A Choice Between Republicrats and Demoblicans

Special OpEd by AoE Founding Member Dixie Larkin

Today is the crucial day for many political hopefuls, it’s sink or swim day ... the day that decides who gets their name upon the November ballot.  The Presidential candidates are already decided, but for those offices that we have all but forgotten exist, this very day, we can cast our voice via vote to select the best crooks of the bunch. 

This evening, with bated breath, our State Assembly/Senate/Congress hopefuls will be pacing the floor, awaiting the returns to see if they will progress in their quest to join the elite group of crooked swine who “lawfully” extort money from the good citizens of our states and nation.

Permit me to take an opportunity on this auspicious day to pose a question.  Why do we - and by “we” I mean “We the People,” the ordinary folk who punch the time clock, raise families, pay bills, drive minivans, etc. - feel the need to elect people who don’t understand our lives?  George W. Bush has never wondered where the next meal is coming from.  Al Gore, despite his environmental babble, pays more for his power bill, than many of us earn in a month.  Has Barack Obama ever cleaned a toilet, or dug a ditch, or changed the oil in a car in his adult life?  How many homes does John McCain and his wife own?  How are the people that we choose to represent us, similar to us?  And if they do not know what our lives are like, how can they truly represent us?

Year in and year out, we elect the wealthy elite (American Royalty) to make decisions concerning our hard earned money.  These are people who have never gone without, and can not conceive of life without the frills and spoils wealth brings.  State and Federal prisoners get air conditioning and cable TV because it would be “inhumane” for them to go without these necessities.  Meanwhile many law abiding Americans must suffer these “inhumane” conditions because they haven’t the money to afford it.  What is wrong with a country that treats its prisoners better than the working poor?

Don’t take this to mean that I begrudge the wealthy, I don’t.  The rich have every right to be rich.  Further, I’m not advocating for Republicans or Democrats, because I believe the party leaders of both to be completely out of touch with the lives and needs of Americans.  All that I am asking is why we continue to elect people who are out of touch with us.  Arrogance is not a virtue, and wealth is not a requirement for political office.  If we want representation, we should choose leaders who have the ability and understanding to represent us, else the dream our Constitution represents will become just another antiquated idea lost beneath the dust of time.