“I hate Obama!”
“Bush is an idiot”
“I loathe that Romney.”
How many times have you heard something close to this regarding a candidate for high office?
Too often, probably.
If you have ever said that yourself or have at least thought something like that before, you have just been manipulated by the protectors of our two-party system. Let us explain.
With all the money now flowing into the public sector – both in terms of government largesse and the campaigns to get into power and control all of that wealth – the stakes for ascending to political office have never been higher.
On one hand, negative campaigning is not novel – some of the campaigns from the 19 th century in American were shockingly vile.
The difference is, what separated candidates back then were actual ideas and ideology. Since government only made up a tiny percentage of the nation’s economy, getting elected was not about a windfall of power, money and largesse, it was about the honor of service and the ability to imprint one’s ideology on the country’s future.
Not anymore.
Now it’s all about power – getting it and retaining it.
We see leadership of both parties completely willing to sacrifice ideology to get elected. Even foreign policy is “in play” now as we have seen with the Libyan crisis and the degeneration of political discourse over that tragic topic.
The proliferation of lobbying money, political action committees and the growth of government itself have made holding high state and most any federal office a valuable position. Yes, there are still some true ideologues in Washington, but not as many as who claim that moniker.
Mostly, our federal government is made up of career politicians who have rigged the game in favor of the status quo and who battle over the head of a pin needle to see who can tip the balance of power toward one party or another.
While voter apathy plagues the nation, the party leaders know exactly what to do get their bases out to vote in November – demonize the opponent. And too many of us fall for it, year after year.
The truth is, there really isn’t that much ideological difference between the two parties. Republicans are allegedly for lower taxes, but they are often guilty of raising them. Democrats are allegedly in favor of civil liberties, but often are guilty of diminishing them..
No, it’s not ideology that separates most candidates from the two major parties. But they create the illusion of big differences so that you will vote AGAINST the other guy. Think about it – in local elections, when you are voting for people you know, you likely are casting your ballot FOR somebody. But too often, in federal elections, it seems like people are as much voting against a candidate. Or, even worse, people hold their nose and vote for the “lesser of two evils.”
Well, if you want the political climate to be a little more sunny and driven by policy and philosophy, not power and largesse, try two things: One, don’t engage in the demonization of candidates. Two, vote for a candidate NOT in one of the two major parties. Oh, we know, Democrats and Republicans will breathlessly chide you for “wasting their vote” in the “most important election of our lifetime.”
Guess what, they claim EVERY election is the most important of our lifetime – that’s the shtick.
The minute people realize that they are being used and manipulated is the day we can move toward getting rid of this dreadful system