|
Edited on Wed Aug-29-07 10:03 AM by AndyA
The conversation was about politicians making campaign promises and not keeping them, saying one thing but then voting another, and generally being able to get away with the things they do.
They mentioned that George Bush makes speeches about things that have been total failures in his administration, yet he presents them as successes, and people applaud him for it.
One of the commentators said that this happens because the American people do not hold their elected representatives accountable for their actions. OK, great. Let's take a look at this.
Candidate A promises X, Y, and Z while running. That sounds good, so people vote for Candidate A and they are placed in office. Later, instead of supporting X, Y, and Z, Candidate A reverses course and supports their opposite. What can the people do about it at this point?
Vote them out? Right. In many areas, there is no one else to run against Candidate A. For instance, here in Oklahoma we're going to get stuck with John Sullivan again because no one with any potential at all will even run against him. So where are the options?
You can write and phone them and complain that they aren't keeping their promises, but your message likely goes straight into the trash.
There is no way to hold these people accountable in today's circumstances unless things change.
I just got a bit ticked that the commentators made it sound like this was such a simple thing to resolve, when in fact it is not. And this is another reason why we need to remove private money from campaigns and make them publicly financed. That way, we have a much better chance of getting rid of those who don't keep their promises.
Like Bush. And Cheney. And Inhofe. And Sullivan. And about 70 percent of those currently in office who talk a good talk, but won't walk the walk when the time comes.
:rant:
|