America is not happy with its political leaders.  The most recent CBS/New York Times poll shows that Congress has only a 15% approval rating, arguably the lowest approval rating in history.  The economy is collapsing, our country is plunging deeper into debt, energy and food prices are climbing, the Cold War is reheating, and we are fighting two long expensive wars.  Americans are worried, upset and angry.

Congress Has Failed U.S. Citizens

Of course, the entire blame for our ills cannot be placed at the feet of Congressional members, nor the President and his administration.  Some events, like the spike in energy consumption from emerging nations such as China and India, are beyond the control of politicians in Washington.  But the U.S. Congress is highly responsible for many of the significant problems facing our nation today:

• The U.S. is experiencing its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
• The national debt has skyrocketed to $10 trillion.
• The annual budget has gone from a surplus to a deficit, expected to hit nearly $1 trillion this year with the economic bailout.  This represents an all-time record in absolute dollars, and at 7.5 percent of the gross domestic product, it’s the highest percentage since World War II.
• The real debt — including our public debt, civilian and military retirement benefits, unfunded Social Security and Medicare benefits, and other financial obligations — is $53 trillion.
• Dozens of Congressional members have been involved in criminal and ethical scandals.
• Congressional members continue to cater to special interests and lobbyists.
• Congress has failed to act on major issues such as energy independence, health care reform, social security reform, immigration reform, and the list goes on and on.

Our Plan: Vote Incumbents Out of Office

To sum up, we’ve had enough and won’t take any more.  Our senators and representatives have failed us.  It’s time for America to say to Congress: "You’re fired!"

So our plan is for everyone to vote out the incumbents in Congress.  We should all vote for a challenger or write-in candidate for every Congressional position.

There’s Only One Flaw…

This is a good plan, but it will never work.  Some people may indeed vote against the incumbent just out of revolt.  But for many, partisanship will take over. 

Partisans often believe that it’s better to elect a bad leader from their party, than elect a good leader from another party.  So a Republican is unlikely to vote for a Democrat, and vice versa.  And a vote for the #2 candidate in their own party is essentially a vote for the opposition, so that won’t happen much either.

So Here’s a Better Plan: Just Vote!

Since we cannot count on everyone to vote Congressional incumbents out of office, here is the next best thing:

Everyone should vote!

Regardless of whether you vote for Democrat, Republican or Independent; challenger, write-in or incumbent.  If an overwhelming majority of citizens vote this election, it sends a clear message to Congress:

We, the American people, are watching and listening and paying attention, and we will hold Congress accountable for its actions and inactions as it serves the American people.

So please vote on or before November 4th and make your voice heard!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 at 7:32 pm and is filed under Election, Problems, Scandal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.