Commentary: Big Tent Ideas

Patriots, Pigs And Traitors: The Three Kinds Of Politicians

Screen Capture/PBS NewsHour

I have come to believe that Washington has three kinds of politicians: patriots, pigs and traitors. Harsh? Maybe. But look at what happens in Congress and tell me these three descriptions don’t fit.

Patriots understand that public office is a responsibility, not a prize. They believe the Constitution places limits on government for good reason. They respect our liberties, defend the rule of law and recognize that the American people are their employers, not their subjects. They may disagree about taxes, spending, immigration or foreign policy. Disagreement does not disqualify anyone from being a patriot. The willingness to put country ahead of personal advantage is what matters.

Unfortunately, I fear there are too few of them.

Then there are the pigs. And yes, I use that word deliberately to describe certain politicians’ attitudes toward public service. These are politicians who treat Washington like a feeding trough. They arrive promising reform and quickly discover the comforts of power, influence and prestige. Keeping the job becomes more important than doing the job.

They learn which donors to please, which committee assignments carry influence and which positions will attract the least political resistance. They speak passionately about fiscal responsibility while tolerating spending they would condemn if the other party proposed it. They promise transparency until transparency becomes inconvenient. Principles are negotiable. Reelection is not.

The trouble with the pigs is not simply their appetite for power. It is their willingness to follow whoever seems strongest. They watch polls, donors, party leadership and the latest political winds before deciding where they stand. If defending the Constitution is popular, they will waive the Constitution. If surrendering another measure of freedom becomes politically convenient, many will find a speech to justify that, too.

And that brings us to the most troubling category: traitors.

I am not talking about Americans who simply disagree over taxes, spending or the proper role of government. I am talking about those who seek to dismantle from within the constitutional republic they have sworn to defend. Among the most troubling are communists and radical socialists who openly advocate replacing our free-enterprise system with government control of production, abolishing institutions such as the United States Senate and fundamentally rewriting the constitutional framework that restrains government power. This is not about tweaking government policy. This is about fundamentally changing America into something its founders never intended.

What concerns me even more is the willingness of some elected officials to pursue these objectives while taking an oath to support and defend the very Constitution their agenda would undermine. They seek government power that exceeds constitutional limits, support laws that disregard constitutional protections and promote economic systems that would replace private ownership and individual choice with political control. There is a legitimate constitutional process for proposing change. But using public office to circumvent constitutional restraints while working to destroy the system those restraints protect is something entirely different. I believe Americans have every right to call that a betrayal of their country.

Here is where the three categories become dangerous together.

The patriots may stand firm. Those pushing to weaken constitutional restraints may remain committed to their goals. But the self-interested politicians, the pig majority, are watching to see which side offers the better path to keeping power. And as the balance of power shifts, their votes will shift with it. What they claimed to believe yesterday may become politically inconvenient tomorrow.

That is why the character of those in Congress matters just as much as the policies being debated. A constitutional republic cannot depend entirely on politicians who discover their convictions after consulting the latest poll. Nor can it survive indefinitely if voters excuse conduct from their own party that they would find intolerable in the opposition.

We should ask tougher questions of everyone seeking office. Will you defend the Constitution even when your party wants to ignore it? What spending will you oppose even if it benefits your district? Will you protect the speech and religious liberty of people who disagree with you?

Those questions reveal more than a campaign slogan ever could.

America does not need representatives who promise to save the republic while treating public office as personal property. It needs men and women who understand that the Constitution is not an inconvenience and that the nation’s future is more important than their political careers.

Ultimately, we are the ones who put these people in office. And we are the ones who will have to live with what they do to our country.

So, who are you voting into office this November? Patriots, pigs or traitors?

Financial Issues Stewardship Ministries (FISM) host Mark Minnella brings 35 years of experience helping individuals invest with biblical integrity. He was the founder and president of one of the first investment advisories dedicated to biblically responsible investing principles. A co-founder of the National Association of Christian Financial Consultants and creator of the CFCA designation, Mark has been a voice for biblical stewardship through radio, writing and speaking for over 30 years. He hosted “More Than Money” on Bott Radio Network for 17 years and is the author of “The Wall Street Awakening.” Mark and his wife, Cindy, live in St. Louis, MO and have three grown children.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.