Hi all!
I have been an independent voter as long as I can remember. I have NEVER been a supporter of the two party system. Neither major party has EVER represented my views.
Our most recent election is the first time I have voted for a Democrat. (i have NEVER voted Republican) I felt I had to; I could no longer just “vote my conscience”. America needed change, and I had to help make that happen. AND WE DID. Ending the Bush Regime was necessary for America.
I knew that Bush was lying, I knew we didn’t need to go to war with Iraq, and I was one of the people screaming from the beginning that it was not in America’s best interest to do so. I also knew that those responsible for the 9/11 tragedy were NOT affiliated with Iraq. I knew it because I did my homework at the time; I didn’t follow the lemmings, and I didn’t listen to mainstream media. The truth WAS out there, I just took the time to find it, as did many others who wanted to know the TRUTH.
It took about six years before the rest of the nation caught on. Six years, at roughly $8B a month, with thousands of lives lost.
So we as a nation voted for “change”. We listened to the promises of the Democratic party: the opposition of the incumbent, war-profiteering machine. Our hope was renewed. “Hope and change!”
It has been 8 months. Have we seen hope and change? Well, not really. Is this a surprise? Well, actually it is. We really did believe that change was coming. We really did feel hope restored for a while.
So what happened? Were we misled? Were we just foolish? Did Obama flat-out LIE?
I don’t think so. The President has always appeared to be an intelligent man who cares about his country, and he still does appear so to me. But I do believe he learned the real politics of Washington: It’s all about the “Benjamins”, and almost everyone is in someone else’s pocket.
Since the election, there is one thing that has become crystal clear as THE primary problem within our government: the influence of corporate lobbyist money.
I’ve always known that the influence was there. I’ve always known that perks and incentives were part of the political game. But I have never before felt the way I do NOW, that the corporate lobbyist money has gone BEYOND influence, to outright PAYOLA for CORRUPTION. This is clearly the case, and it is not localized to one party. Both sides of Congress are equally guilty of selling out the citizens they represent, for the corporate powers who fill their bank accounts.
The influence of corporate lobbyist money must be CUT OFF. There is no way we as individual Americans can compete with corporate entities to buy politicians. Nor should we HAVE to. The Founding Fathers never meant America to be a “pay to play” nation. But who in their right minds would expect Congress to kill the golden goose? Surely the players in position today will never vote to stop this source of funding.
So what do we do?
Many Americans today are expressing their frustration with the government. Even those who voted for “change” are losing faith, indicating they will “sit out” of the next election, or will stop contributing to Democratic candidates. This frustration is justified, as we are not getting the service we voted for last November. But to “sit out”, or to rescind sponsorship of one party over the other indicates a critical flaw in thinking. WE NO LONGER NEED TO BE LIMITED TO TWO PARTIES.
This is the 21st century. The age of the Internet. For the first time ever, the individual has a voice loud enough to be heard around the world. People all over the nation, and the globe, can hear these very words if they simply log in to this page and read them. We are no longer restricted by the limitations of the extreme financial requirements to use the previous age’s popular media. We don’t need radio; we don’t need television, and we don’t need millions of dollars to participate in our own government anymore.
So, WHAT DO WE DO?
I’m glad you asked. As in, that you’re still reading this, and still want to know. Here’s my plan:
1. WE MUST SEPARATE THE GOOD APPLES FROM THE BAD
Not all politicians are bad. Some are very good. They act in the best interests of our nation as a whole, and in the best interests of their constituents. THESE politicians must be identified and endorsed. Meanwhile, the bad apples must be identified and scrutinized. We must list their wrongdoings publicly, so there can be no denying that their removal is necessary. We must remove those who have been bought by the highest bidder, who have voted against policies that empower the people of this nation, and who have voted for policies which victimize us as well.
2. WE MUST IDENTIFY TRUSTWORTHY INDIVIDUALS TO TAKE THE LEAD
Obviously, we’re going to want to eliminate a lot of incumbents, because really, there’s a lot of rotten apples in our bushel right now. Who will replace them? I’m sorry, but I am no longer satisfied with choosing the “lesser of two evils”. The days of voting this way have lead us to where we are today. IT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH ANYMORE.
We must identify trustworthy individuals. Real “salt of the Earth” types. People you’d trust to watch your kids, or care for your sick mother, or have helped you and many others, selflessly, because it was the right thing to do. We must identify these men and women as decent Americans, who will answer the call from their community and their nation. People who will understand that this is THE TIME. This is it, now or never, to step up as patriots and reclaim our government. A government meant to be “by the people, for the people, and of the people.”
3. WE MUST SPREAD THE WORD AND MAKE IT HAPPEN
Some of us already know quality individuals that would “fit the bill”. How many people have made you say to yourself, “I’d vote for them in a heartbeat”? Well, YOU may know this person, but what about your neighbor? They may not know. How do we share this information effectively?
To do this effectively, we must use our new power, the Internet. This medium is truly the people’s medium. YouTube, social network sites, and blogger sites are the way for us to share TRUTH, share power, and ultimately take control back from those that would hoard oower for their individual gains.
