An interesting perspective on politics...

[helicopper 1,050]

545 PEOPLE

By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House?

She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

They vote their own pay raises for themselves because they want it that way.

There are no unsolvable government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation,' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you, though you appear to have several choices.

1. You can send this to everyone in your address book, and hope' they' do something about it.

2. You can agree to 'vote against everyone that is currently in office, knowing that the process will take several years.

3. You can decide to 'run for office' yourself and agree to do the job properly.

4. Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the current bunch.

YOU DECIDE, BUT AT LEAST SEND IT TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK, MAYBE SOMEONE IN THERE WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

[gamewell45 258]

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

The American people are responsible; They put them in office in the first place. Now we gotta clean up their mess......again. We never learn from our past mistakes. The entire system needs an overhaul. Badly.

[Doc 11]

The American people are responsible; They put them in office in the first place. Now we gotta clean up their mess......again. We never learn from our past mistakes. The entire system needs an overhaul. Badly.

Have you ever met somebody and talked to them, and came away from the conversation thinking, "This guy/gal should be in Congress or run for president?" Have you ever noticed the disparity between who DOES run and who SHOULD run? Personally, I've seen it play out in everything from local elections to national elections - at the fire house, at my job and even in my home. The people most interested in leading, and most willing to lead seem to be the ones least fit, from a mental and personality standpoint, to lead. Those who are the best inherent leaders, will not lead unless compelled by concensus.

It comes down to audacity and self-interest. What makes people seek out power? Sure, you can say "The desire to change the world." WHAT AUDACITY! What makes them think they're better or have the right idea? I guarantee that NOBODY will run for office unless they really want it and if they really want it, what lengths will they go to to get it? Well, let's consider the matter of corruption and undue influences in politics. It's clear enough to see who bankrolls the campaigns of these people -and it's beyond any political contribution that is official or documented. Why is it, you think, that THE BEST we could do is McCain and Obama? Is that REALLY the best we can do? Do those TWO out of the 300 million people in this country really represent the best leadership minds our great nation has to offer? How did the potential thousands who could have been viable contenders disappear? Well, let's be fair and recognize that there are ACTUALLY SIX registered candidates for the presidency in 2008...

Charles Baldwin - Constitution Party

Bob Barr - Libertarian Party

John McCain - Republican Party

Cynthia McKinney - Green Party

Ralph Nader - Independent Party

Barack Obama - Democrat Party

Now, let's look at their campaign fund-raising...

Charles Baldwin - Constitution Party - $96,000

Bob Barr - Libertarian Party - $885,000

John McCain - Republican Party - $250,000,000

Cynthia McKinney - Green Party - $0

Ralph Nader - Independent Party - $3,000,000

Barack Obama - Democrat Party -$454,000,000

Am I the only one who sees that two candidates are far ahead of the pack. Well, sure, they have much larger party structures rallying behind them. The bigger machine will win in terms of brute force fund-raising. But where is this money coming from? Who bankrolls the candidates campaigns and what makes a campaign so fiscally successful? The records are there to be reviewed and it's interesting to see who and what is paying the bills of the candidates. It's amazing how many corporate CEO's are also members of controlling boards of other companies, charitable trusts, social organizations, activist groups, think tanks, and associations and how their many affiliations are united in their financial support of a particular candidate. My contention is that it all has to do with the back-channels of power. On the local level, I see it at the Chamber of Commerce events, United Way events, local Bar Association meetings and other, seemingly non-political events that do, in fact carry political power. It's not the money - the money follows the influence. The influence comes from who's ears you are chatting up at the club and "what they will do for you". Where are you scheduled to speak, and to whom and will dinner be served, and who will you be talking to after dinner? There exists as a persistent fabric of our society within the culture of established power that only does what is expected - to maintain power. It's entered through the exclusivity of where you went to college. Princeton, Harvard, Annapolis, West Point; it's the connections made at the Law Review, Bar Associations, and other exclusive "clubs" where Ma and Pa Kettle can't attend. It's simply those with wealth and power associating with those with wealth and power. We, the middle-class get swept along and coddled. We are humored into believing that our interests are at heart - and they are - but only to the extent that our fortunes coincide with theirs. If creating an enormous dependent welfare class benefits them, then they will sell us on the charity of welfare programs and social services - show us a bleeding heart. If they want a nation of uneducated, unskilled minimum wage earners to take advantage of to make their businesses more profitable, then they'll roll back worker protections, cut education funding and throw off the shackles of regulation - champions of smaller government.

In theory any of these six could be our next president, however I know that the odds of winning diminish GREATLY for certain candidates. And why is that? Do we REALLY elect these people? Yes, we are a representative democracy. The members of the Electoral College votes for the president based upon the popular vote he or she represents. But I submit to you that the presidency has long been decided before that operation. Hey if I gave you a choice - A or B - and let you chose, did you really have a choice? Or did my offer simply limit you to two options that weren't really the best ones? The presidential election has already been reduced to effectively two choices that are acceptable to those with wealth and power. NOW we get to choose after the giant pool of candidates has been reduced to two "approved outcomes". The other fringe candidates have no chance - and why is that? I know, personally, I am not in the least bit satisfied with ANY of these people. The agenda's they promote, the interests they truly represent do not, in my opinion, coincide with what is good for me, my family or this nation in the long term. Yes, their agendas will have a splash effect that may or may not improve the situation of the average working schlub, but that won't be the real intention. So, how do I help elect the president? The guy I supported, didn't make the cut because he didn't cater to the right people, and this Wall Street Payout just proved it. So, did we REALLY chose these candidates or did we merely point to one of the options provided for us by the REAL ruling powers in this country.

I'm gonna stop being cynical now.

I'm not saying it's wrong. It's more egalitarian than any other nation, but to say we are land of gold paved roads and true freedom is a laugh. The golden rule still applies and until you have the gold, you best play by the rules.

[Medibart 55]

Chris,

Please be reminded that the polictical portion of this forum is reserved for inflammatory, irrational, non-factual statements of biased opinion based on tiny little regurgitated sound bites and party talking points that we pick up from 24 hour news talking heads that get paid to over-simplify incredibly complex concepts so we can feel like we learned something while channel surfing in between reality shows. This is no place for thought-provoking commentary or otherwise mature dialogue.

Where's a moderator when you need one.

Scott

545 PEOPLE

By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House?

She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

They vote their own pay raises for themselves because they want it that way.

There are no unsolvable government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation,' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you, though you appear to have several choices.

1. You can send this to everyone in your address book, and hope' they' do something about it.

2. You can agree to 'vote against everyone that is currently in office, knowing that the process will take several years.

3. You can decide to 'run for office' yourself and agree to do the job properly.

4. Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the current bunch.

YOU DECIDE, BUT AT LEAST SEND IT TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK, MAYBE SOMEONE IN THERE WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!