Did “The Wire” Presage Politics Post-2008?

by Guest Contributor Aymar Jean Christian, originally published at Televisual

Get ready for reason #573 why The Wire was the best television show of the aughts. In the wake of Scott Brown’s upset in the Massachusetts special election for the U.S. Senate, I’ve been thinking a lot about the cycle of politics. I’ve been a pretty steady proponent of the politics of idealism and, borrowing from Tony Kushner, the ethical responsibility to hope, but the aftermath of Martha Coakley’s defeat may test my resolve. Where can I find the blueprint for my incipient cynicism? The Wire, of course!

The Wire’s central thesis was simple: short-term politics and the quest for power kills long-term progress and social justice. From gangs to government, the media to schools, the same rule applies. Everyone, sadly, violates the rule. They think about themselves and the system never gets fixed. This is the fundamental cynicism of The Wire: it perfectly diagnoses how groups and institutions kill hope.

But it appears Washington has few Wire fans.

Democrats are already backing away from healthcare reform, declaring it over, and plotting to effectively kill reform by promising to wait to seat Brown. Majority leaders Pelosi and Reid are pledging to press on, but it’s uncertain whether they hold the party together for the 15-20 day window before Brown has to be seated.

Why back away from reform? In fact, the way to political viability and social justice is to pass legislation, and there’s a clear path to (pseudo)-victory. In order to avoid a replay of 1992 — which has been the mantra since negotiations began last year — Democrats have to act. In fact, had they acted faster and more decisively last year, they probably could have avoided this whole mess (Maybe. Unemployment, after all, is high. This is complicated argument and besides the point anyway).

But each legislator is acting in self-interest and self-preservation. Conservative Dems think they can avoid the Republican tidal wave in the fall by doing nothing on healthcare (do no harm by doing nothing). Liberal Dems want to “kill the bill” out of principle and spite.

What The Wire Tells Us About How Promising Politicians Fail Society

This is the kind of short-term thinking and power plays The Wire dramatized so astutely.

In the first part of the series, we get to know Democratic Mayor Royce (top, above), an embattled politician beset by crime and struggling schools. What’s his solution? Instead of striving for real reform, he asks bureaucrats to cook the books. Raise the crime stats artificially — as opposed to investing in lengthy, slow, deep police work and building community relationships — to improve his chances at reelection. Mayor Royce is weak and calculating, just like Democrats now.

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