goinfor11x7 said:
I notice the money flow, i.e., power, is moving toward the Dems. Is this good? For the Dems, maybe. But for uncorrupted government, hardly.
Let's say you don't have a lof of $ and this guy gives you quite a few bucks. He says, "No strings attached, buddy. Use it to the best of your needs." How do you feel? You're owin' to him, aren't you? You want to pay him back, don't you? But how?
Well, if you end up in public office, duhhhhhhh!!, all of a sudden he reappears.
He's the devil in disguise. Mr. Corruption U.S.A. with a capital C.
You are correct. There is no doubting it and many a good men and women have fallen to such tactics. I don't know who I want to win. It just seems that election reform and campaign financing reform really needs to be addressed for starters. Corruption will always be there, but it's the way the system makes for the culture of corruption itself to exist that bothers me most of all. Ethics have gone out the window and being swept up in the allure of money/power can happen to anyone in any party regardless of the times, but particularly when there are no rules so as long as you don't get caught and you keep your mouth shut if you do.
As far as the campaign financing is concerned you have to wonder how Congress can usually be found sitting around a 30 percent job approval rating during less radical and corrupt times and yet most return to their jobs. I'd say it is much to do with our country's absolute disinterest in politics and our subsequent ignorance of our own politics (much less globally). Some of that ignorance can be blamed on our educational system and some of it on a plethora of other things having to do with a lack of emphasis on explaining the actual importance politics plays in society(and this could be achieved any number of ways and there are plenty of people trying to do just that at the local community levels), our pop culture, and the mass media's exploitation of our youth's disinterest in anything that is not trivial or pitched to them on TV.
But I ask you all how can this be that the very people who you elect and place trust in to represent your interests can be elected again and again despite such low approval? If it's any other job or anyone else then those people are out looking for new work. We understand it's a difficult job, but that is the job you campaigned for and claimed you could do or even excel.
I think it's a little too obvious that we vote most often based on which candidate receives the most exposure or which candidate's campaign ad was the most amusing. Perhaps it was that the incumbent's hair was shinier or looked like a good man or woman while the challenger just didn't seem right for the job.
We ought to bring back the stump, but add something to it. I'm calling for an agenda that is as widely publicized as the candidates themselves. Make known what you propose to stand for and what you will work for and then SHOW US HOW you will do just that. Then once you are elected you must work toward those goals on that agenda and if you do not meet a certain percentage of goals then we should know about it the next election cycle. It becomes quite a task for any challengers to overcome the money the incumbent has at their disposal all the while trying to expose what a poor job their opponent has done since being elected. Some people who were disappointed and at times greatly affected due to all the broken promises turn out to be the minority when it comes to those who know exactly what little the incumbent has accomplished or rather has not accomplished.
If we could level the playing field at least in that way we could turn the tables on all those agencies looking to turn their candidate into some crystalline figure of justice who stands for all that is humble and good. We could make these popularity contests into elections that are about the issues and about how we can resolve the problems our society faces. Only then will we start to fix the accountability problem we have right now.
How can we improve as a country when more than 40% of the people who are old enough to vote/register stay home on election day because they do not register or do not care? Often people say that they were too busy or had work and could not make it. It has been long since clear that we should have a national holiday for the Presidential elections or at least make it on a weekend each time, but it too is clear that we have a population of people who don't even feel like they can make a difference. Why else would they stay home or not even register? They obviously have to work, but if they were aware of the importance of not just their vote but of their awareness to how they can actually make a difference in fixing any problems they have by engaging politicians or joining up with community action groups they might then register/vote. "What's the point," is the other most frequent response to why people do not vote. If this many people feel powerless then the government obviously has neglected quite a few people. If you are repesented well and see results then you'll obviously feel empowered. Take for example motor voters or the attempt at registering the prolitariate of this country. In the last few elections they were disenfranchised in any number of ways you could fathom and while this is no change from the norm you would think if people were working together as was the case with moter voting that the two major parties would attempt to swoop in and at least woo them into their camps. Instead of having these poor people becoming encouraged voters they were let down by caging list and purge list tactics, letters telling them they wouldn't be allowed to vote, and the ultimate reason was the over-vote/under-vote or spoilage of votes by mainly black voters. Both parties have deployed their own dirty tricks, but this time in 2004 in particular it was the Republicans, who have been in charge for far too long if you ask me. My state, largely thanks to our Republican secretary of state happened to ensure that Ohio was the only one that did not sign a deal to rid itself of those "
hanging chad" voting machines that wreaked havoc in Florida, which helped disappear many other poor votes. It all begins with education namely making sure we improve our educational system to begin with by making sure it doesn't completely erode at the foundation and by also emphasizing history/government/politics and classes devoted to civic responsibility. We also obviously need to make sure we are providing the best environment possible to nurture/produce high-school graduates and making higher education more accessible. It'll take more than that obviously, but it does start with our kids and by making sure we do the best to shape their futures regardless of where they live.
I am tired of hearing these Dems talking and behaving as though it is all about how to win elections. NO IT ISN'T! First of all you DO NOT abandon those who placed their trust in your party to represent their values and interests. Secondly, you don't sell your soul to win elections unless you are just about the power, authority, and the money. We need leaders who can actually show that they can lead and work together to form a network devoted helping the people improve society. I don't care which party shows that they are devoted to that and only that.
. In short I think our country is fucked.
