PoliWatch - Political Meanings

With Tea Party challengers in GOP Primaries, and moderate Republican incumbents losing their primary bids, I have to question whether the liberals and Democrats are going to sweep November's elections. Many would argue that is not possible with the gerrymandering and voter suppression acts being implemented in GOP dominated states. However, there are two facts of the current landscape that cannot be ignored.

My problem with Mitt Romney is that he opposes nearly all of the successful Obama administration's results. President Obama has disappointed me on a number of occasions, but, those disappointments do not blind me to his administration's successes. This puts me and Mitt in different camps.

Liberals vote Democrat. Conservatives vote Republican. And independents slosh back and forth from election to election. This kind of democratic process is responsible for the government nearly everyone dislikes in America. The voters are responsible. Whether they assume that responsibility, has yet to be seen.

The politics of governing have always been corrupt, greedy, and self-indulgent, while purporting to be uplifting, selfless, and beneficial for the majority. Our founders knew this from their studies in government dating back to Ancient Roman and Greek writings on the subject. The founders created a structure for government that would resist corruption, greed and self-indulgence driven to obtain permanent positions in power. Such a structure, however, could only be successful if the electorate remained vigilant and enlightened. George Washington understood these simple truths and spoke to present day turmoils and challenges in his Farewell Address of 1796.

No journey is ever begun until hope fills the first steps for reaching the destination.

The American people want a capable government, able to bring back a robust economy, and healthy future for all American's benefit. Poll after poll reflects an approval rating of Congress in the teens or low 20 percent range. It is a gross distraction under any president's administration to accuse the president of being responsible for the incompetence and ineptitude of Congress. Our Constitution stipulates that Congress legislates and our President executes what Congress legislates.

Conservatives like Sen. John Warner and Ronald Reagan influenced many to become more conservative. That kind of conservative, however, no longer exists at the core of the Grand Old Party, which has become dangerously extremist. The Warner - Reagan conservative was about governing for the future of America, first and foremost. The current GOP is not about governing, but winning elections at any cost to the nation and people. Let's take a look at these differences and what, if any hope lies with the Democratic Party.

The alleged sexual crimes committed against children at Penn State have been called sexual abuse and scandal. They are in fact, alleged crimes and torture of children. They are heinous, if the allegations are true. Outside an institution with a reputation and integrity to protect, almost any witness to such crime would call the police. Inside institutions of repute, however, too many such crimes against women, men, and children, go unreported, and covered up. Are our institutions more important than the innocent people harassed, abused, or even tortured, within them? So far, the answer seems to be, yes.

Is America in a position to enter a period of military peace? With the announcement last week of complete withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq, a winding down of the War in Afghanistan, an end to America's multilateral participation against Qadaffi in Libya, and nearly complete disruption of the al-Queda organization that attacked us on 9/11, it would appear America is headed for a period of relative peace in the world. With such appearances, however, those dependent upon military activism for financial, political, and other gains, have to begin to oppose peace. We are hearing such voices rise up, already.

"To destroy this invisible Government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day." --Theodore Roosevelt. 

There is a general perception among the majority of Americans today that our political system is corrupt and our government is failing as a result. Most recently, the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators speak to the very same kind of corruption which Theodore Roosevelt spoke of back in the 1920's. When government legalizes bribery and blackmail, these do not cease to be acts of corruption. This is precisely what has taken place in American government and politics, corrupting our system to the point of growing demonstrations in our American streets.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has gone viral. The core of the movement is centered on the singular perception that it is not healthy for the nation, or majority of Americans, if 1% of the population controls the economy for their own benefit, while the other 99% experience declines in their financial and employment status. It is a perception that is nearly impossible to argue against with a straight face. Where is this movement going, however?