I've been getting appeals for donations from "Bold Progressives" and other groups with names like "Americans for a Free Society" and others with like-sounding names. Basically however, they almost all represent the two corporate political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, both of which are neither progressive, nor do they support any kind of "freedom".
People tell me that voting is not just a "right" in this nation, but it is also a duty. They tell me that many have died so that I can cast my ballot on the second Tuesday in November. They tell me that it is a sacred responsibility that binds us together as a people. Voting is something that we should all take very seriously and that if you forfeit your right to vote, you are forfeiting your right to speak out on the issues. Like most political issues, this is patently ridiculous.
Voting has become something of fraud in and of itself in the United States. We have become the ones that legitimize the theft of our representative republic by the corporate plutocracy that has taken control of our political system. Reform should have happened long ago, and because it hasn't happened, the powers that control the political system are too well entrenched to hold out any hope of changing the way that politicians are nominated and elected in the USA.
Before any meaningful change can come to the political arenas in this country, Americans must first understand how the system actually operates, and unfortunately, most of us don't have a clue. Many Americans think they understand political realities in this nation, but sadly, they don't. Many people believe that all it takes to get elected in America are a few good ideas and someone that can express those ideas to the people. It would be great if this were true.
The Democrats and Republicans have had such a lock on the political system for so many years, they have virtually eliminated any meaningful form of competition from any other political party.
Sure, there are other political parties out there, but they are there to give the appearance of robust alternatives to the two corporate political organizations, not to actually provide any real choices. How did these two parties manage to accomplish this? What happened to the so-called "checks and balances" that were designed to prevent just such an occurrence?
The last time that any meaningful competition came from outside the Republican or Democratic political camps was the emergence of Ross Perot who ran for President in 1992. Even though he garnered almost 19% of the popular vote in a three way race, he didn't manage to capture any electoral votes. If the United States was a true Democracy (or was based on a Parliamentary system as in Europe), Perot's candidacy would have been a game changer, instead it remains a footnote.
Getting a candidate on a ballot is something that the RNC and the DNC have managed to make virtually impossible. (1)
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