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StumbleLETTER TO THE EDITOR:
True leaders follow their own convictions
Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008 | 2:04 a.m.
This country is in the midst of a financial crisis the likes of which have not been seen since the Great Depression. This whole episode has had the unintended consequence of exposing a lack of leadership in Washington that is incredibly appalling.
We like to think that if enough of us were to call or e-mail our representatives we would be able to influence how they would vote on particular issues. But that is not how the system is supposed to work, despite what we might hear from talk radio and other political pundits.
If the system were intended to work in that fashion, we could just take polls and make decisions based on which way the current wind blows. This country was founded on the principle of a representative form of government.
The Founding Fathers, in their infinite wisdom, realized that a direct democracy, no matter how desirable, was impracticable in a country of this size. That is one of the main reasons they chose a representative form of government.
We elect our representatives to go to Washington and make the tough decisions they believe are in the best interest of the country. Making those decisions, despite the fact it might cost them an election, is called leadership.
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I beg to disagree. We elect those leaders to represent us; ergo, if we call or write, we are telling them HOW to represent us.
Unfortunately, it has become what you claim it's supposed to be: our representatives believe they know better than we do. They no longer represent We The People; they represent themselves, their (large) contributors, their lobbyists, etc. Flashes of actual leadership are so few and far between in Congress that we might want to consider national holidays when it happens.
Perhaps this is entirely too cynical, but that is what the US government has become - a lobbyist's dream machine.
Seems to me it's just not working for We The People.
Yeah, let's not forget that the Founding Fathers (this is to put them in perspective. I do love them)wanted to make sure "the rabble" would not vote. Last I checked most/all of the states had voting requirements in the 18th century. Basically you had to be white and own land. If you didn't you were SOL. Also there's that whole deal with the outdated electoral college, but that's another issue.
Our elected leaders need to follow their conscience and their gut, but it MUST be in the best interest of their constituents. Otherwise they are revealed to be political hacks who are often quickly voted out of office.
err. Its not even close to the Great Depression, but the similarities are eirie...Government bailouts of government created and enhanced problems.
Mark you are way off base - we elect these people to be OUR representatives - we do not elect them to decide what THEY (in their infinite wisdom of course) feel we need to do in a given situation. They should REPRESENT ergo their title 'Representative'......they need to listen to what the majority wants and then give it to them. As for the Electoral College don't get me started. Everyone can stay home on election day and just let the Electoral College proclaim the next President.
Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows how impossible it is for we, the people, to agree on anything. Heck, we send both Harry Reid and John Ensign to the Senate. So sending someone off to Washington and expecting him/her to do what WE want is absurd. We donn't even know what WE want.
During the campaigns the candidates (ostensibly) tell us how they feel about the important issues of the day and we vote for them based on that knowledge. We send them on their way expecting them to keep their word and trusting in their judgment (a trust that seems to be less and less warranted as time goes by). Once they go off to Washington they have to vote their own consciences. If WE all spoke with one voice Congress wouldn't even be necessary.
Thats the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard, and you say "a country of this size" it was'nt that big when the founding fathers formed government. It was about people and individual rights, remember they escaped the tyranny of british rule, their main purpose was no intrusion from government. Not once did they say, "here, you go represent me". This is a very basic fact, it was the essence of america, then, the democrats came along.
Reid caused a panic and run on insurance stocks.
What idiots we have in DC!!!!!!!
Actually tokaloshe, Democrats predate Republicans by a bit. So brush up on your own history. And for that matter the mantras of the parties basically switched from what they used to be. In any case, trying to make the case that democrats ruined the country even in the 1800s makes you look REALLY bad.
btw-Harry Reid didn't create a run on stocks. Stupid stockbrokers with no patience and no attention span paniced at the drop of a hat.
Reid said the some insurance companies were about to crashed....that idiot created a panic....today...he said.....oppppss.....did not mean to say that
Far be it from me to play the role of grammar police, but Jim, if you can't construct a coherent, grammatically-correct sentence, you probably don't want to go around calling anyone else an idiot.
Something about people who live in glass houses is resonating right now .....
redferret you check your history and i never said dems were around longer.
i never said anything about who was here longer
redferret,
you must be one of those real geeky people who does'nt understand droll humor.
sometimes peoploe say, "and then______ came along" it is a rhetorical statement.
The reason i posted this is because I wanted to make it extra clear considering I have no barometer as to how ignorant you may be.
there,
now, does that make you look REALLY bad.
idiot.
Actually, tokaloshe, YOU are the only one who looks bad, "droll humor" or not, when you fling about that "ignorant" label.
There's a very simple way to see what contributors have posted ..... click on their names and it takes you to all of them in one place, listed with the most recent at the top. (Incidentally, this is a great way to find one of your own that may have dropped off the list on the right side of the page.)
redferret was absolutely correct in his/her timeline; your "droll humor" didn't make sense in that context.
Yes, I'm playing the part of grammar police, even though above I did write, "far be it from me .....". LOL.