I came across a word the other day describing a form of government I had not considered before. I’d heard of kleptocracy, plutocracy, autocracy, etc. One form of government we seem to find ourselves facing today is a kakistocracy. What is that? Government by the “least suitable or competent citizens of a state.”
“The American regime has become a tawdry theatrocracy in which political actors, hypokritai in Greek, play stock characters in a loathsome farce.” wrote Jacob Howland at Unherd.com, in a broader article about the state of the nation. I had not considered this before, that perhaps the roles of the MoCo Council really are just equivalent to what actors do in a theater. These politicians from Montgomery County certainly enjoy showering theaters with state taxpayer money.
For evidence of the theatrics and constant hot air coming from Rockville, let’s review a recent summer timeline of “proclamations” coming from the MoCo Council’s chambers. We can then quickly juxtapose these “official proclamations” with events happening in and around Montgomery County this summer.
On May 16th, 2023 there was an official “proclamation recognizing American Craft Beer Week”, by Councilmembers Luedtke and Fani-González.
On May 23rd, the iconic Flying Dog Brewery in next-door Frederick, MD announced it was sold to another brewer / business and closing. No more of its iconic craft beers will be brewed in Maryland come this August. One of the main reasons? Stupid, arbitrary, protectionist state regulations that prevented Flying Dog from expanding operations in MD when it wanted to. “FX Matt Brewing Co. had been brewing many of Flying Dog’s dogs over the last 10 years due to the limitations of the brewery in Frederick.” reported WBALTV.com.
Councilmember Luedtke’s husband Eric, is a former state delegate from Olney, MD who authored numerous protectionist, monopoly-enabling beer and alcohol bills in the past (to little avail) that did absolutely nothing to improve the business conditions for MD’s craft brewers or let them to expand and compete nationally or globally.
On June 2, 2023 there as a broadcasted (64 views and counting) “proclamation of gun awareness month presser” at which “Montgomery County government officials held a press conference to discuss gun violence and solutions to the problem.”
According to spotcrime.com analytics, there were 317 (reported) crime incidents in Montgomery County in June, 2023. A stunning spike over crime incidents reported in April and May.
On June 13, 2023 there was a “proclamation recognizing Caribbean American Heritage Day” by Councilmember Sayles.
On June 27, 2023 there was a “commemoration recognizing Pride Month 2023” by Council President Glass and the full Council. The entire month of June saw non-stop posts by Councilmembers (mainly CM Glass) about “Pride Month” and various national topics. Again, per spotcrime.com, June was a horrible month for (reported) crime and public safety in Montgomery County, MD.
On July 11, 2023 there was a “proclamation recognizing National Parks and Recreation Month, by Councilmember Friedson.
On July 13, 2023 a reported five people were injured in a mass shooting outside of longtime bar / restaurant Sole D’Italia in northern Silver Spring / Layhill headed towards areas north.
On July 25, 2023 there was a “proclamation recognizing World Listening Day”, by Councilmember Sayles. According to the website nationaltoday.com, “World Listening Day” is hosted every year by the World Listening Project, a nonprofit organization that is “devoted to understanding the world and its natural environment, societies, and cultures through the practice of listening and field recording.”
Everyone knows County Exec Marc Elrich is a heck of a listener…
(Image above is from four-plus years ago)
MoCo appears to still be “benchmarking to be the ‘best’ for business in 2023 – with really paltry results.
Not to be outdone, on July 25, 2023 as well, the MoCo Council was busy as they issued a proclamation “recognizing Minority Mental Health Month” – this time issued by Councilmembers Jawando, Albornoz, and Sayles.
There was also yet another Juneteenth holiday proclamation delivered by CM Jawando earlier in the summer as well. In prior statements reflecting on American history or Black History Month, CM Jawando has made very misleading or outright false statements about his own familial history.
I didn’t even include all of the official proclamations issued these past three-plus months because the list would overwhelm this post. But the pattern is clear. Lots of hot air and proclamations. But the actual issues? The on-the-ground stuff like crime and business creation and jobs and inflation? Not much officially “posted” there by this Council.
Related posts:
As Black History Month 2023 Draws to Close, Questionable Past Statements Made by Council Members Come Into Focus
Examining Nancy Navarro’s “Proudest Achievements” in Thirteen Years of Council Activity
Will Jawando Doubles Down on Conflating His Family History with Black Foundational American History