Thank God it's over...
Finally! Election season is over for yet another couple years. You know, as I have gotten older, I have noticed a couple of disturbing trends in the way we elect people. Don't get me wrong, pick who you want, how you want. It's your right.
Most people today seem to vote by party line. If you're a Democrat, you vote for Democrats, same thing for Republicans. However, I wonder how many people are totally informed on what the candidate's platform is that they're voting for. I think there is actually a good number of people that blindly vote for a party because that's what some influencing person does - be it a parental figure, pastor, group leader, etc. How many of those people even know what the candidate stands for, or even for that matter what the Party's platform is that they are voting for. Couple of bucks say that they have no clue.
Which brings me to a second point. With campaign ads run the way that they are run now a days, how can you really tell who stands for what? I mean, you can hear any supposedly bad thing you want about a candidate if you choose to truly believe what the ads say. However, do the ads tell the whole story? Heck no. They take snippets of bills and quotes to make the other guy look as bad as possible. However, if a guy didn't vote for a bill, ask yourself - why didn't he vote for it? Now, it seems every congressman tries to slide some pork belly rider onto the back end of a bill that needs to be passed that may be the exact cause of a voting decision. So, most of the time, it's not about the bill itself. Look into it.
Again back to the ads themselves. Just look at the ads themselves. Most are sensationalist and way over the top. However, do any of them really give any insight to how the candidate feels about the issues at hand? For 99% of the ads, the answer is no. I am beginning to be convinced that this year, we could have had a true Communist run (and get lots of votes), and just sling mud wih the best of 'em for a political ad, and nobody would be the wiser. ....OH WAIT, that happened in the northeast.
Anyway, right now I am convinced our political system is broken. I would love to see politicians be forced to deal with issues on a campaign trail, instead of mudslinging. I would love to see politicians who did what is best for their constituents, instead of whichever special interest has the deepest pockets. And I would love to see a legislative body that voted in a way that was best for the country, instead of a way that best suits some Party's or PAC's agenda. Pipe dream, I know, but wouldn't it be great?
Most people today seem to vote by party line. If you're a Democrat, you vote for Democrats, same thing for Republicans. However, I wonder how many people are totally informed on what the candidate's platform is that they're voting for. I think there is actually a good number of people that blindly vote for a party because that's what some influencing person does - be it a parental figure, pastor, group leader, etc. How many of those people even know what the candidate stands for, or even for that matter what the Party's platform is that they are voting for. Couple of bucks say that they have no clue.
Which brings me to a second point. With campaign ads run the way that they are run now a days, how can you really tell who stands for what? I mean, you can hear any supposedly bad thing you want about a candidate if you choose to truly believe what the ads say. However, do the ads tell the whole story? Heck no. They take snippets of bills and quotes to make the other guy look as bad as possible. However, if a guy didn't vote for a bill, ask yourself - why didn't he vote for it? Now, it seems every congressman tries to slide some pork belly rider onto the back end of a bill that needs to be passed that may be the exact cause of a voting decision. So, most of the time, it's not about the bill itself. Look into it.
Again back to the ads themselves. Just look at the ads themselves. Most are sensationalist and way over the top. However, do any of them really give any insight to how the candidate feels about the issues at hand? For 99% of the ads, the answer is no. I am beginning to be convinced that this year, we could have had a true Communist run (and get lots of votes), and just sling mud wih the best of 'em for a political ad, and nobody would be the wiser. ....OH WAIT, that happened in the northeast.
Anyway, right now I am convinced our political system is broken. I would love to see politicians be forced to deal with issues on a campaign trail, instead of mudslinging. I would love to see politicians who did what is best for their constituents, instead of whichever special interest has the deepest pockets. And I would love to see a legislative body that voted in a way that was best for the country, instead of a way that best suits some Party's or PAC's agenda. Pipe dream, I know, but wouldn't it be great?
posted by Rob at 8:32 AM
2 Comments:
You're absolutely right, Rob. The system is broken. The party system is one that is fraught with peril anyway -- it encourages factionalism and divisiveness. It's probably inevitable though -- people with similar views tend to band together. What is hurting us right now is that we lack true statesmen. Everyone is so interested in protecting their special interests that no one looks at the big picture anymore. The really ironic thing is that the difference between the two parties is negligible. It's the Big Government Party vs. the Bigger Government Party. This was the first election I didn't vote in, and the reason I didn't vote was because there was not a single candidate out there who I felt I could support.
It's why i have never voted along "party lines" and also have felt like there is not really a party i fit into completely. You almost have to weigh your decision and bick the best of two evils - the right person was weeded out long before by the deep pockets. Sad.
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