Lingamfelter: Tick-Tock

By Scott Lingamfelter

Having spent a season of my life in elected politics, I have become very aware that political fortunes swing like a pendulum in a clock. And if you have a grandfather clock, as we do in our house, the pendulum swings slowly and methodically until the clock winds down. So too does the pendulum of our smaller wall clock, but much faster. But whether slow or fast, a pendulum in a clock depends on the clockworks that, when wound up, will sustain the movement of that pendulum. It’s a matter of mechanical engineering and physics.

However political pendulums swing not as a function of physical science, but rather political science. In fact the only thing either has in common with the other is the word “science.” Where they are similar is that the pendulum does indeed swing back and forth. The question is “how fast?”

I have witnessed the way political fortunes can change, sometimes slowly, sometimes rapidly. Party A may be in power now, but one day Party B (or maybe even Party C) will take the mantle of power away. Again, it’s a matter of time. And that’s where the political clockworks that move the political pendulum come into play. The key for a party in power is to manage the speed of that pendulum. It moves relentlessly and unforgivingly. So, how does a party slow the pendulum—or rather manage the speed of its momentum—so that a party can remain in power long enough to implement its agenda?

I have done a lot of thinking about this and I believe there are ways to manage the swing of political fortunes, but it requires much thought, patience, and wisdom to manage the expectations of voters who place a party in power.

First, political parties are notorious for miscalculating what they believe is their mandate. Now if a party wins by a lopsided margin at the polls, it is safe to say that they may indeed have a mandate to implement policies that it promised to install if elected. However, if a party wins by a narrow margin, it should be cautious as it pursues its agenda. If the meat-a-crats beat the veg-a-crats, it might be wise to stick with a cheese pizza rather than the pepperoni-hamburger-sausage super combo, even if it has extra cheese on it. The point is this. Parties should not assume a mandate they do not possess, lest they find the pendulum moving so fast that they are out of office before the pizza delivery arrives.

Second, in that regard, parties need to legislate wisely and modestly. In political campaigns, it’s all about words, promises, arguments, and rebuttals. But once the polls are closed, the balloon drop is over, and the oaths are taken, it’s all about legislating. And that means building consensus. Unlike a political campaign where in many cases a party can win with a plurality and not a simple majority, the legislative process does not work that way. To pass legislation, a party must have a majority vote, in most cases 50 percent plus one. In these times of division, that means offering thoughtful legislation that can garner enough votes to pass. In truth, campaigning for office is a cakewalk compared to the business of governance. And the parties that “move the ball” methodically are frequently more successful that those who attempt to quickly “throw the bomb” downfield only to see it drop incomplete in the end zone.

Third, it’s important to manage the speed of the pendulum with simple math. Political success is a matter of addition, not subtraction. The parties that focus on ideas, not identities, will add to their following. The American people are wiser than politicians sometimes think. People of every background know a good idea when they see one and the parties that advance wise ones will eventually see the pendulum swing their way. And the parties that implement those ideas carefully will slow that pendulum, for its movement is surely uninterrupted.

Fourth, like it or not, people like to like their leaders. Leaders such as Democrat Hubert Humphrey and Republican Ronald Reagan were known as “Happy Warriors,” even by their most ardent opponents. There is nothing wrong with a politician who is bold, even a bit boastful, but if they are obnoxious, insufferable, and ill-humored the pendulum will predictably knock them from the seat of power.

Finally, remember this. “Facto non verbo.” Deeds—not words—are what matter. Nothing makes the pendulum move faster than a party that does not keep its promises or at the first challenge abandons its principles in doing things that it says it will resist. Indeed, here the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson come to mind.

“What you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying.”

Tick-tock, tick-tock…

Scott Lingamfelter is a graduate of VMI and the University of Virginia Law School, a retired U.S. Army Colonel after 28 years of service, and a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002-18. He has written a book, Desert Redleg: Artillery Warfare in the First Gulf War. Find out more here.