I was extremely ecstatic with the results of the recent election, not because the democrats are in control of the house and senate, but simply because Pombo is out. Yet,I find it frightening that Pombo was in power for 14 years.
Not only did he propose to sell off some of the national parks, but he wanted to pare away, parts or all, the current Endangered Species act, open shores in coastal states for oil drilling, and is connected to the sweat shot operators out in the Marianas. Hollywood probably based the profile of a corrupted politician that we see often in flicks after Pombo.
Even though I am ecstatic, I know that true representation has not been achieved. I long for the day when there is a John Folk in office, who would be a middle class worker who doesn't own several parcels of land or has ties to several large corporations.
Currently, it is a government for only 1% of the American people.
I was extremely ecstatic with the results of the recent election, not because the democrats are in control of the house and senate, but simply because Pombo is out. Yet,I find it frightening that Pombo was in power for 14 years.
Not only did he propose to sell off some of the national parks, but he wanted to pare away, parts or all, the current Endangered Species act, open shores in coastal states for oil drilling, and is connected to the sweat shot operators out in the Marianas. Hollywood probably based the profile of a corrupted politician that we see often in flicks after Pombo.
Even though I am ecstatic, I know that true representation has not been achieved. I long for the day when there is a John Folk in office, who would be a middle class worker who doesn't own several parcels of land or has ties to several large corporations.
Currently, it is a government for only 1% of the American people.
I agree- the gummint is one for about 1% of the people, and unfortunately has been that way for some time. I too wish we had citizen legislators out of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," although I don't think that will happen in large enough numbers to make a real difference. Russ Feingold is one of the few genuine articles out there, I think.
To achieve any sense of true representation, I think two things are going to have to happen first:
1) voting reform. These electronic voting machines are going to have to go-- seriously, if the government can collect taxes annually without major problems, they can run an election without difficulty, either.
2) campaign finance reform. You look at a lot of races, even where you have some truly good candidates, and there's tons of money involved. Look at Schwarzenegger, or in Connecticut, Ned Lamont. These guys can just write checks to themselves. There aren't too many races where the "little guy" can emerge from the middle class. That's another reason the McNerney win over Pombo was great; McNerney is not wealthy by any means (he actually mortgaged his house the first time he ran, in 2004!), and came out of nowhere to defeat an entrenched, corrupt pol. In the midst of disillusionment and cynicism, there's always hope...
I agree- the gummint is one for about 1% of the people, and unfortunately has been that way for some time. I too wish we had citizen legislators out of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," although I don't think that will happen in large enough numbers to make a real difference. Russ Feingold is one of the few genuine articles out there, I think.
To achieve any sense of true representation, I think two things are going to have to happen first:
1) voting reform. These electronic voting machines are going to have to go-- seriously, if the government can collect taxes annually without major problems, they can run an election without difficulty, either.
2) campaign finance reform. You look at a lot of races, even where you have some truly good candidates, and there's tons of money involved. Look at Schwarzenegger, or in Connecticut, Ned Lamont. These guys can just write checks to themselves. There aren't too many races where the "little guy" can emerge from the middle class. That's another reason the McNerney win over Pombo was great; McNerney is not wealthy by any means (he actually mortgaged his house the first time he ran, in 2004!), and came out of nowhere to defeat an entrenched, corrupt pol. In the midst of disillusionment and cynicism, there's always hope...
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