The current political race for next President of the United States can be divisive. In California, less so, because the state has been chalked up for Barack Obama very early on and there is no chance it'll goto McCain.... so I don't see a lot of arguments over lunch. Having said that... there should be more debate about who should live in the White House ... but it shouldn't be limited to the great GOP v. DNC "smack-down" the country is wrapped up in.
"Reaching across the aisles" is what has led our country down the road we find ourselves in. Working toward a common goal, forgetting party alliances to put our country's best interests first is a noble cause and should be every U.S. Congressmen and Senator's duty. The problem is that our house is TOO cordial ... and their ideals are too closely aligned. Take for example the $700B rescue/bail-out package for the Financial sector. In the end, both parties agreed it was the right thing to do... but not before adding an additional $200B in pork to pass it.
Where is the voice of reason that stands up to these two political parties and says, "NO. Adding more pork to our country's already deep debt is not the right move for us." Nobody is there to keep the GOP and DNC honest. Each party likes to appoint themselves as the watch-dog for us, the American People, to keep "the other guys" from raising taxes, keeping abortion legal/safe, drilling, not drilling, etc. But in the end, these two parties are like Coke v. Pepsi. (No real difference at all.)
The United States of America is a diverse nation. How can our nation be represented by ONLY TWO political parties? It makes no sense. The reason we are represented by only two parties is because the two parties in control like it this way. They can push and pull on each other all day and night, year in and year out but in the end... they need each other to play one another's foil. It's been this way for many years but... Time is running out.
Time is running out because the great loser in this "fake battle" between the GOP and the DNC is US. We the people, though a coordinated effort from BOTH sides of the aisle of racked up huge amounts of debt, seen an unregulated financial system nearly (probably) collapse us and get us into a war nobody wants to be in. Before blame starts being thrown around... it's BOTH sides fault.
I get wrapped up in the GOP v. DNC smack-down myself.... I have my opinions about McCain's choice for VP and about Obama's strategy on health care for everyone. But... but... I have to remind myself (and hopefully via this blog post others) that the real enemy and threat to our country is this two-party system. We need REAL candidates with brave new ideas that can push us past this mess we've gotten ourselves into.
Vote your conscience this year ... and send the message that the GOP and DNC cannot take YOUR vote for granted... that they need to start making smart decisions for our country...introduce a new voice that makes them better/smarter/faster/stronger!
PEACE AND LOVE
