A fantasy in politics
It occurred to me after watching the presidential debates that American politics has digressed into a divisive mathematical formula on both sides of the aisle.
Taxes / Entitlements x Special Interest Campaign Funding = Votes.
Votes equal the power to keep the two-party fear mongering divisive system going on indefinitely without term limits. All candidates on both sides seem to be pandering their unique ‘trillion-dollar plan’ to either cut taxes to get votes from the ‘haves’ or increase entitlements to get the votes of the ‘have nots’, all while getting campaign funding from the special interests who benefit most.
The political system built on this formula benefits most with low voter turnout and extremist ideologies. Only 58% of eligible voters actually vote, the other 42% are so frustrated with all of it that they don’t participate. Half of those who do vote are choosing the lesser of two evils. The other half of those voters are mindless sheep being shepherded to the extremes by the either the liberal biases of the asses (Donkeys) at CNN or CNBC, or the blowhard elephants trumpeting conservative biases at Fox News. All of which shepherds us to the same fatal future in which we become a country like the ‘Hunger Games’ Pan-Am as 50 different districts serving the circus that is the capitol.
Where is the little mermaid candidate that appreciates the diversity across our differing world views? Instead of trying to conform all of that diversity to one central belief system, a candidate that empowers the states to set their own social agendas and encourages the freedom of people to choose where they can best pursuit their life, liberty and happiness. If you value the good ole days, move to District 47 where you can openly carry your pistols into the saloon with no mandatory gun training or licensing. If you have a hankering to help the homeless, step over them daily in the streets of sunny gun-free District 31. If District 28 wants to build a wall to keep foreigners out, let them pay for it, the foreigners can migrate to District 11 where they set their own minimum wage at $50 per hour. Where is this mythical mermaid candidate that gets the federal government out of the business of trying to conform social values of a diverse nation?
Where is the pragmatic unicorn candidate that eliminates the waste in government spending to fund the solutions to our most complex problems? A candidate that recognizes the absurdity of the government purchase of $1000 hammer and applies that wasted money to alleviate excessive health care costs. The mythical champion of fiscal responsibility that chooses domestic aid to our own citizens over foreign aid and the financing revolutions in distant countries. Or the budget balancing economist that realizes the burdens of taxes on the economy and simplifies a fair system of taxation without subsidies or loopholes. One where the federal funding is minimized to spending on defense, trade, and international affairs of our nation as a whole, while letting District 14’s 70% tax rate pay for free health care and free college tuition to its citizens. Where is this mythical unicorn candidate that applies the same common sense to fiscal responsibility as the average American household?
In the absence of my delusional Fantasy Island elections that include better choices from the donkeys, elephants, mermaids, and unicorns, maybe Mr. Rourke and Tattoo can conger me a centrist statesman without a twitter handle or a ‘trillion-dollar plan’ attached to special interests. A candidate that loves the whole country, more than they hate the opposition. Someone with one focused plan to fix the broken political system, brings unity back to the United States, and then meet in the middle to solve the challenges our country faces. I don’t see that candidate anywhere today in our political landscape, and all I hear is more fear mongering speeches inciting ideological revolutions. Maybe the ‘Hunger Games’ futuristic Pan-Am society isn’t as fictional as we think. If so, I may volunteer as tribute in the coming post-revolution reaping. If only to put myself out of the misery of listening to the propagandistic rants of Tucker Carlson or Chris Cuomo any longer.