The Honorable Mr. Smalley

I'm good enough to bust the filibuster

The newest senator somewhat bothers me

 

He who qualifies on skits of scorn

 

 Nary a comment about this triumph of irrationality

 

Is this contempt for the moderate who is now forlorn?

 

Were not the scales to be balanced oh so precisely?

 

Constitutional authors intended cool heads

 

Now a transformation of politics to celebrity

 

A blind electorate emotionally led

 

Has the wisdom of our forefathers now expired?

 

Have we achieved a new paradigm of thought?

 

Is sensational fervor better than traditional mire?

 

Or do we advance down a path they feared and fought?

 

Change is a siren the downtrodden lust to hear

 

Excused for elusiveness when ushered by fear

 

 

Reviews

[W.k.kortas]

To be fair, the notion of electing celebrities is not new--George Washington was, after all, the most famous person in the young United States, and Zachary Taylor and Ulysses S. Grant certainly had little to offer but fame as candidates. The rhyme scheme here is handled reasonably well, although a couple of rhymes (e.g., precisely/celebrity, expired/mire) are a bit of a reach. I found the meter to be a touch ragged, but not so much as to seriously detract from the piece. Solid piece of work.

[LJW]

Al Franken, gotta love him. Imagine this scene: Ronnie Reagan, Sonny Bono, Arnold Shwartzenegger and Al Franken at the retirement home putting on skits. Who votes for these fools? At least Sonny had the good grace to end his term early by cracking his dome on a tree.