Over the last several years, I have found myself deeply fascinated with the political churnings of our still great and proud nation. Though I fell short of reading every article/magazine, or visiting every website, I still took it upon myself to remain informed of the daily proceedings occurring in federal, state, and local legislatures. I felt as a reasonably proud citizen, it was not only a privilege, but a duty and responsibility that one should take seriously and therefore I made certain that I not only educated myself but also applied an informed decision at the ballot box each election. I knew who I liked in politics and was painfully aware of those who I felt had no business having a say in how my country was run.
That all being said, in the last six months or so, I have found myself increasingly disenchanted with the political machinations of lawmakers in general. My overwhelming disgust with partisan shenanigans being played on both sides of a very wide aisle has been enough to turn me away from politics in general, only allowing myself to tune in periodically to maintain some level of awareness. Regardless, the attraction to the convoluted world of politics is eternally there and I have found myself seeking out information more and more, paying more attention to events as we steer closer and closer to a November presidential election.
Now I am a fairly black and white thinker - you are either in or you are out, you are either right or you are wrong - there is no grey area, no compromise, no abstract ideology... So one might think because of my overall thought processing, I would be more inclined to approve of the constant stonewalling in the Senate and Congress, not to mention, the President himself. Nothing could be further from that notion with my growing disdain for a government that is so bloated and full of itself that it has long forgotten the people it is supposed to represent. The absolute arrogance displayed by the members of our legislature, our judiciary branch, and the presidential administration is astonishingly abhorrent and appalling.
We have two branches of the legislature with majorities that are ideologically at odds and appear to be more interested in roadblocking each other and getting themselves re-elected than finding real and plausible solutions to an ever growing financial and economic crisis. We have a President who has spent the large majority of his first term campaigning for a second with nothing of real merit aside from the ill-conceived health care bill and astronomical government spending to show for his less than meager accomplishments. Our government is acting like a poorly organized circus and I do believe the American people largely are less than entertained at this point.
News wouldn't be complete if some Senator, Congressmen, secretary, or whatever hasn't come out on a daily basis to say something so incredibly ridiculous that it makes one ponder why they were elected to such a position in the first place. I have no doubt that those who have sought political office in the past, did so with the best of intentions, regardless of their philosophical ideals. However, due to no term limits set for legislators, we have a mass of lawmakers who have made politics their career and therefore have remained in their position for far too long. The adage, "Absolute power corrupts, and power corrupts absolutely" comes to mind when I think of our representative men and women. Our esteemed lawmakers have lost much of what connects them to reality and I say this of both parties...
The icing on the cake for me was Senator Harry Reid recently coming out and stating that Governor Romney has paid no income taxes in the last 10 years. He claims that he got his information from a single unknown source, which he refuses to reveal. He also refuses to provide any sort of evidence/documentation to substantiate his accusations, stating that it isn't about him and that if Governor Romney wants to clear his name then all he has to do is prove that he paid taxes... Since when is it acceptable for a prominent leader in our legislature to make outlandish unsubstantiated accusations with no evidence to back them up? I suppose it is within reason then to accuse any one political figure of any sort of heinous act and then expect them to be held accountable regardless of the supporting evidence or lack thereof. As a politician, it is a clever tactic but one condemned by Democrats decades ago. And since Reid is not seeking re-election, he has little to be concerned with in regards to any sort of backlash. Regardless the damage has been done and Governor Romney will have to deal with the consequences and Senator Reid will go down in history as a lawmaker who is more than willing to stoop to despicable means to achieve political gain.
Unfortunately, there is little to no accountability present anymore in our government. The checks and balances that were put in place at our nation's founding have all but completely failed. Recent Supreme Court decisions have affirmed this as it was demonstrated that justices can be bought with political favors...
All in all, we have a system that oozes dis-function and chaotic disorder. With career politicians raking in well over twice the average household income annually and being allowed up until recently to engage in practices that essentially qualify as illegal insider trading on the stock market, there is absolutely no one holding these people's feet to the fire. A Senator or Congressman can serve for 20-30 years and make a comfortable living doing so without accomplishing much. A complicit media also shows that there isn't even any accountability from the press let alone the American people. We are sheep being tended by a bunch of very overfed wolves....
Until we can rid the rot that is currently at the center of our ever increasing government, we will continue to experience more regulation, more taxation, and more crisis - all as a result of the limited efforts of our lawmakers who enjoy the proverbial fatted calf and wine at the expense of our hard earned dollars....
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