Lack of choice.

[lostinmidmich]

I have been enraged lately over the things I have seen in modern politics. Well I should really say more than usual. I've always found the things wrong with our system and pointed them out. I do this not to slander our country but to see where we can improve. To decide that we are perfect eliminates the opportunity for better. So I'm writing to get my thoughts out in the open. I'll try to not let my ADD get the best of me while I'm doing this free write. Ok that being said...here we go.
Here in America we are blessed with the right to a choice, or so we believe. Yes we vote in our primaries for the candidates on each side and yes we vote on proposals that effect our daily lives. Yes we rally and express our own ideas in an open public venue. Yes we have the right to look through many different information forums. Yet somehow we usually get a choice between A and B. This is not a quality choice and it is destroying American politics and our way of life.
To believe that anyone can grow up to be president is a lie and laughable to think otherwise. There are political channels-hoops one must go through and an certain image to achieve that status. For example: How many people knew who Sarah Palin was before Barack Obama won the primary over Hilary Clinton. Granted Alaskans knew her but over all a larger percentage of Americans didn't know her. Right time, right place and the ability to follow an agenda got her the job. I know people are going to argue me that the dems have political agenda too and I won't refute that. This is not blue vs. red. This is American politics. A woman was chosen to be a VP candidate because the other side had a black man as a candidate. Just as much at fault are those who voted for Barack because of the idea of the first black president. This is American politics. Yes, people will say they voted for the issues, so I have to ask, "If Hillary Clinton or Mitt Romney won the primary, would the issues have changed?". I Think they would have stayed the same. You can not win the presidency or major public office with out a party backed well funded AGENDA. Which means red is red and blue is blue. This is our problem in a nutshell. The foundation of public office is to voice what is important to you as a candidate. As a person. As a citizen. Instead it has become a left vs. right media circus of he said-she said, where slander rules all. My point is that we can not progress as a country with this in place. As citizens we have to reject what has become the standard. We have to realize we are being fed questions and than being told the half truth answers. While we focus on A vs. B we loose sight to C,D...etc. This is no longer a democracy. A democracy you have a real voice without the shroud of a corporate political agenda. With out the distractions to keep our eyes and minds off what is really happening. To see that loop holes are made for those who can afford them.
I hope this has generated thought to whoever reads this. As you can see I am quite passionate about it. Not only do I enjoy the discussion of it but I feel it is a right that we are forgetting we have. Thought, ideas I need and want them. Please voice yours. It is the only way to a solution.

[Mike]

Here in America we are blessed with the right to a choice, or so we believe. Yes we vote in our primaries for the candidates on each side and yes we vote on proposals that effect our daily lives. Yes we rally and express our own ideas in an open public venue. Yes we have the right to look through many different information forums. Yet somehow we usually get a choice between A and B. This is not a quality choice and it is destroying American politics and our way of life.I am interested in what you have to say. I isolated the above part of your post merely to enable to me to address what seemed like one particular issue (rather than attempt tackling everything at once.) Let me repeat back to you what I understand you to have said. You feel that our right to choose is a myth. Although we choose among primary candidates, although we vote whether certain propositions should or should not be implemented, and although we may express our opinions without fear of official reprisal such are not quality choices--and as such our politics and way of life are being destroyed.

To understand better what you mean I would start by asking what substantive changes you desire regarding the choices you mentioned above? Secondly, I would like you to explain further how the things you mentioned are destroying our politics and way of life? Are you comparing something that used to be different to the way things are today? If so, perhaps you could explain the differences you perceive. I thought I would ask these questions rather than attempt responding before I understand you.

[W.E.B. Du Bois]

To believe that anyone can grow up to be president is a lie and laughable to think otherwise. There are political channels-hoops one must go through and an certain image to achieve that status.

Bear in mind this country has over 300 million people in it and I think it very likely that it will hit 1 billion some day, or at least 600 million. With those kinds of numbers, could it be any different that the prospect to be President would be extremely unlikely?



A woman was chosen to be a VP candidate because the other side had a black man as a candidate.

A woman was chosen to be a VP candidate because the other side almost had a woman candidate for President and it was calculated that her supporters might have been pissed off to change teams en masse.



Just as much at fault are those who voted for Barack because of the idea of the first black president.

Having the first black President was definitely a plus. This country needed to achieve that milestone. The racism against black folks in this country has been very clear. Overcoming that is a good thing.



You can not win the presidency or major public office with out a party backed well funded AGENDA. Which means red is red and blue is blue. This is our problem in a nutshell. The foundation of public office is to voice what is important to you as a candidate. As a person. As a citizen.

I would agree with your analysis where you say that you must have an agenda to be elected. The politics of the USA is two-party: Democrat and Republican. You cannot win without being an active agent of one of the two parties.

I disagree with you that we should be voting for individuals and not political positions. A candidate stating his position on an issue is unavoidable. What shall we talk about in the lead up to the elections if not where the candidate stands on the issues? It concerns me less that a candidate is a war hero or a philanthropist or even a genius, it concerns me more exactly what he will do when gets in office. For that to be known, his "agenda" must be known.



Instead it has become a left vs. right media circus of he said-she said, where slander rules all. My point is that we can not progress as a country with this in place. As citizens we have to reject what has become the standard. We have to realize we are being fed questions and than being told the half truth answers. While we focus on A vs. B we loose sight to C,D...etc. This is no longer a democracy. A democracy you have a real voice without the shroud of a corporate political agenda. With out the distractions to keep our eyes and minds off what is really happening. To see that loop holes are made for those who can afford them.


This is my bucket of cold water for you. Nothing will change along the lines you are talking about, certainly not in our lifetime. The problems you describe exist because of certain specifics in the Constitution, and the Constitution is nearly impossible to change in normal times and impossible to change in the most partisan times (right now).

I am a big advocate of proportional representation systems, like the kind that exists in Germany today. In a PR system, several representatives represent each district, so that means that there is less of an incentive for things to coalesce around two parties, and you might have 4 major parties like you have in Germany today. I think their parties are roughly center-right, libertarian, center-left and green. However, I think most Germans are still issues voters. As I've mentioned above, I think that issue-voting is superior to character-voting.

I disagree with your comment that the USA is not a democracy. I think the US could be called suboptimally democratic though. We have less choices than we could have.