How about a "no party" system? In today's society, "party" has become nothing more (or less) that a sordid euphemism for power mongers to channel their demands to fruition through a "legitimate" conduit.
How in heaven's name can two "parties" or even 4 or 5 truly be representive of the will of the people? They can't.
The will of the people can be truly expressed only through a popular voting process that dispenses with intermediary bodies such as the Electoral College which is, as we have seen, nothing more or less than the handmaiden of a dominant party.
We have the technological ability to establish a national voting system. If we can cast a vote for the best dancing couple or the best singer, or order a ton of movies from Netflix on demand, it seems that we should also be able to allow every American eligible to vote to go to a secure location and push a button. THAT is personal involvement.
The defenders of the status quo will tell you that most Americans don't care enough to vote. I agree, but I disagree on the alleged basis for their "sloth." I think that there is a well ingrained sense of futility in the electoral process, and so many if not most have the philosophy of "why bother, the power players are going to do what they want anyway."
Today, in the current Administration and Congressional majority, the "will" of the people is being effectively ignored. There is a well defined persona of "we know what's best and you will love us for it when we implement it." Of course, then we discover that some billionaire or millionaire was behind the green curtain pulling the strings and pushing the levers. We see this today with the nauseating drama over "health care reform." I don't know very many Americans that truly believe that their health care will be somehow magically better once the legislation is enacted. What we all do know that there are not well camoflaged special interests whose care WILL be improved. It is ALWAYS about the money. ALWAYS!!
Stop and think about it. The proponents of this or that health care reform agenda will each tell you that we have to constrain or eliminate Big Insurance in order to make health care affordable. They speak as though nobody can stop BI. Seems easy enough to me. You go in and tell them "stop" or we'll take you out.
A fourth party only exacerbates what already exists....a representtive form of government that represents a few to the harm of the many.
My objection to the current party system is that the parties have devolved to a point where loyalty to the party trumps loyalty to the country (or the state or the municipality) and partisans will reflexively oppose anything put forward by their "opponents" simply because it was proposed by their opponents. This is wrong and has to stop. It's actually, to my mind, a sort of treason, as all public servants (should at least) swear their allegiance to the Constitution and the nation it defines first, foremost and always, and not their party masters, and taking a vote to adhere to a "party line" above personal reason borders on sedition in my book. At best, considering I may given to a bit of hyperbole on this, it's counterproductive and perverse.
Regarding the Electoral College and other anachronisms, I am not quite so quick to condemn something that was devised to shield the political process from the whipsaw-fickleness of popular opinion. I see great benefit to having multiple buffers between the flavor-of-the-month and how we choose to govern ourselves. The first step is to make political influence (and supporting money) more transparent.
Step one might be to write a law defining corporations as NOT enjoying the same rights as citizens vis a vis free speech and other constitutional protections, and going back to the Supreme Court to try that one again.
I agree with Kad's assessment of what constitutes treason and sedition. Also agree about taking another trip to the USSC over corporate standing. It seems to me that the special interest boys and girls who dominate US policy and process are enjoying a snack on both ends of the weenie. They get the protections afforded a corporation but denied to individuals but also want the political perks given to individuals.
The Electoral College stage play in my mind is merely a means of overriding the political wishes of the state level electorate and furthering the party system.
One thing is certain and absolute, America will evolve for "better or worser" and like all of the other "great" civilizations, will have a finite lifespan......no matter what party or person is in power.
How about a "no party" system? In today's society, "party" has become nothing more (or less) that a sordid euphemism for power mongers to channel their demands to fruition through a "legitimate" conduit.
ReplyDeleteHow in heaven's name can two "parties" or even 4 or 5 truly be representive of the will of the people? They can't.
The will of the people can be truly expressed only through a popular voting process that dispenses with intermediary bodies such as the Electoral College which is, as we have seen, nothing more or less than the handmaiden of a dominant party.
We have the technological ability to establish a national voting system. If we can cast a vote for the best dancing couple or the best singer, or order a ton of movies from Netflix on demand, it seems that we should also be able to allow every American eligible to vote to go to a secure location and push a button. THAT is personal involvement.
The defenders of the status quo will tell you that most Americans don't care enough to vote. I agree, but I disagree on the alleged basis for their "sloth." I think that there is a well ingrained sense of futility in the electoral process, and so many if not most have the philosophy of "why bother, the power players are going to do what they want anyway."
Today, in the current Administration and Congressional majority, the "will" of the people is being effectively ignored. There is a well defined persona of "we know what's best and you will love us for it when we implement it." Of course, then we discover that some billionaire or millionaire was behind the green curtain pulling the strings and pushing the levers. We see this today with the nauseating drama over "health care reform." I don't know very many Americans that truly believe that their health care will be somehow magically better once the legislation is enacted. What we all do know that there are not well camoflaged special interests whose care WILL be improved. It is ALWAYS about the money. ALWAYS!!
Stop and think about it. The proponents of this or that health care reform agenda will each tell you that we have to constrain or eliminate Big Insurance in order to make health care affordable. They speak as though nobody can stop BI. Seems easy enough to me. You go in and tell them "stop" or we'll take you out.
A fourth party only exacerbates what already exists....a representtive form of government that represents a few to the harm of the many.
Neal
My objection to the current party system is that the parties have devolved to a point where loyalty to the party trumps loyalty to the country (or the state or the municipality) and partisans will reflexively oppose anything put forward by their "opponents" simply because it was proposed by their opponents. This is wrong and has to stop. It's actually, to my mind, a sort of treason, as all public servants (should at least) swear their allegiance to the Constitution and the nation it defines first, foremost and always, and not their party masters, and taking a vote to adhere to a "party line" above personal reason borders on sedition in my book. At best, considering I may given to a bit of hyperbole on this, it's counterproductive and perverse.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Electoral College and other anachronisms, I am not quite so quick to condemn something that was devised to shield the political process from the whipsaw-fickleness of popular opinion. I see great benefit to having multiple buffers between the flavor-of-the-month and how we choose to govern ourselves. The first step is to make political influence (and supporting money) more transparent.
Step one might be to write a law defining corporations as NOT enjoying the same rights as citizens vis a vis free speech and other constitutional protections, and going back to the Supreme Court to try that one again.
I agree with Kad's assessment of what constitutes treason and sedition. Also agree about taking another trip to the USSC over corporate standing. It seems to me that the special interest boys and girls who dominate US policy and process are enjoying a snack on both ends of the weenie. They get the protections afforded a corporation but denied to individuals but also want the political perks given to individuals.
ReplyDeleteThe Electoral College stage play in my mind is merely a means of overriding the political wishes of the state level electorate and furthering the party system.
One thing is certain and absolute, America will evolve for "better or worser" and like all of the other "great" civilizations, will have a finite lifespan......no matter what party or person is in power.
Neal