Martin Janowski wants to get young people involved and interested in government with the help of his new book of essays, "New Wine, Fresh Skins!"
Janowski, who served as New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici's press secretary, certainly gears his book toward younger people - perhaps too well. The majority of his writing manages to talk down to an audience presumably ignorant of government proceedings, as if explaining to a five-year-old where babies come from.
Although he provides a pseudo-disclaimer for the "political junkies," his style still falls flat. He wrote that his book offers "commentary that appears obvious, oversimplistic and, if your ox is getting gored, a tad judgmental." Right on all targets, so thanks for the warning.
Granted, Janowski said his book should not be construed as a book of solutions, but a basis for beginning conversations on the United States federal government.
"I consider this book a wake-up call in terms of getting people together to talk about what they want the future of the country and government to be," he said in an interview with the Daily Lobo. "Success of the government is determined by how many people are in the process and more and more people are dropping out of the political process."
However, one gets the feeling Janowski is actually treating those ignorant or apathetic toward governmental procedure as children, making it necessary to take what he says with a grain of salt.
In one of the book's essays, entitled "How Washington Really Works," Janowski writes, "Members of Congress reflect the people who sent them there. We send up our Representative or our Senator to Washington with the express interest of `doing something' there. Be honest, now. Would you vote for someone who ran a campaign saying that the Federal government has too many laws?"
It's hard to give Janowski much credit for posing a question that many young people with any common sense have already figured out. College students and 20-somethings - as apathetic as they sometimes may be - already understand basic campaign promises. They're more inclined to be utterly disgusted with the candidates and cast protest votes.
Another example of this is when in his essay, "Let's Really Clean Up Politics," he wrote "Politicians are generally intelligent enough (after all, they got YOU to vote for them!)." Well, that certainly makes voters feel smart, confident and informed. His statement raises an interesting point in the form of our current president. "Not the brightest crayon in the box" doesn't even begin to describe George W. Bush. Of course, that too reflects poorly on our voting judgment.
Janowski's Republican bias is abundantly present throughout his book. The two main presidents he discusses are Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, and though he criticizes both men, it's on completely different levels.
He affably described Reagan's "greatest legacy" as leaving Washington politics consisting of "a common-sense notion that government programs cost money, money paid by people in taxes."
Janowski also wrote that "Ronald Reagan did what he could, under the circumstances and for that a nation is grateful." A bit presumptuous to speak on behalf of an entire nation about a president that sent the national debt sky high and was later proven to be the first president to manipulate the press in innovative ways that should shame all journalists then and now.
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He wrote about Clinton using nothing but scathing and contemptuous words. In the essay, "The Reagan Legacy and the Clinton Corollary" Janowski wrote, "Clinton learned early in the health care reform debacle of 1993-94 that change had to be made in small and unnoticeable chunks, so as no to arouse a sleepy electorate, fully conditioned to pay a `little bit more' in taxes each year, as long as the economy kept on growing."
Clinton certainly wasn't a shining example of sainthood, but neither was Reagan. Both presidents had an air of amiability about them that seemed to overshadow their politics, at least until one of them couldn't keep his zipper up. Let's level the playing field a bit, Janowski.
Janowski does make several interesting points throughout his book on a variety of issues concerning taxes, federal spending, education and journalism, but he couldn't quite pull through his own biases, which worked against him. Perhaps he spent a little too much time in public relations to come back and make a true journalistic statement.
Readers can comment on the book or e-mail Janowski on his Web site, www.newwinefreshskins.com, or if they want a copy of the book, they can call his toll free number at 1-877-676-6937.
