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Government No Longer Working for the People
Published 01/14/09 Craig Harrington
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I want to emphasize this point because I think it is an integral part of the lesson we will take away from the sordid Blagojevich affair — that of civic responsibility. Rod Blagojevich had been under investigation for criminal dealings since 2005. His connection to corrupt businessman Tony Rezko is well known. He was irascible, arrogant and crooked, and the people of Illinois re-elected him nonetheless in 2006
… Another quid pro quo scandal could be disillusioning, particularly to all the new democrats, new voters and young people who were inspired by Obama. But hope should not be lost. That same fervor which elevated the democrats to absolute power must be harnessed to excise the cancerous flesh from the body.… Democracy’s New Year’s resolutions should include a renewed focus on transparency and ethics. At a time when much of the nation is struggling to just stay afloat during a deep recession, Americans need to be able to renew their faith in those in power. Yes, political power can ultimately become a temptation to corruption for over ambitious polls, but I still believe it is possible to elect leaders with integrity. But this will require insistence upon accountability and honesty in our elected officials, and swift and decisive action against those who fail to meet that critical, minimal standard |
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guest says "We get what we deserve" on 01/14/09
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glen says "Always vote against the free-trade incumbent" on 01/14/09
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Quote: "The American people are told that they have the right to vote, but our two-party system virtually erases any chance of getting a truly competent candidate."
Actually, there are electoral solutions to this that don't involve third parties. Namely, it is to always vote for the opposing candidate over the incumbent, even if the opposing candidate is just as bad (or even far worse) on the trade issue. While it may be true that we may be stuck with nothing but free trade candidates, once politicians realize that support for free trade is a one-way ticket to a single term, many if not most start to moderate their positions, seeing that it would be necessary for them to do so to remain in power, especially when they realize that the old argument ("Ha! Ha! Ha! You might as well vote for me because the other guy is even worse on free trade!") no longer works. Further, the incoming elected official, even if he was singing free trade 24/7 during their campaign, when they realize that the earlier guy got shown the door precisely because of free trade views, not surprisingly will more often than not start to moderate his own views, with an eye towards his own future reelection. Nothing new here--this voting tactic is also useful in fighting for better immigration control, when you have two open-border Democratic and Republican candidates. Instead of voting for the lessor of two evils, just vote against the incumbent. |
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guest says "American voters" on 01/14/09
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That is because, American voters do not DO NOT vote using their head. The voters are manipulated by sophisticated marketing programs, but what can you do? The same people are in office for years. In some Red states there are a lot of people out of jobs, but they do not blame the free traders. They listen to the talking heads and vote for the free traiters! Do you know that the genocide in Rwanda happened due to the talking heads exciting people to start a civil war? Now we are like Sunnis and Shias, we are fighting between democrats and republicans....
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guest says "GOVERNMENT" on 01/14/09
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YOU KNOW-THEY CHANGE THE GOOD OLD BOYS IN WASHINGTON EVERY 4 TO 8 YEARS,NOTHING CHANGES, ALL IT IS IS THE SAME OLD CIRCUS-ALL WE DO IS CHANGE THE CLOWNS
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http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/house.aspx