We're not that naive, are we? No one actually believes that this is something new, right? No. Of course not. So it was no shock to me that a jury came back with only one guilty verdict out of 24 corruption charges for former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich (Blah-GOY-of-itch). I was also not surprised to discover that Congressman Charlie Rangel of New York and Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California are dirty...filthy, even. Let's not forget William Jefferson, the Representative of Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District, who was indicted on 16 charges of corruption. Really? A politician from New Orleans? How shocking! We all know, or at least, I think most of us do, that this is just the way it is for career politicians. Whether you're an elephant or a donkey, there is probably some horse trading and scapegoating going on. Power. Money. Prestige. The focus is on holding on to it and acquiring more of it, and hopefully keeping your constituents just happy enough with pork to keep you from having to get a real job. I think most of us get that. So why do we keep electing these crooks? Because there's no alternative, there's the Republican crook, or the Democrat crook. Getting into politics at all means having to grease palms, make backroom deals, take money from shady people in exchange for political favors, and in other ways sell your soul. If you really want to get into office, you need to have money, lots of it, and that's just to get your name out there. Once a person is elected, they become "our guy," he has name recognition, and so even though the legislature has an approval rating of 16%, well, we like "our guy," so we'll keep on voting them in even if we know for a fact they are bigger crooks than Al Capone. People may be really disgusted with Blagojevich right now, but I think it's more for embarrassing the state of Illinois than any real disbelief that he's done anything more criminal than his predecessors. We all know this stuff goes on. Heck, he may even run for office again and win. If Marion Berry can do it, why not Blago? So what's the solution? How do we get decent people in office who actually want to represent the people? It's simple. Term limits. I know, I know, some of you are saying, "but if I like 'my guy,' if he's doing a good job, I should be able to vote him in no matter how many times he's served." Really? Then why don't we still have President Clinton? Because of the 22nd Amendment, that's why. Because we don't want to have a "president for life." We shouldn't have these career politicians like Kennedy, or Byrd, or Thurman, who don't leave the Capitol until they're carried out in a casket. There's just too much power at stake, and when they stay there too long, they forget that the power belongs to us, not them, and they all begin to abuse it in one way or another. You will do your district, your state, a greater service by sending a citizen representative to the Capitol. Send your plumber, not your lawyer. If we enact term limits, if we decide to send actual representatives of the people rather than people who do just enough to get elected every few cycles, then maybe one day it actually will be shocking to hear of an indictment.
The picture was stolen from rrstar.com
2 comments:
I do agree that whatever "team" you are on, all politicians are corrupt in one way or another-period. I feel that term limits is a step in the right direction for sure, however I feel it will take more than that to keep the power in the hands of the people. A strict contract should be signed by each individual taking a position and it should be up for review on a regular basis by a non biased person-perhaps a plumber! lol! I am not making jokes about sending a plumber instead of a lawyer by the way, I think it is a great idea-a real solution. This is our country-we the people-and we should all have a real say a to what goes on. I feel like my voice is not heard at all. You are right about voting for someone that secures their position and then goes on vacation so-to-speak. It will take a major over haul or dismantling of our government for this to happen. We should start from scratch, take all that is good and true, and we should definitely hire real people do do the job! I don't want to seem too pessimistic but I fear this will not happen in our lifetime. :(
UI think an overhaul is coming, actually. I'm not talking about revolution, mind you, but a great many people that I talk to believe that country needs to go back to it's origins and that the constitution means what it says. We'll see what happens in November.
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