Monday, January 2, 2012

"A Two Party Failure" By Elizabeth Roberts


Samuel Jackson played the part of a grief stricken father who avenged the rape and assault of his daughter by killing her attackers in the 1996 movie A Time to Kill. The movie followed his subsequent trial, that of a black man attempting to get a fair trial in the south. Upon looking at the all white, middle class jury on the first day of trial he questioned, “That’s a jury of my peers?”

I express similar sentiments every time I go into the voting booth: This is a representative government?  My choice is either one that does not represent me at all, or one that represents me very little to not at all. Yet, like the character in the movie, that is what I get stuck with, like it or not.
Unlike the character in the movie who was acquitted in the end, we the people are forever condemned to live under the tentacles of a leviathan federal government, one that never rises to the occasion no matter how compelling the arguments against its shenanigans are. 

After two years of political activism, and exploring the root causes of our out of control government, I can, without reservation, point my finger at the two completely corrupt political parties as the source of most of the trouble.  If you want to change things and reclaim your birthright as Americans, that is where I would begin.

The following quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower, perfectly defines our political parties today: “If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.”
This begs the question: What right and moral causes do our two primary parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, advance?

As for the Democratic Party, it is nearly impossible for me to fathom what their right and moral cause is. Could it be abortion on demand? Unloading our society of those pesky, charitable, forgiving, God fearing Christians? Exploiting gays, blacks, Mexicans, and every other conceivable minority group? Bleeding the incentive out of every American to be a productive citizen? Advancing the snail darter to the top of the food chain? Making the government as big as is humanly possible?

As much as the Democratic Party principles elude me, I must admit the Republicans disgust me even more. Unlike their Democratic opponents who stand for despicable things, they stand for nothing. The old axiom attributed to Alexander Hamilton, “He who stands for nothing will fall for anything,” describes the Republican Party to a t. Their right and moral causes include: kowtowing to the Democrats, changing direction whenever the political winds warrant it, spreading “freedom and democracy” at gunpoint when it suits them, doing or saying whatever it takes to get elected, and last but not least, making the government as big as is humanly possible.

Unfortunately, what these two parties lack in morality, they make up for in money, resources and manpower, and they have no intention of allowing third parties or candidates that won’t toe their party’s line access to their good old boys’ club. 

If you need proof that neither party stands for limited government, take a look at Pennsylvania’s political landscape. Pennsylvania boasted one of the best economies in the world just after World War II. Now, at the end of 2011, Pennsylvania ranks among the least economically promising states, 43rd, due to burdensome taxation and overregulation, according to the annual Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index. Republicans sat at the helm the majority of that time.

Now, I am no expert in political affairs, but it seems to me that no matter which party reigns, we the people lose a little more wiggle room under the boot of big government. Maybe it is high time we stop trusting the Democrats and Republicans to choose our candidates for us. If you feel robbed of a real choice at the voting booth, take a moment and contact Rob Gleason, PA Republican Party Chairman, and Jim Burn, PA Democratic Party Chairman, and the other members of the party committees and tell them, “No preprimary endorsements!” Maybe then we will get a choice of something other than the lesser of two evils on Election Day.


NOTE: Letter printed in the York Sunday News, January 1, 2012 Edition



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