| The Republican Party should step aside and let a real opposition party step up. Our political system has grown into something that only works well when at least two active sides putting forth effort in good faith.
The Republicans aren't up to that any more. All they are is a fund raising machine tied to a bunch of media shouters and their fan clubs. They have no desire to do the work of governing. Many of them publicly ridicule it, even while being paid with our tax money.
And did you get a load of their "budget"? Let's see any business get away with releasing a document as flimsy as that. Let's see any high schooler get away with that. The dogs didn't just happen to eat the Republicans' homework, they were fed it with gravy on top.
The Democratic Party, whose candidate I just voted for, is far from perfect. But at least many of them are trying in good faith to do their jobs. But, under the American system of doing things, they need people working along side them to point out where their assumptions may be wrong. The Republicans aren't up to it, so we should look elsewhere.
A third party that did some proper organizing could have a respectable roster of candidates ready by 2010, next year. By 2012, they could have a decent number elected to the House of Representatives, and be started on the Senate. By 2016, they could field viable candidates for all offices, including President.
Who should the new second party be?
Last November, I voted for Obama and Gillibrand under New York's Working Families party line. Perhaps that party can do the job. Or, seeing as how the Democratic party covers the spectrum from medium-left to medium-right, perhaps a party can fill the growing gap to their left. You newsies are constantly claiming that nobody wants socialized medicine; wouldn't it be fun to actually put that to a vote? All we have to lose is our high infant mortality rate.
You people in the news media have a role to play -- admittedly, a larger role than I like. Right now, your methodology is to take any statement a public figure makes and ask yourself, "Who would object to this the most?" Then you go to that group's spokesperson of the day and confront them, in hopes of getting a juicy quote on the record. For instance, you go to Peta every time there's a news story about meat. Never mind that Peta is so small and discredited that they've gone after the town of Fishkill (where I work) TWICE, just because of its name, and have apologized for it at least once.
So how about helping America fix its political system by going a bit further afield for reaction quotes? It's not as if you can sit around and pretend you don't have growing competition. Talk to some political organizations that still try to represent actual voters. Leave the Republican sound bytes where they belong, on partisan "news" releases and the comedy shows. |
STATE BLOGS