I am working to create a website now. The purpose of this site will be to identify and expose the good and bad politicians, as well as the trustworthy citizens to be suggested as replacements for candidacy. Eventually I will expand this site to allow public discussion of bills, so we can truly identify the public’s opinion, not the opinion manipulated by media spin; not the opinion paid for by corporate funding.
We can do this. We can rebuild our Congress. We have the technology, we can rebuild it, and it won’t cost $6 million dollars. This will be our revolution; 21st century style patriotism. The web will be our battleground, and we will win.
you are absolutely right. political party affiliations are meaningless, as they always have been. that is why they can be switched so easily. the elite don’t care which pin is on their lapel so long as they have the power they need to keep the cash flowing in their direction.
i have never identified with a party because i don’t agree completely with any party. i believe in supporting what is best for all americans as a whole. the greater good. a socialized democracy with a well regulated, capitalist economy. in the 21st c., the technology exists to provide all citizens with the basic needs, while allowing innovation to be rewarded in a capitalist system. but capitalism is not a self sustaining system. much like a game of Monopoly, eventually there is one player remaining with all of the assets. This cannot exist in a healthy society. No matter how much Goldman Sachs wants it.
My primary goal, and the first step that must be taken, is to create a focal point where accurate information can be shared about our existing politicians, and our potential replacement candidates. Nationwide, we must identify who can be placed into office that will do what the republic of America deserves.
Political parties always have an agenda. The difference between what I believe, and what they believe, is that I support what America deserves. Our inherent rights. Our human rights. To deny these rights is to abandon morality and ethics.
In the name of righteousness for american citizens, we must create a new system that pursues and protects our rights. THIS is what our Founding Fathers fought for, and so many patriots died for.
We will do this.
I don’t refer to myself as a Democrat though I am registered that way, I usually will say I’m progressive or liberal.
At times like these, when Dems are being just as bribed as Repubs by the health care industry to fight against reform, it’s clear that no party is innocent of corruption.
It’s not the party or even the person sometimes, it is the principle.
If, for instance, the Dems and Pres. Obama were scared away from a public option, I would take a big step back from supporting or contributing.
It’s about principles, the GOP has one-by-one decimated every principle they boasted about, economic conservatism, family values, keeping government out of our private lives…the Dems have a challenge between what’s easy and what’s right or they too will publicly disqualify themselves as principled.
I am encouraged by the prospect of splitting up the HC bill so the public option could be passed by a simple majority.
I will be very enthusiastic about Dems and Pres. Obama if this succeeds. On to September…
Excellent post and you made some great recommendations that I fully endorse.
One of the first things we need to do is dismantle the idea of corporate person-hood. Nothing has perverted our system of government more than giving corporations all the rights of individuals like freedom of speech etc. Citizens through government should be the masters of corporations and not visa versa.
you are absolutely right. that is definitely a critical element to rebalancing the power between corporations and the working class. even though the elite don’t like it, balance of power is necessary to maintain a capitalist system. there must be a ying/yang effect for any system to maintain. the core problem with most elitists, like most western religious zealots, is their linear thinking. the problem with linear thinking is it mandates and END POINT. unfortunately, societies, nor anything that must self-sustain, can have one of those.
Have you seen the documentary “The Corporation”? It is fantastic, very entertaining as it shows how corporations moved from being single purpose entities for the public good into the vicious, greedy “people” dominating our planet.
Not PlanetPOV of course.
The additional challenge here is the status quo in the Dem Party who can be just as adversarial towards the will of the people as the GOP.
They will continue to pour money into Dem candidates who stand in the way of progress just to have a majority and retain power.
What I would really like to see as part of the approach you propose is a grass roots, online funding setup, much like funded Obama, that was organized specifically for the purposes you detail, for people to finance alternatives to the status quo, corporate puppet politicians.
If such candidates won and wanted to receive funding again for re-election, they’d have to show allegiance to what’s best for the people and fend off corporate influence or another candidate would be funded against them.
Anyone got a few million to get the ball rolling on this?
my reply above was addressed to you. i hit the wrong reply button apparently.
we don’t need that much money. the internet is still free. this is our medium. this is our power. we can reach farther than television or radio now. these words will endure so long as a server maintains this page. we don’t need money, so much as we need interconnectivity. we must reach out to the like-minded. then we must reach out to the confused. then we must reach out to the opposition that has a righteous core. we can show them that what we do is done because it is RIGHT; not merely part of an agenda. then all that is left is the enemy. those who would sacrifice the rights of the many for their personal gain. and they will be the minority, and there power will be diffused. we must do this to survive as the great nation we were created to be.
I totally agree. I was suggesting something additional though.
Money is what talks in politics once most pols are elected. If you can’t beat ’em (and prevent the corporations and wealthy elite from buying off politicians) then join them.
There needs to be public financing too but the way it’s dealt with through the government is weak.
Obama was publicly funded and won the presidency, he just did it on his own through the internet.
My thought is that creating an independent public financing entity created and financed by regular citizens would give them much more influence with politicians to respect their interests before, during and after an election.