Dirty Politics

Well, local election time is upon us. As I  said, I'm not much into politics. Maybe I should be, but I can't stop thinking that in these elections, we seem to try to put into office the one that is a little less bad than the other. Meaning that, many times, in many elections, neither candidate from either party is really very clean or good for the job. But what choice do we have? Must we almost always have to pick between the less of two evils? How many honest-to-God squeaky clean candidates do we see? How do you know? That's the problem; you dont know. Most people in the U.S. seem to accept the fact that most candidates have broken the law, in some way or another, to get to where they are. Is that how it should be? We have grown to accept that most people in office are corrupt? That sounds a lot like a third world country, where corruption and underhanded tactics are the norm. Why should Americans accept that in any shape or form? We should not. It's really that simple. Do people not realize that putting corrupt, or immoral people in office does not make your life better, it makes it much worse.

A quick example would be in the Philippines, where a few years ago, a new President was elected simply because he was a very popular actor (sounds like Reagan). He knew nothing about politics. When he went into office, his net worth was around 4 million dollars. Three years later, when the people got a bit suspicious of his activities, he was audited and brought to court. His net worth was valued at 92 million dollars! That's a hell of a lot of growth in just three years! Where do you think he got all that money? Of course, from the people! He skimmed off all the government contracts.  He was impeached and put under house arrest. They got back as much of the money as they could, but it certainly wasn't all of it. Here's the scary part. The next President pardoned him a few years later, and he is now the Mayor of Manila! Right now! Did the people not learn anything at all? How can you feel sorry for them when they are doing it to themselves? How can you feel sympathy for us if WE are doing it to ourselves?

For Americans, what does this example represent? The Philippine Constitution is based on the American Constitution. The majority of their laws are exactly the same as ours. What does it mean to you when you vote? Shouldn't it mean that you are electing someone that you hope will represent YOU in government matters? That is supposedly their job! Their ONLY job! What does it feel like to you when your State representative (Congressman or Senator) is hit with scandals. Does it feel personal? It should. It's called betraying the people's trust, and it should mean, if they are found guilty, that they will be removed from their office as quickly as possible. But what usually happens, and they are very well aware of this, is that they will tapdance, talk alot of double talk, string out the conversations for as long as possible, deny the facts, even if they are guilty, and somehow convince the people that they should stay in office. If you allow this to happen, then, in my opinion, you are just as guilty as they are.

The PEOPLE are the government! Most people lose sight of this fact very easily. They figure they have no power. When the people talk up in full strength, no amount of doubletalk, or flimflamming, is going to help the crooked politician. Get rid of the corruption! Now I know that there are a few good politicians out there; very few sadly. I know some really want to be of help to the people, and they take their job seriously, as they should. But, unfortunately for us, their numbers are very low. What should be done is that each STATE should monitor their representatives for proper behavior, not only the federal government. There should be a set committee to monitor his/her actions, not to question their every decision, but to monitor their conduct. After all, they are responsible to the people of that State. They certainly wouldn't like this, as they would not be free to cut corners, get involved in shady deals, or get kickbacks from big business.

Why do I say all this? Because there is absolutely nothing CLEAN about politics. It's a dirty. back stabbing job. Am I coming on too strong? I surely don't think so. Look at what is happening now. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, numerous candidates are getting slammed about whatever things they can try to stick to them. A Governor who is up for re-election is being blamed for sleeping with a 16 year old. It supposedly happened 20 or 25 years ago. Why are they bringing it up now? Of course, if he is actually found guilty, he should be removed as a candidate, and never allowed to run for office again. But what if he is not guilty, and this is just another smear campaign only brought about to discredit him. Many others are suddenly coming forward to say that this candidate or that candidate did THIS to them, and THAT to them. It's a bit funny, and extremely obvious, that the timing for these occurrences always comes at election time. Why didn't they bring it up three years ago, or whenever?

As one so-called news man put it; "Just because a girl SAYS that she was raped 20 years ago by a candidate, does not mean it is true! It cannot be based on just what she says. Anybody can say anything! Without evidence it means nothing. Even if they deny the charges completely, and nothing is proven, it still tarnishes their image, which was why it was done to begin with. I am not FOR the candidates, but at the same time, if these charges are just slung out there, with nothing to back them up, then they should be dismissed immediately. Do not let them continue to grow and grow. But THAT is exactly what the news wants! They want to grow the story, true or not. They want to turn it into a circus, because they think it's part of their JOB to discredit innocent people, or try any way they can to build up the story, so they have something to talk about.  Something that will justify their job. The news people don't want the regular day to day stuff; they want dramatic stories to thrust them into the limelight. If that entails destroying someones reputation along the way; so be it!

These are the reasons I can't stand politics. It is all a back stabbing, he-said she-said thing, that involves heavy corruption, lies, scandals, and whatever else you can add to the list. I know our forefathers never intended it to be this way. So please don't buy into all the trash that is being spoken around election time. If it is heresay, then please dismiss it. If it is unproven, then please dismiss it. Please vote for the person based on what he has done for YOUR State, or may be able to do if elected. Look at his prior track record. It should speak for itself. Don't let the few "good ones" get lost in the system!