Manipulation

Ah, yes. It's that time again. Political mayhem. As far as I can tell, it never goes away. It's sort of how a writer works--finish one, begin the next.

I wonder what would happen if the voters had no information about the candidates other than their public records? You know...basic info. Education, congressional voting record (if they have one), public service record. No info on age, gender, family, ethnicity, skin color, religion, appearance. No info on personal beliefs. No info on income or personal fortune/or lack of.

How would we vote, then? What would we base our decisions on?

I remember what a brou-ha-ha there was when Kennedy was running for president because he was Catholic. Hoo, boy. The country was gonna come to a nasty end if he won! He died and we ended up with Johnson. Was he any better? What about Tricky Dicky? Or any of the other presidents we've saddled ourselves with the last fifty years?

Probably the greatest sleight of hand has been the notion that the President has autonomy and can make wide sweeping decisions without the consent of the Congress. Everyone blames the current incumbent and ignores the truth. For every issue We the People are concerned about, we SHOULD be blaming--or crediting--the Congress. Money? War? Public programs? Social Security/Medicare? Veteran's benefits?

ALL, I say all of those are controlled by the Congress.

Here's the scary part. Most of them have been in Washington more than twenty-five years. Some as long as forty plus. Tell me, my friends...what has changed during that time period? Nothing, absolutely nothing. We hang a new hat by the White House door, but we change nothing in Congress--and then we wonder why we have the same old, same old.

Until we start looking at the voting records and affiliations of our congressmen/women, NOTHING will change. Electing a new individual to sit in the White House and look pretty isn't gonna do it. The good old boy network isn't there. It's over in the Capitol, playing Monopoly with our money and lives.

And we're blindly believing anything the media serves us. Perhaps...we're gonna get what we deserve.