Who Is Paying To Elect Our Politicians?
The election of Barack Obama showed that grassroots movements can make a difference in campaigns but without the support of big donors even popular politicians don’t succeed. With that in mind how can we trust that people so dependent on big money to win election will be unbiased in making decisions where the interests of their donors are in conflict with the interests of their constituents? How much influence does donor money actually have on politicians’ decisions?
To really know where leaders stand we have to look to their voting records and who they have gotten support from. When a politician gets a maximum contribution from a corporate donor do they later vote to support that donor when the interests of the donor are in conflict with the best interests of the people that elected them? When you look at the bank bailout votes how many of the people that voted for the bailouts got contributions from the banks in question and spent a lot of time with lobbyists from those banks?
If the people of America want to have politicians we can trust in office we have to start looking much more closely at how people in office vote relative to who gives to their campaign. For too long we have not taken the time to do our homework as voters. Look at what it has gotten us. We have billions going to banks that turn around and give it to themselves instead of making the loans that were supposed to result from the bailout. Unemployment and foreclosures are on the rise while the fat cats who gave to the campaigns are sitting pretty. I don’t know about you but that makes me angry.
We can try to vote the "bums" out but it will not do us any good if we vote new "bums" in. If we want to avoid the "bums" in office we need to stop voting for the people who are all over the TV all the time. The only way they get on the TV is with a lot of money and that has not been serving the people well. We need to start thinking local and supporting the candidates without the deep pockets behind them. The deep pockets are going to support the politicians that keep their deep pockets full. You can be safe in assuming that if someone is spending millions to get someone elected to office they expect a return on that investment. Nobody simply throws millions away without expecting to make it back somehow.
After decades of the majority of Americans being marginalized by the people in power in deference to the power elite "We the People" need to take our country back. The politicians supported by big money are the problem. They are self-serving bureaucrats that have no more concern for our daily lives than we have for the lives of ants. It is time for the people to band together and demand change. We need change from the culture of greed in Washington. We need change from the government of the politicians, for the businessman and uncaring of the people.
It is time for a voter revolution that topples the established power base and delivers control of our nation to the people who work every day to support it. We need to remove the Democrats and Republicans from power and replace them with new leaders who will put the people first in all things. The wealthy need to pay their fair share of the costs of our society and take responsibility for the problems their wealth creates for others. Without massive change at the top this will never happen. It is our decision if we will take the bold step to bring change for the betterment of our nation or cower in fear and leave the status quo in place. The decisions we make now will determine the future we experience tomorrow.
Troy Wilson-Ripsom | Staff Writer | Give your feedback on this article. | Click icon to Digg this article
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