Cosgrove, PhD., author of Branded Conservatives, opened my eyes up to the ways in which conservatives successfully utilize modern marketing techniques to win elections. They shifted the country to the right with their use of marketing strategies.
I am currently an MSM (Masters in Science in Marketing) candidate at Suffolk University. I am proficient with Wordpress and Squarespace; Google Analytics; social media advertising campaigns; and other forms of marketing like STP (Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning).
This site will be the home of my new blog that will discuss politics and marketing.
I hope my life experience and my education in these fields creates a healthy dialogue that can lead to higher truths.
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