America - Bought and Paid for
31/05/12 16:39
Democracy is where every individual’s choice is counted and where each person’s will is felt in the process by which decisions are made and things get done. Most Americans would agree with that.
There is a little more than five months between now and the national election of 2012. According to Tom Raum of the Associated Press, The Obama-Romney Election Contest will cost about $1.6 billion plus “another few hundred million from super PACs and convention spending”.
The question is: Where among this hoopla and deluge of cash does one find the “choice and will” of any particular person? On the national news? Gallup poll results, maybe. What the person wants who lives across the street in our towns or cities, not likely. Perhaps that is why only 56.8 percent of the voting age population turned out to vote in 2008.
The only individuals who end up running for office in America as a Republican or a Democrat are those whose political highways have been paved and paid for by those who can afford to pay $1,000, $5,000, or more for a plate of food and a speech at a campaign dinner.
There is a little more than five months between now and the national election of 2012. According to Tom Raum of the Associated Press, The Obama-Romney Election Contest will cost about $1.6 billion plus “another few hundred million from super PACs and convention spending”.
The question is: Where among this hoopla and deluge of cash does one find the “choice and will” of any particular person? On the national news? Gallup poll results, maybe. What the person wants who lives across the street in our towns or cities, not likely. Perhaps that is why only 56.8 percent of the voting age population turned out to vote in 2008.
The only individuals who end up running for office in America as a Republican or a Democrat are those whose political highways have been paved and paid for by those who can afford to pay $1,000, $5,000, or more for a plate of food and a speech at a campaign dinner.