Politicians On A Playground

And it all began with The Supreme Court choosing the United States President in the Bush/Gore election. Checks and Balances have long been forgotten. Politicians have lost control of the democracy they “claim” to represent. I seriously wonder who makes the decisions to “cheat” the voters of their choices. It isn’t like we have to wait for Paul Revere to ride up on his horse and hand deliver the votes that have been cast. Our system is totally out of control and severely needs ratification.

I didn’t like Al Gore or George W. Bush, but I lost total respect for George W. when he accepted his Supreme Court appointed position. To me, and my beliefs as an American, we are “for and by the people,” hence, the reasoning for the voting system in the first place. I would have gained respect for any politician in George W.’s position if he would have backed off and said something like: “The people have spoken and chosen Mr. Gore. I want to thank all the people that supported me in this campaign.”  That would have carried some honor and respect for the process; instead, it was like two kids fighting over a Snickers Bar on the play ground. What a joke we had to be to neighboring countries who listen to us talk about our wonderful democracy.

Then there was the fraud talked about during the Bush/Kerry campaign. Oh boy, they are at it again. I was ashamed of our campaigners. Since when did politicians breed strength on mud smearing? It’s pitiful when a politician can’t run on his own merit, but looks for his strength in degrading someone else. The “If I put you down it makes me look better” theory, is a sorry basis for campaigning. This is high level verbal abuse by what is supposed to be America’s finest. Is this the educated political version of “you’re fat,”  “you’re dumb,” or “you’re ugly?” Why aren’t the politicians running under the premise of “I AM” instead of “YOU’RE NOT?”

The Hilary/Barack issue was another plight of “the people have spoken.” Hilary, again, had the popular vote, but the Democratic Party took some of those votes away from her. Hilary votes were added at .5 per person, making every voter only a half of a person in Michigan and 0 votes for Hilary were counted in Florida. Though, there wasn’t a lot of verbal bashing in the Presidential election that followed between McCain/Obama, at least not close to the Kerry/Bush campaign.

But here we are again, and it’s worse than ever. I watched the Republicans debate. I watched Newt snicker toward the crowd as Ron Paul spoke his views. Again, kids on the playground. We will advise our children to sit quietly and respect any speaker, but yet, America’s potential leaders can’t show common respect, on stage and broadcast to millions of homes. Despicable behaviors, lacking respect, make our nation look like a nation of ill mannered bullies.

The Republicans seem to be pulling out all the stops for a primary election.  So the bullies come out again. They aren’t going to allow the people to cast a vote and be counted, they are going to lie and cheat, like in Maine. Mitt Romney was declared the winner before the votes were counted, even with the difference of votes between Mitt and Ron Paul being less than two hundred. Three counties still hadn’t been counted. One county was told their caucus was cancelled due to a terrible snow storm that was supposed to hit. This recommendation came from the Republican Party. They postponed the vote for a week. There was no significant snowfall. Rigged? You decide. (The party said the votes that were cast later were too late to be counted.)

I say it’s time to abort the Paul Revere barbarism. We have no need for the substandard electoral vote system. Every vote can be counted without the worry of politicians needing to acquire “electoral” votes. We can also eliminate voter fraud with programs that have tamper proof, no delete, templates. Polls should install computer screens that allow a voter to sign in under their assigned registration and social security cross referenced number. People could even sign in at home eliminating long poll lines. The ballot appears and BAM….we vote…without fear of deletion, harassment, or fraud. The computer won’t allow the same voter number twice, so that aspect of fraud is wiped out. Of course, the politicians know this form of voting is possible, but they would never back a tamper proof system that wouldn’t give them “bully” room.

Yes, I know electoral votes are secured in our Constitution, but I’m sure our founding fathers would welcome the changes technology has brought. Unlike the other changes our Constitution has suffered, this one stands for the people.

Along with securing our voting rights, I also think that the politicians need to either go home and visit “Mom” for a simple lesson in respect or they should enroll in “Simple Respect 101.” I’m embarrassed just knowing American’s see the dummied down version of America in our politicians. I’m horrified and ashamed in knowing these people represent ALL of us around the world.

Till the next time….over and out,

Pam