Monday, January 18, 2010

"We The People"

There is quite an interesting special election race going on in Massachusetts to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. Kennedy held the seat for 46 years, no disrespect to the man, but an argument for term limits if I ever heard one. The Democrat candidate is Martha Coakley, Massachusetts Attorney General. She is opposed by Republican Scott Brown, a Massachusetts State Senator, who has his work cut out for him in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 3 to 1. Kennedy's seat is currently held by appointee Paul Kirk, a longtime Kennedy aide. That Brown has any chance at all is causing havoc in the White House, since a Republican victory could spell trouble for the Obama health care plan.

The political maneuvering going on around this election, and the bigger issue of health care in the United States is nothing short of deplorable. America has long been the model the world turned to when examining forms of government that have endured and afforded the greatest opportunity for its citizens. Our democratic form of government and the cornerstones of its success, our Constitution and Bill of Rights, have been like a beacon to oppressed peoples everywhere. The foresight and wisdom possessed by our founding fathers led to the creation of a country that, while not perfect, is the closest thing to it ever seen in the history of man. Corrupt politicians and uninformed, apathetic voters are changing all that, and squandering the sacrifices of those who purchased with their lives our right to freedom and democracy.

The Democrats in Massachusetts and the White House are exploring back-door schemes to get their convoluted health care plan passed, whether or not Brown wins in the election being held tomorrow. They talk of ways to circumvent the voting process to jam this plan down the throats of the American people who have made it clear that they don't want it. Paul Kirk, the appointed lame duck Senator keeping Kennedy's seat warm (or so he thought until Brown mounted a real challenge) said he would "do what I was sent here to do", meaning to vote for the plan even if Brown is victorious in the election. The Republicans maintain that Kirk's voting power dies the moment Brown wins the election. It's a mess that will only get messier.

Elected representatives are supposed to vote the way their constituents want...they are elected stand-ins for the people who sent them to Congress. Lately, the will of the people seems to have been subjugated to the will of the political party in power, and the special interest groups like unions and corporations who fund their election campaigns. This miscarriage of justice is not restricted to Democrats, although they have raised it to an art form. Republicans can be just as deaf to the wishes of the folks back home. The result is that the people are cut out of the equation. What we want no longer matters. Men like Ted Kennedy get sent back to the Senate for term after term, even though many who voted for him have no clue what he stands for. They vote Democrat because their Ward bosses tell them to.

Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Lincoln...men who made America great, would not recognize the country they worked so hard to build and nurture. Universal suffrage took a while to attain, the problem is that with the privilege of voting comes the responsibility to cast an informed vote, something many do not bother to do. If you honestly understand what your candidate stands for, and vote for him or her because of that stand, then I respect you even if I disagree with your choice. If you vote for somebody because someone tells you to, even pays you to, then we have a problem. If you have no idea of the issues and your candidate's position on them, please stay home and let the people who care enough to learn the facts elect this country's leaders.

If the Democrats lose in Massachusetts, its elected representatives should be saying: we lost this election in a state where we outnumber the opposition 3 to 1, its very clear the people don't like what we're doing and want a change...maybe we should go back to our town hall meetings and LISTEN to them. Instead they are plotting to find a way to subvert the will of the people. This is not the America the world looked up to, and it's our job as citizens to make our displeasure heard loud and clear. America does not belong to the politicians and special interest groups, it belongs to the People.



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2 comments:

Joseph Del Broccolo said...

The Democrats are equal in number to the Republicans in Mass. Most of the state is Independent, and votes for Democrats. Since the late 90's or early 2000's, the governor has been Republican!
I hate to say it, (no I don't, so I will anyway), good riddance to the Kennedy clan, they ar arrogant and liars.

Jim Pantaleno said...

I read it was 3-1 in favor of Dems, with 51% of the state independent. Anyhow, who cares...they are history after 50 years. I'm no lover of the Kennedys either.