Pandering for Votes
With the presidential primary season in full swing, Democrat and Republican politicians exchange charges and point fingers at their in-party competition. With so much bickering, it’s no wonder elected government office holders can’t accomplish anything meaningful. It’s just late January and I’m already sick of the November, 2008 election.
Wouldn’t it be nice if political candidates would talk about issues. I’m not talking about sound bites and cute little three sentence pat answers. I’m talking about laying out a comprehensive plan to solve each problem and issue. But no, that might alienate a few voters. We can’t have solutions clouding the election.
I have been on the websites of most of the presidential primary candidates. They’re junk! They start with pictures of the family and a declaration of what church they belong to. Stop it! Enough of playing the religious card. It’s pandering for votes. Groveling to the vocal religious minority.
Read a candidate’s entire website and you’ll still have no idea what their solution is to issues. “I won’t raise taxes. I’ll start new programs. I’ll upgrade healthcare, kick start new jobs, raise wages, lower gasoline prices.” Blah, blah, blah. Still, there’s no position paper telling the public how they’ll accomplish it. Give me a break!
Out in public on the election trail, you see the politicians visiting a senior center, hugging babies at a WalMart, or talking tough with workers in a poultry processing plant. Get real! You guys (and girl) are all millionaires. You have nothing in common with these folks, real Americans. You don’t struggle paying your bills, worry about being laid off from your job, or shop in WalMart. All your senior friends own villas and yachts and belong to country clubs.
Unfortunately, until we have election reform and end private campaign contributions, we will only have millionaires in office. Let’s face it, they make political decisions at black tie affairs, on the golf course, or in the back room. The real American is not privy to those decisions.
What America needs is a president who’s been there. Someone who worked through high school to afford clothes and college to pay their tuition. Someone who has toiled through physical labor - like milking cows, waiting on tables, running a cash register, or hammering nails. Someone who raised their own kids and changed their diapers, not someone who had a nanny to do that.
I want to see a regular person become president. A down home, intelligent, honest person who puts the good of the country before the good of his political party. Not a Democrat, not a Republic, but an Independent with a realistic chance to be a uniter. A person not tempted by money, corrupted by power. A person who understands the big picture, who wants to leave the world a better place for his grandchildren. A true philanthropist.
I’m available.
- Mountain Man