NO, I'm not talking about flatulence, although that would be a fine metaphor for the quality of work our elected officials are doing these days. Nor am I addressing a sometimes inflammatory member of this board from whom we've not heard in some time. What I AM talking about is a call to action for all my fellow citizens of voting age to incite a bloodless, peaceful overthrow of the persons responsible for denying us access to our treasured national parks, which is but one of seemingly countless atrocities that have been inflicted on the American people by their government over the past few decades, but at least in my mind, must be among the last.
If we're to ever regain some semblance of the freedom we all so vocally claim to covet, the time to act is now. (Actually, it was probably about 10 years ago, but oh well.) I'm calling for what I will call the SBD Change Thingy (I know the name isn't great, but "Velvet Revolution" was already taken, and I hesitate to use the "r" word). This is not a call to arms, as such. Nor is it an announcement of an organized protest. It is a sincere plea to my fellow citizens to exercise the last means we have available to affect change for the greater good of our society. What I'm asking each and every one of you to do is to abandon whatever illusions you may have that either political party has your best interests in mind and vote against your incumbent members of Congress in the next election. Should their successors continue to enact legislation that further infringes on our constitutional rights (assuming there are any left) or places additional financial burden on the middle and lower classes (assuming those are still distinct), they must, in turn, be voted out of office. The eventual effect of this peaceful form of protest could only be to make it abundantly clear to prospective candidates that passing legislation that does not benefit the majority of society will not be rewarded with extended tenure.
Due to the inconvenient nature of term lengths for various officials (which is absolutely intentional; make no mistake), this strategy will likely take time to reach full effectiveness, but eventually, it will become clear that working for the majority will be the only way to achieve extended tenure and the benefits that come with it.
No doubt, many of you have questions. For instance, you might ask:
- What about the President? Shouldn't he be included?
Yes. Absolutely, he should, but legal term limits dictate that our current President will be out next election regardless, so we won't be sending him much of a message by voting for someone else. The next guy or gal, however? By all means. No second term if you suck.
- If I'm a Democrat (or Republican), won't voting against my incumbent, who is also a Democrat (or Republican), result in a Republican (or Democrat) taking their place?
First of all, if you still believe that makes a difference, you are hopelessly stupid. However, we still need your vote to make this happen, so I digress.... Additionally, that doesn't necessarily need to be the case. See that your incumbent is defeated by a fellow Democrat (or Republican) in the local primary, and you will have a New Democrat (or Republican), who is hopefully not a self-serving a-hole, to vote for. Finally, in the event the end result were a complete shift in party representation, the same impasse would exist as does today, so it would be equally impossible for the majority party to enact it's evil schemes unilaterally.
- What if I like my incumbent? Why should I vote against him/her?
Rest assured that anything your incumbent has done to make you a happy constituent was done because he/she decided it was in his/her best interests (not yours). Remember (painful though it may be) Janet Jackson's hit song, "What Have You Done For Me Lately?", then remember the past few years' legislation and how little it has done to help you. This should help you get over any notions that voting him/her back in is in your best interests. If the incumbent is family, you have my sympathy, but you still don't have to vote for him/her. Some other fool most certainly will, and you can tell him/her that was you.
- How will I know when it's safe to vote my incumbents to a second term?
I'd like to say you will know it's time to give them another term when you take a drive downtown (after paying less than $2/gallon for some alternative fuel) and see people smiling and helping old ladies across the street on their way to local, small businesses to shop for American made goods. Of course, it will be more subtle than that, if we're to be realistic. Perhaps the day you see any one of those things, it will be time to grant officials (all incumbents, as they should all be rewarded for a collective effort) more time to work on some other happy stuff. If no further progress is made in the following term, out they go.
- Wouldn't term limits and abolishing private campaign funding do more to fix things?
Almost certainly, YES. Is any elected official likely to vote for either of those changes? H-E-double hockey sticks, NO. Besides, if they're truly working for the greater good, why shouldn't they be granted the opportunity to serve indefinitely and enjoy the perks that come with so doing? That is what we pay them to do, yes? As for the private funding bit, I think that may be the single biggest obstacle standing in the way of just, responsible government, but I think it could be overcome by making the pay and perks attractive enough to de-incentivize corruption. The do good or you're out bit should get us a fresh crop of people who are happy to get paid a good salary plus great benefits to simply do what is right.
- Aren't you painting Congress with an awfully broad brush?
I suppose there are a few individuals among our legislators who have good intentions. I imagine most of them start out that way. Regardless, any good solution to our current problem will create a few sacrificial lambs. Besides, there's no law that says they can't run again in a future election. If they really are good ones, they should be able to enjoy a long stay.
I'm sure there are plenty of other questions/issues, but we have to start somewhere. When President Obama got elected, it was largely because he promised change in Washington. I suppose the eventual outcome was inevitable, but although I knew that, the promise of something better was enough to earn him my vote. Clearly, most people want change. I say, let's take it into our own hands by making wholesale changes we DO have the power to make.
UP THE SBD CHANGE THINGY!!!!
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