Fedupabuster

For quite some time now I’ve used this forum as an opportunity to air my displeasure with our democratic system. The “haves” (the ten-percenters) continue to control things, while the “have-nots” (the tax base) continue to finance the brilliant revelations from on high. The system is broken and no one wants to fix it. You notice I didn’t say “knows how to fix it.”

Democracy in theory can’t be beat. But the way the concept was put into practice in this country some two-hundred and thirty years ago was flawed from the beginning. The “haves” set up the ground rules, while the have-nots, placated with the notion their interests were well represented, entrusted their ideals with a very select group of men.

“All men are created equal.” What a great declaration don’t you think? Just reading it makes me all goosebumpy. Nevertheless, we all know that it’s a well intentioned, huge crock of shit. I don’t have to spell it out for anybody the incongruity of that statement. Don’t get me wrong, there is no other place on the planet I’d rather live. But that too is an asinine statement since I’ve never lived anywhere else for a true comparison.

Thomas Jefferson, the author of that famous quote, knew our version of democracy had some kinks that needed to be worked out. Before he was elected President he was quick to point out what needed tweeking. That is until he became President himself, and realized under the restrictions set forth, how tough it is to tweek. Not much has changed. Opposing party members point out what’s wrong, offer what they deem to be a viable solution, only to find out armchair politicking is easy compared to getting something put into action.

So here we are many years later, mired in the same bullshit. Our elected leaders are beholden to a small group of powerful individuals, while the rhetoric they spew forth is as empty as Sarah Palin’s head.

Many learned individuals have opinions as to how our democratic system can be fixed, but, sad to say, those who control the purse strings –corporate and political- can’t and won’t. Why should they, democracy as it currently is, suits them just fine. And the wheels on the bus go round and round.

In a major election, roughly fifty percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The other fifty percent take to heart the adage “If god had intended us to vote, he’d have given us candidates.” The middle class (In our democratic classless society) is diminishing. Meaning the chasm of the distribution of wealth has grown larger. What’s going to bridge that ever growing gap between the political elite and the common man? Who will better represent our interests in public office? Why wealthy business people that’s who.

Election season is here, and has been for quite some time if you watch network television. We’re inundated with campaign ads. Here in Florida, the primary election campaigns are filled with such vitriol you’d think the candidates represented opposing parties. In keeping with the insatiable appetite for anything “tabloid,” these all talk no substance airbags whose faces have been plastered over my TV screen, think they hold the keys to all of society’s financial and collective ills while taking every opportunity to debase their opponent. I guess they work on the premise everybody loves a good catfight.

What they’re really doing is exploiting how stupid they think we are. Sorry, not “stupid” but “ignorant and uninformed.” My son and I decided calling seventy percent of the nation’s adult population “stupid” doesn’t sound very nice. That’s why we’re switching to “ignorant and uninformed.” But still, seventy percent is a lot of stupid people.

How else do you explain South Carolina voters selecting a miscreant like “Al Green.” When some voters were interviewed, they said they cast their ballot on name recognition alone, knowing nothing about the candidate. Look this wastoid “Al Green” up on the Internet. No, he’s not the singer.

How else do you explain Florida gubernatorial Republican Party primary candidate Rick Scott’s recent ad? Scott is a former healthcare bigwig who defrauded the government out of millions in Medicare and Medicaid payments. Hey, but as he’s been telling the viewing public for so long now, “I’m not a career politician,” it’s as if that’s supposed to make feel you so much better about him being unethical.

Scott’s ad opens with a few disparaging remarks about what’s happened in Florida “under Barack Obama.” Mind you, Scott is a gubernatorial candidate. What the fuck he’s doing comparing what he plans to accomplish versus Obama’s failures as he sees them is anybody’s guess. But it gets better.

Florida unemployment statistics flash across the screen. Florida now has 1.2 million people out of work. Florida has 12% unemployment just in case you’re part of that seventy percent that doesn’t understand what the numbers mean. In the next segment, a brochure touts “Rick Scott’s Seven Year Plan” for fixing Florida. Scott plans to employ 700,000 people …in seven years.

Ok, help me out here. Obama, who is President and not the governor of Florida (whew, I’m glad that’s been cleared up for me), has been in office for eighteen months and there are 1.2 million unemployed in a state. Rick Scott has a plan to cut that number to 500,000 within seven years when a term as governor is less than that? But at least he’s going to do away with the state plane. Now there’s something to hang your hat on.

In another ad Rick Scott lets the public know he’s in agreement with the Arizona immigration law. I find his lack of geographical knowledge unsettling. Besides, a form of the Arizona immigration law has been on the books for some time now. The law is not the issue the public should concern itself with. We should be more concerned about the corporations and industries who profit by employing these individuals, and the dearth of tax dollars being paid into the system. But hey, that kind of thinking wouldn’t divide the nation. Keep us preoccupied with the smaller issue to deflect the attention away from one much larger.

The Democratic primary race for Senate is no better. As far as I can tell Jeff Greene another successful businessman, is running against second generation career politician Kendrick Meek. Greene’s campaign platform consists of calling Meek corrupt, and Meek says Greene benefits financially from the suffering of others via shady business dealings. So?

As far as we all know, all politicians are corrupt to varying degrees. Successful businessmen are successful because not all their practices are above board. My question is what do either of these men stand for, and what are their positions on crucial political issues that face Floridians. I guess stuff like that a seventy percenter doesn’t need to bother themselves with.

Greene’s big claim is that he has a track record of creating jobs. That would fall into the “no shit” category. I was always under the impression that when you owned a business, you needed people to work there to help the business run. I’m having a hard time deciding if these candidates are acting like they’re members of the seventy percent group to gain favor, or are they really this fucking stupid? Sorry, I mean “ignorant and uninformed.”

Two incredibly wealthy businessmen cast aspersions toward their politician opponents claiming that what’s wrong with the system lie its being run by career politicians though both have benefited greatly by the system they are quick to condemn. All I see is substituting one evil for another, the abilities being honed in one arena as opposed to the other.

Idealistically democracy is a wonderful concept when put into practice falls woefully short of its original intent. So if you are born into the elitist snobbery or have accumulated boatloads of cash, you too can decide who is to hold public office, or run for that office yourself one day,unless you really are stupid.

Who in their right mind would want to clean up the mess that exists?