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Politics : View from the Center and Left

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To: Dale Baker who wrote (10392)1/30/2006 5:38:13 PM
From: Fred Gohlke  Read Replies (1) of 541598
 
It seems to me most of the unhappiness with our government stems from looking in the wrong direction.

Democracy means government by the people. In America, government is not by the people, it is by the men and women who control the political parties. These individuals are not elected to their positions of power ... most Americans don't even know who they are ... but they rule our nation.

They rule by requiring that their candidates for public office demonstrate "party loyalty". The candidates are "loyal" because the party controls the resources necessary for their election.

The result is a tight, incestuous circle. The parties raise money by selling the votes of "loyal" politicians to vested interests, and the politicians stay "loyal" because the parties have the money to get them elected. Candidates chosen in this way are the least honorable of our citizens ... but they are the only choices available in our so-called "free" elections.

We need to come to grips with this problem. Political parties serve as conduits for corruption. Until we learn that the party system, which systematically excludes principled people from public office, is fundamentally flawed, we should not be surprised at the scandals that taint our government.

To achieve a democratic, principled government, we must not tolerate the corruption of party politics. We do not need partisanship, which thrives on mindless bombast, we need to thoughtfully choose principled leaders who can be trusted.

We have the ability to devise a more democratic method of selecting our representatives. Shouldn't we be working on that?

Fred
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