Enjoyed reading this letter to the editor in the Columbian today. Used to think the people had the power. Before Howard Dean's failed campaign, before John Kerry's failed campaign, before the failed Iraq resolutions, before US run Iraqi torture prisons, before illegal US wiretapping, before impeachment was taken off the table, before Scooter was given a "get out of jail free" card (this list could go on and on but in a dictatorship it's irrelevant). Now I no longer delude myself. Oops, wrong, that's right, the "power of the people" is right next to where we found the WMD. Oh, and by the way, does anyone remember this was at most a "six-month war". Of course it was actually much shorter than that, since then it has just been our illegal and immoral OCCUPATION. How does it feel to be an illegal occupier of a foreign country, America? You are part of the problem because you are not part of the solution.
The people have power
It is clear that those we have sent to represent us in Washington, D.C., have forgotten who their employer is. We, the people, elect our officials and no matter what party you belong to, right now you are being ignored. We, the people, deserve more than form letters, campaign speeches, and a nauseating amount of junk mail.
Politely close your door to their campaigners, print return to sender on their mailings, and show them that Americans are smart. We know that all they really want is our money and vote.
What Americans deserve are men and women who appreciate the trust we have put in them with our votes. We deserve for our elected officials to be present when Congress is in session, rather than stumping for a distant election, slinging mud on Hardball, or appearing in a felony court room.
What Americans deserve are representatives who stand by their words, whether under oath or on television, and vote accordingly. We must demand that our legislators live by the same laws we must.
We, the people, have the power to hire and fire; it is time we band together and review the job description with our elected officials. Use your pen, use your money and use your vote.
Beth Pfenning
Vancouver
Sorry Beth, but your pen, your money and your vote is not going to change this. No one is heeding your pen. The money of the top 2% trumps all of the possible "little people" $$ contributions. And they know how and have proven they know how to steal your vote over and over again. You are right that if if we banded together, we could change things. But when you can only get about 12-20 people to a Vancouver protest rally in a county of 400,000, that idea is absurd also. The only thing unfortunately that is going to change this is more pain. And probably lots of it.
You are correct when you stated that not enough people will show up. But my big question is why both of our Senators voted for the immigration bill. One of the senators said it was a flawed bill, but they could come back and fix it.
Oh yes, and pigs fly. Knowing that it was a flawed bill, why didn’t she put a hold on it? Each senator has that right. By putting a hold on it, they would have had time to do it correctly. But 800 pages for a bill? How about enforcing the laws that are on the books! And yet we, the voters, keep voting these bottom feeders back into office.
The meeting with the Fairway Village Democrats yesterday was for me a breath of fresh air as was Ms. Pfenning’s letter.
Americans of all persusions are becoming wise to the world of money, slick advertising, bad religion and politics. I just hope it is in time.
[quote post="720"]And yet we, the voters, keep voting these bottom feeders back into office.[/quote]
And that is exactly why we will continue to have failed results. But with all the brainwashing that big media is spewing, you cannot entirely blame the voters. And immigration is just one of many ways the Federal government is failing us.
Given the apparent ease at which the executive branch has been able to seize total control and mess everything up makes it very apparent that we need to redesign things. Our founding fathers’ grand design cannot be expected to work forever.
The problem is though that the people in power have no incentive to improve the system especially now that their power is absolute. It is not easy to willingly give up some power for the greater good of the country.
Even if the Senate moved to impeach Bush and Cheney, there is nothing to stop Bush from declaring all of Congress “enemy combatants” and thereby shut down Congress by putting them all in jail.
This is why Congress should never have passed the Patriot Act and now appear powerless to restrict the Executive Branch in any way.
[quote post="720"]Even if the Senate moved to impeach Bush and Cheney, there is nothing to stop Bush from declaring all of Congress enemy combatants’ and thereby shut down Congress by putting them all in jail. [/quote]
There is one thing – the fact that there would be a civil war if Bush did that. And we all know it. Who knows if they do, but at least his handlers can probably predict that sort of thing. Congress would disregard that order, ruling it unconstitutional, and impeach him. Then the Supreme Court would get involved, blahblahblah, but in the mean time there’d be some violence.
There’s no need to be so cynical, but more importantly there’s no need to look at everything as black and white. If you’re pro-choice, are you “bought” if you take money from NARAL? Every time someone takes money from anyone, there’s this backlash where “now you’re bought.” The fact is you can’t CHANGE the system unless you’re IN the system, and to get IN the system today you do need money. The problem is that, yes, in the long run you get corrupted by it, but the way to fix that isn’t to run campaigns that are by definition doomed to failure due to lack of money and closed-minded ideology (read: Gravel).
[quote post="720"]There’s no need to be so cynical, but more importantly there’s no need to look at everything as black and white.[/quote]
I guess there is a first for everything. I don’t see anything as black and white and you are the first one to ever say I do. And anyone that is not cynical about US politics today is not living in the real world.
[quote post="720"]I don’t see anything as black and white [/quote]
Then how come every time someone takes money from a lobbyist, even if the VAST MAJORITY of their money comes from small-dollar individual contributors, you say they’re “bought”?
And I didn’t say you shouldn’t be cynical, just not to the point you are now.