LOCAL 'NOBLESSE OBLIGE' COMMITTEES? MORE LIKE NO-BLESSE OBLIGE!

The Santa Barbara Independent, bless their nostalgic hearts, recently waxed poetic about the supposed 'absence of the district-level campaign committee,' practically weeping into their organic fair-trade lattes over what they called a loss of 'continuity, danger recognition, and a sense of noblesse oblige.' We here at The Whipping Post, however, recognize that what they're really lamenting is the loss of tightly-controlled, backroom deals by a select few 'community leaders' who *really* knew what was best for us all.

Ah, the good old days! When an unelected committee of the well-heeled could quietly shepherd their preferred candidates into office, then pull their strings from behind velvet ropes, all under the guise of civic duty. The *Independent* seems to think this cabal was a bulwark against national media or digital outreach. We submit it was merely an archaic system ripe for cronyism, supplanted by the slightly more transparent cronyism of direct-mail and social media advertising. Progress, comrades!

Perhaps the *Independent* is truly pining for the days when a select few could dictate policy without the messy inconvenience of actual public scrutiny or, heaven forbid, actual voter engagement beyond mailing a check. Their 'noblesse oblige' sounds suspiciously like 'we know best, you just vote how we tell you.' The true angle they missed, naturally, is that less direct control by a small, self-appointed group of politicos means less opportunity for local development contracts to be 'steered' to favored donors and fewer hushed conversations determining who gets to run for local office. It’s almost as if the people are getting a sliver of their power back, much to the chagrin of the establishment.

So, while the *Independent* laments the vanishing era of unelected kingmakers, we raise a glass to the idea that direct engagement, however imperfect, is preferable to a shadowy 'committee' deciding our fate. The only 'danger' those committees recognized was the threat of an informed populace disrupting their cozy arrangements. Long live slightly less centralized control, even if it means the self-important feel a little less important.