As the election draws closer, the number of fund raising calls from both sides keeps increasing. And the alarmist noises being made by those fund raisers gets more alarming. This week I got a call that set me to wondering just what these callers have been taught.
This one came from the Republican Senate Campaign Committee. It could just as easily been the Democrats. Both sides are the same. It went something like this (I am not making this up):
Caller: Hi. I am calling on behalf of the Republican Senate Committee. In November, Americans head to the polls to vote in the most important election in American history. We need to elect more Republican Senators to help get rid of Nancy Pelosi.
Me: Umm. You do know that Nancy Pelosi is Speaker of the House and 100 Republican Senators could not remove her.
Caller: Right. That is why we need to elect more Republican Senators.
Me: And you do know that Senators have no voice in who is Speaker of the House, right?
Caller: Yes. Because the Democratic majority....
Me: Not to be rude, but do you understand how Congress is structured? I mean you do know that the House of Representatives elects the Speaker and the Senate has no say at all.
Caller: Yes, I know that, and that is why we need more Republican Senators. All 435 Senate seats are up for election...
Me: There have not been 435 Senators since Rome burned. Want to try that again? No, wait. Let me explain. The House of Representatives currently has 435 members, all of whom face election every 2 years. The Senate is currently 100 members and only one-third of them face election every 2 years. So, what are you asking me for?
Caller: We need to raise money to elect more Republican Senators.
Me: Out of curiosity, who is the minority leader of the US Senate right now?
Caller: Michael Steele?
And so on. This call lasted quite some time, since I asked for a supervisor who was even less well informed. They could not name any Congressional leader except the false queen Pelosi and seemed somewhat baffled that Senators could not unseat her. They could not name the Republican candidate for Senate here in Florida, even though they were trying to raise money for him.
The answer to "Who is the GOP Senate candidate here in Florida?" was, "Oh, wait. I can't remember the name. Tea Party endorsed. I know that...."
What bothered me about this call was the fact that these callers have no idea how our government is structured. None. They don't know the difference between the House and Senate. They have no clue as to who is running or who is currently in office. This is not a lack of briefing by their employers. This is a lack of proper education in basic American civics. It is a lack of basic knowledge about who sits in leadership posts in our government.
I learned this stuff when I was in elementary school. It would be do easy to blame the schools or teacher's unions. And they should be brought to task for this. But the real culprit here is the failed 2 party system we have. The Democrats and Republicans don't want voters to know how it works or who is in charge. If the voters knew the truth about how horribly twisted and corrupt the system has become, no incumbent would ever win re-election.
So what are they teaching in the schools? Keep in mind that we just send billions to school districts across the country to help them meet their budgets. And while that money is controversial (what isn't controversial these days?) what is more aggravating is the lack of any kind of requirements or conditions to get the funding. So what do we get for our billions?
Not civics or any education on how our government works. No real explanation of our rights and freedoms. No teaching about how a bill becomes law or why a bicameral legislature is more representative than a unicameral form. Nope. We get more nonsense self-esteem claptrap. More "everyone is a winner" stupidity. Another round of "everyone can do anything."
And that is how a political fundraiser has no idea how the political system works. And that is why our elected officials are simply embarrassing. That is why the ballot has become a "hold your nose and vote," process. If you think this generation of self serving narcissistic elected failures is bad, wait for the next one.
One of the few things that is bipartisan is that narcissistic self righteousness. Look at Eric Cantor and Alan Grayson. Two members of the Parliament of Whores we call Congress. One from each of the corrupt parties. Yet, they are almost the same person. Totally convinced that they are right and everyone else is too stupid to see that. Both talk to the people like we are 4 year olds. Neither has a clue about the reality of life on "Main Street," and neither actually cares.
That is just 2 of the 535 self serving corrupt entities that occupy Capitol Hill. Those 2 are just examples of how bad our Congress really is. Sure. Obama's poll numbers are dropping. And well they should. He is not doing what one could call a great job. But Congress? Their numbers would embarrass Spiro Agnew. So few people hav favorable view of Congress that it is entirely possible that all of the favorable view results came from employees of Congress.
Well, I think we need to do some unemploying. Starting on November 2, we need to get rid of all of the party hacks and whores that are in Congress now and elect anyone that is not an incumbent. They cannot possibly be worse than the corrupted, self serving, overly entitled batch we have now. And where possible, not from one of the 2 failed parties.
If anyone can be blamed for the mess we have now, it is the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. As the phone call pointed out so effectively, they actually don't care about the governing part of the deal. All they want is the winning. For them it is just a game. Well, we are the umpires and it is time to send them to the clubhouse permanently.
To drive home that message, I am offering T-Shirts with this message:
As a capitalist and a free market person, I am selling them for both profit and with the intent of donating to those candidates that are willing to step outside the parties and declare a concern for the Constitution and the people.
You can order them here: http://www.itisnotagame.spreadshirt.com
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