|
Both Political Parties are Delusional
by James Glaser October 14, 2011 
The Republicans actually believe that the American people are on their side. Is that funny or what? Just as funny is that the Democrats think the same thing. Yes, both political parties have their core base that come hell or high water are going to stick with their side, but more and more Americans are coming to the realization that neither party is on their side. Have you read about how corporations own Washington? Well that isn't quit true. Money owns Washington, and it doesn't matter if that money comes from a corporation, and individual, or even a foreign country, because in Washington, money talks and everyone and everything else does not exist. Do you really think that a few hundred thousand e-mails sent to a Congressman can compare with the power that a few hundred thousand dollars has? Our politicians don't sell out cheaply. It takes big money to buy them, and the reason it takes big money, is that the rewards for owning a politician or better yet a group of politicians are huge. At one time, if you knew the right people in Washington, you could make yourself a million dollars. Today we are talking about billions of dollars. If you stand to haul in a billion dollars, you can afford to throw around many millions of dollars to get it. So, for years now, politicians in Washington have been raking it in, but they have become careless of late, and they have flaunted their money and power a bit too much. It worked for all those years, because the politicians of yesteryear knew they had to take care of the little guy, too. Well, the politicians of today have forgotten that, and that is why I believe the jig is up. Now I don't want you to think that politicians are getting envelopes full of money, even though that happens sometimes. Today, the money flows through all sorts of pipelines before it gets to the politician. Sometimes it takes years, and it is right out in the open with huge fees for speaking engagements or book deals after a person leaves office. Do you remember how George H.W. Bush was paid a million dollars for one talk in Japan? Nice honorarium, huh? Other times it is an investment that pays off big, or a relative gets a nice job. There are a lot of ways to make payoffs. Here is the problem for today's politicians. Too many Americans can now see how corrupt both political parties are, and they are starting to walk away. You might not want to think about what is going on in America, but when your son or daughter starts camping out in a park in New York, Chicago, Atlanta or any of the other cities where protests are going on, it forces you to think, and thinking is what the Democrats and Republicans don't want you to do. It isn't just the millions of Americans who are out of work who are thinking hard about what is going on with our country. Almost everybody who has some loved one or friend who has been hurt in this economic down-turn is thinking not only about their own future, but also what our political system is doing about it. When you think about it, that includes just about every American citizen. Meanwhile, our political parties on both sides of the aisle are going along thinking that no matter what they do, the country will side with them. Like I said in the title of this column, they are delusional. I don't see a third party taking over, but I do see a real purge of incumbents starting. Also those politicians who have abused their power the most, I believe will be retiring in droves. But no matter how it happens, change is a' comin'. Many politicians refuse to believe this, but what started as a protest on Wall Street is now spreading across the country, and neither party will escape from the scrutiny Americans are now giving their government. |
BACK to the Politics Columns.