>> I-node's comment about "goodies."
To clarify a bit, I would mention that most voting constituencies are looking for what "they" get out of the deal. So, I'm not singling out blacks here.
Democrats do it, Republicans do it, unions do it, churches do it. The biggest failing of our political system, imo, is that no one is looking out for for the interests of the whole. We will "vote ourselves money", each and every time, even though that money is being stolen from our kids.
I have often questioned whether we would have been better off with a Senate elected "at large", so they were determined to represent the interests states as a whole rather than of a single state. Or a third legislative body that was elected "at large" as a check on central power. I think the Framers had the correct approach, prior to the 17th Amendment, but people were sucked in by what they perceived as more popular power, but they gave up a lot to get it and ultimately, enhanced the power of the incumbent in the process.
Today, no one gives a damn about the country as a whole. I guess that should be the domain of the president, but it isn't working that way with the aggregation of political parties in particular areas of the country -- effectively, pitting state against state. |
