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SERVE THE PEOPLE NOT THE PARTY
By Richard Todd
September 27, 2006
Don’t waste your vote, vote Independent. That statement may sound odd; normally the argument about wasted votes have favored the two major US Political Parties. That was prior to the Internet.
With campaign support (meaning money) available via the Internet, there is suddenly a level (well more level) playing field for Independent Candidates. This enables the electorate to choose a candidate whose first loyalty is to the constituency rather than to a Political Party.
It also means that with only a small number of Legislators who are Independent, it is these individuals who will have a deciding say as to who controls the Legislative Agenda. That, my friends, is real power.
So -------- don’t waste your vote on major party candidates but choose an Independent.
In addition to choosing who controls the Legislative Agenda, your choice of Independents also restores honest debate over important issues facing the nation. With the present pattern of party-line voting, important issues are decided by dictates from the National Committees of the two major parties. This pattern is a clear presentation of a “house divided” which Lincoln warned against in 1858. (“A House divided against itself cannot stand”).
America has reached another critical crossroads in terms of what the future has in store. Those who favor a warm and fuzzy Foreign Policy are failing to face squarely the dangers that confront the Industrialized World. Drafting Foreign Policy so that other countries will like us is not necessarily sound strategic thinking.
Our leadership position is based upon military strength and that arsenal doesn’t win many friends (except when a crisis occurs).
To maintain our leadership position we also need a strong economy which supports all else. Many Career Legislators are trapped in “inside the beltway” thinking and are completely out of touch with Working America. This out-of-touchness was evident in the Dubai Ports Fiasco and the Teri Shaivo tragedy. Other examples are legion.
Coming to grips with the emerging power of Islam is no small order in itself. The wealth of the oil producing nations of the Middle East puts a whole new face on the long-held religious biases. It’s time to send some Career Politicians into retirement and infuse our Legislature with new thinking as well as the ability to reach across the aisle. Vote Independent.
That does not mean that the two Major Parties will dry up and blow away. Both Major Parties have a historical record of greatness. The infusion of Independents will help to restore a spirit of service to America rather than continue the existing trench warfare. VOTE INDEPENDENT.
Those of us who spent our childhood during the FDR Administration can remember an America that was united. Our entry into World War II was that of a nation hardened by ten years of the Great Depression. Yes, there were cultural divides; rich and poor, black and white, north and south ------- but the nation stood firm as the UNITED States. Our present identifications of red states and blue states undermines the source of our strength as a united people. If we continue as a “house divided” we do so to our own peril.
The US Constitution provides each of us as American Citizens the right to elect a government of our choice. That Right is a cherished possession of a free people but carries with it the solemn obligation to choose wisely. We’re not constrained by our Constitution to choose from only two candidates offered by the Major Parties. VOTE INDEPENDENT.
Finally, Dear Friends, it is not the candidate who is needy; it is We, the People who must recognize our urgent need for relief from interparty bickering and gamesmanship to maintain a prosperous America. Out-of-touch politicians in Washington DC are not meeting the needs of our Nation. The time is NOW. ACT. Don’t waste your vote.
Let us push forward the frontiers of effective Constitutional Government; grasp firmly the cord of Liberty and ring loudly the Bell of Freedom.
VOTE INDEPENDENT
Richard Todd has been a resident of the Snoqualmie area for the last twenty-four years. He participated in the early development of military jet engines (1950’s) and worked as a Professional Engineer in aviation and marine propulsion. He is an Independent candidate for Congress in the Eighth district in Washington State.
THE RELIGIOUS CENTER
By Richard Todd October 15, 2006
Media references to the political impact of “people of faith” in America is normally characterized as “the religious right”. That may be understandable, to a point, since the fifty year struggle known as the “Cold War” defined our socialist enemy as “Godless Communism”.
It is possible, however, that now “people of faith” are no longer huddled at the conservative end of the political spectrum. A more appropriate term for the political aspirations of this faith based community may be “religious center”. The question then becomes “Who will they support?” The obvious answer is one who holds the middle of the political spectrum.
The continuing drift away from Faith based standards by the American body politic is a legitimate concern of the religious community. It is understandable, also, that the efforts of the “people of faith” to elect candidates with conservative pedigree have been disappointingly one-sided. The religious community did their best to win election for the nominees from the party labeled as conservative. That party’s performance relative to Faith based needs has fallen short of expectations.
