What Can Be Done To Change The Broken Political System by Guadamour

GUADAMOUR

by Guadamour
Dandelion Salad
featured writer

Guadamour’s blog post
Feb. 6, 2008

In election years such as this one, the word “Democracy” is constantly bandied about. It would seem that every politician running wants to make the USA more “Democratic.”

That is very interesting because the United States of America was not set up as a “Democracy,” nor has it ever been a “Democracy.”

The USA is a Representative Republic which is a far cry from a “Democracy.”

According to George Washington and the founders of the USA, the government of the country derives from the people. They do this by electing Representatives and Senators.

Theoretically these elected officials are suppose to vote the will of the people. There is, however, one big catch: they’re not legally obligated to vote for anyone but themselves (and more and more for their campaign contributors who helped to get them elected).

It seems evident that elected officials don’t vote the will of the electorate when over 70% of the population wants us out of Iraq and they keep voting funding for the war. That is only one of hundreds of possible examples.

It is foolhardy and naive to think that anyone running for the office of President will get the country out of Iraq without the express approval of their corporate backers or the “Military Industrial Complex.” This is as true for Ron Paul as it is for anyone else.

Ron Paul backers will, of course, say that it is not true because Paul does not take corporate contributions. Ron Paul will be hamstrung if he actually gets elected and tries to stop the war, because at that time Congress will actually reassert its constitutional authority as a co-branch of government. It can’t be any other way because most of Congress is bought and paid for by corporations and the “Military Industrial Complex (try closing a munitions or arms manufacturer in any Congressmen’s district).

When one studies newspapers, magazines and what’s posted on the net, one immediately becomes aware of the discontent in the country as it is being operated. This is true of people who want election reform, tax reform, a true investigation into 9-11, the anti-abortion contingency, gun-rights advocates, et cetera, et cetera.

It is blatantly apparent that politicians are a major part of the problem; however, how can one take voting seriously when it is a choice between two evils. And oftentimes the lesser of the two evils does not win. Besides that, with the Diebold machines now in use it is apparently easier to steal a US election than one in a third world country. One should not forget what happened in 2000 and 2004.

There are people upset over foreign policy, the “Justice” Department, the CIA, Diebold voting machines, mandatory IDs, the continued presence of the Electoral College (where apparently cheat sheets can be bought). The list goes on and on.

Everyone seems to be bitching and complaining about something, but no one is really offering much in the way of how to change the system which is stacked in favor of the wealthy and corporate interests.

Twenty-four states in the Union offer their registered voters the right of initiative or referendum. This allows the electorate to bring issues that are of interest to them before the voters. A simple majority will pass an issue, and it generally becomes law once the governor signs it (this, of course, varies from state to state). No governor in his or her right mind would not sign such a referendum into law if they want to remain in office.

There is now a national movement gathering signatures of registered voters (natural individuals and not corporations) via the internet to give the people of the entire country the right of initiative and referendum. Once 50,000,000 signatures are gathered the initiative will be put before the entire electorate. If approved it will be come the law of the land.

With that quantity of signatures no president or legislature can ignore it, nor the corporately controlled media.

This will truly give the electorate a say in the running of government, and it should spark a much more profound fire of interest in the electorate as to how their country is administered.

The movement is called The National Initiative For Democracy.

For anyone serious about changing the direction the country is headed and not just whining about it, it would behoove them to learn more about this movement at www.ni4d.us.