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Now that qualified adults have returned to Washington, I look forward to not following politics as closely anymore
Someone I like and respect said I’m glad because “my guy won” and thinks I’ll just ignore anything bad or blame someone else. I can see how someone might jump to this conclusion, but please let me explain… /2
First, it’s not about “my guy” and “the other guy”. This isn’t football. It’s about who’s running the country, and that’s a whole raft of people not just “a guy”. But “the guy” picks the people and sets the tone, and that’s why I feel better today. /3
Government is about policy and leadership but it’s also about the day-to-day function of society. In fact, in many ways the daily function of government is much more important than the “big picture” ideas from the White House, and these come from the departments. /4
The President picks department heads, cabinet members, secretaries, and so on, and they drive the daily function of government. This is where government comes into our lives. And, like them or not, the entire nation depends on them showing up and doing their job. /5
Let’s take the @USPS for example. We interact with them on a daily basis, and depend on them for much of what we do in business and in regular life. I don’t love paying bills, but I need to rely on delivery in both directions. It has to work. /6
The same is true of the IRS, which no one loves but still needs to function. People might not know it, but they are impacted by the departments of Treasury, Commerce, Labor, HUD, Energy, and so on every day in 100 ways. And some people are especially reliant on them. /7
I don’t want to sound preachy (or like a 1970s educational animation) but these are important. Especially Education, which affects the life of nearly everyone with a child in their life, Defense and VA, and Homeland Security. We can’t screw these up! /8
Of course these Secretaries haven’t always done a great job, and Presidents sometimes pick lackeys, ideologues, and sycophants for these roles. But our system of hearings, Senate confirmation, and ultimately the voting booth should tamp this down. /9
(I just realized I was tagging @USPS in all these. Sorry!) /9b
Although I’m more politically progressive than many, especially around “people” issues, I’m not a radical. If I sound like one perhaps we should talk more. In fact, my fundamental desire is just good governance: Pick leaders who believe in their department’s mission. /10
@POTUS has picked centrist technocrats for most roles. I’m very happy with this. I want people in government like @JanetYellen, @LloydAustin, Gary Gensler, Miguel Cardona, @AliMayorkas, @Michael_S_Regan, @LindaT_G, Katherine Tai, @CeciliaERouse, @Eric_Lander, and @ChopraFTC! /11
Some are more problematic. Is @ABlinken right for State?Did he pick Merrick Garland just to stick it to Senate Republicans? Should he have gone with Tom Vilsack again? I’m really not sure. But at least they’re not openly antagonistic to the mission of their department. /12
Then there are the politicians. I like what I see of @DebHaalandNM, @marty_walsh, and @PeteButtigieg, but are they the best choices for those roles? Yet even here we have pretty centrist candidates (though I bet my conservative friends will see them differently). /13
But the bottom line is we have a moderate approach to picking reasonable adults to run the government. And that’s what we all need: A government that does its thing instead of actively jumping off the rails. Keep things running so I can live my life. /14
And this is why I said I was glad I could stop focusing on politics. I think the new @POTUS is going to run the country in a way that will let me focus on my life instead of being terrified at the “fresh hell of the day” out of Washington. /FIN