The election of Independent candidates whose loyalty is to their constituents and not to a political party may be just the combination which the religious center is seeking. A solution “made in Heaven”(if the Reader will accept a Fundamentalist Christian phrase).
It is not surprising that the Congressman Foley scandal has touched off a political bonfire. The perceived slide or diminution of moral standards within the United States reaches critical mass when evidenced within the “Halls of Congress”. It may be unfair to scapegoat Speaker Hastert, but as President Kennedy said, “Life is Unfair”.
With financial support via the Internet, the Independent candidates are now in a position to compete with nominees of the major parties. Even with only a small number of Independents in the Congress, that impact will have a resounding effect. The Independents will have the “swing” vote which is so crucial in orienting national policy.
For the Religious Center, the Independent candidate may be the best happening imaginable (except of course that of the Second Coming or the Messiah).
People of Faith have written numerous chapters in American history, starting well before the establishment of the United States. Catholic colonists who founded Maryland, arrived during the reign of the British Queen who inspired the name “Bloody Mary”. Their neighbors in the Virginia colony, whose passage was arranged by Elizabeth I, the Protestant Queen, found as a matter of survival that their Catholic cousins shared common ideals. Not that religious intolerance hasn’t been part of our history; even as late as World War II, some of the followers of Judaism who were fleeing the Nazi outrages were turned away from our shores.
It has been, never-the-less the People of Faith who provided the cohesion which enabled the building of a society which spanned the North American continent. Now we find ourselves welcoming the followers of “Eastern” religions; Buddism, Hinduism, Islam etc. Each group shares the core belief in an overarching intelligence which guides humanity to the promised land.
America’s dalliance with irreverent and hedonistic pursuits may be a short-lived episode in our checkered path to the establishment of a just and peaceful world community. It is therefore in the interests of the Nation to give heed to the advice and council of the Religious Center. A thriving economy and full employment can change very quickly as the Global Market exercises its influence.
America’s present status as a “house divided” makes it imperative to explore new avenues to re-unite the country. This daunting challenge is not for the faint of heart; a belief in the basic tenets of our Constitution and a willingness to serve the entire constituency with undivided loyalty must in the end prevail.
So, Dear Reader, be of good faith and know that with the election of Independent candidates to public office we will yet reach the Promised Land.
THE GREATNESS OF WORKING AMERICA
THE GREATNESS OF WORKING AMERICA
The American electorate has been constant in their pleading for bipartisanship in our nation's capitol. Finally Congress responded with bipartisan support for a one hundred and sixty-seven BILLION dollar stimulant package. This bill is designed to provide help for a sagging economy but it also can be identified as a clever effort to re-elect incumbents through the use or taxpayer dollars.
Voting against a public give-away can be seen as an act of tremendous political courage or an exercise in sheer lunacy. For a nation as deeply in debt as the United States, the Robin Hood complex of taking money collected from the wealthy and distributing it to those of lower income is a reckless act of economic desperation.
It is time for the American electorate to break the hypnotic spell woven by clever politicians in our nation's capitol. As a people, our greatness is achieved by productive work, not by playing games with the housing bubble or speculating 24/7 on the vagaries of the stock market.
Health care can be earned by those who develop their productive skills which makes them valuable workers in the vibrant society of industrialized America. It is the individual initiative which makes this country great, not government handouts.
Complaints about gas prices have entered the political stump speeches of the leading Presidential candidates. Generally speaking, it's not gas that's more expensive, it's that the US dollar is weaker.
The burst of the housing bubble is obviously a jolt to our national economy. After all, there are a host of industries whose primary business is to supply that market. Just because this had an impact on the stock market doesn't mean that we, as a nation, must panic and act out of impulse. Throwing money (which we don't have) at every conceivable problem by our elected representatives appears to be the normal knee-jerk reaction. This is not, however, a demonstration of wisdom but rather a display of the degree to which our career politicians are out of touch with Working America,.
It falls to the American electorate to stimulate our national economy; a good place to start is by retiring the career politicians. The stimulating effect of new blood in Congress, including Independent representatives whose loyalty is to their constituents and not to a political party, is a constructive first step toward reviving our nation's economic health.
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