Having reached a ripe age I assumed I had seen all the forms of politicking
that money can buy, and couldn't be surprised. How wrong I was. It is to be expected that in a two party system campaigns will be spirited, even heated, and some excesses may occur. It was equally expected that after an election the
parties will come together for common purpose---to provide for the welfare of the citizens of all persuasions, and the efficient use of public resources. The past decade has witnessed a breakdown in the comity among our national legislators,
particularly in the Senate. Politics there has become a blood sport. The divide
between "liberals" and "conservatives" has become an unbridgeable chasm. Compromise
has disappeared from the lexicon of political process. As a result the nation's problems can no longer be dealt with, as the lingering recession clearly demonstrates.
This failure at the national level has created real economic pain and insecurity
in the vast middle class and turned them from their usual middle of the road conservatism, to angry and unreasoned radicalism.
The anger has manifested itself in the support of nut cases as candidates.
Many of these nut cases have no concepts of the economic and political interrelationships among nations, or even sectors within our country. They have narrow,
often bigoted views of persons different from themselves. They tend to blame
unknown "others" for their troubles and look for scapegoats, not solutions based
on knowledge and experience which they may lack. They are very good at rabble rousing. They may also win election. There is the danger. When resentment and anger
take control of the engine of government it can lead to conflict among nations
as has often occurred. Germany's resentment after the consequences of its defeat in WWI led to WWII.
Our founders created a superb government structure. The quality of the politicians
that must function within that structure has declined. They have sold out. Therein lies the difficulty. The current crop of candidates appear to me to be the worst in my memory. That the public is buying their nihilism and ignorance is sad, and dangerous.
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How can I respond?
You have nailed the issue on the head.
Anything I might want to say would simply be redundant on your commentary.
There are a number of races on this ballot that offer no reasonable choice. We are in serious trouble this time around because without some potentially viable candidate those positions will be impotent, paid positions for any dufus who might spend more than his/her opponent in campaign ads.
Certainly we deserve better than these pointless candidates but a "write in" choice would result in a lost opportunity to endorse a responsible person. We are stuck in a quagmire of "almost suitables". I refuse to believe our founders anticipated such a mess.
It's time to dump the 2-party system and vote along lines of conscience. Neither of the legitimately-recognized parties shows any interest in representing "the people" and that situation is beyond acceptable.
As I looked at the candidates for various positions I saw that some actually declared themselves "TEA" (Tea Party) which is not even a recognized or defined organization. Those people were immediately discounted in my prejudice because most "Tea Party" candidates freely admit they are "true Republicans" that do not endorse the GOP agenda! What does that mean? If they want to paint themselves blue they need to recognize the color is not their choice but the mandate of the "blue party", the GOP. These people are hoping to straddle the fence yet still get the vote. How lame is that?
As much as I regret admitting it, this may be my first general election to avoid because it has no clear choices for our society.
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