Undoctrination.org

I’m writing this on November 1^st, 2010 – the eve before the 2010 mid-term elections. We’ve seen one of the most contentious and outrageous “election seasons” possibly ever in the history of our country.

Have you ever stopped to wonder “why” these elections get so dirty?  Have you ever wondered why a person would spend millions of dollars (in many cases, much of that is their own money) to get elected to a government job that pays a base salary of $174,000 (plus bennies – many, many bennies …)? Have you ever wondered how a man with few, or no economic assets at the beginning of his first federal election campaign can leave that office a multi-millionaire, while only making about $200,000.00 a year (plus bennies) during his “service”? Want to know how much Reagan got as his pension? About $2.5million. Clinton stands to receive about $7.29million as his pension (both pension numbers are according to The National Taxpayers Union).

How about that “voter fraud” stuff? It seems to become more and more widespread as each previous case gets broomed under the rug with at the most, a fine levied against the perpetrator. It seems certain candidates (or their handlers) will do or say anything to win their election. For some it’s a career choice – they’ve failed at just about everything else they’ve tried, but with a glib tongue they figured being a “public servant” for several decades is their calling – you know who you are … the others have egos the size of Dallas Texas and they like the notion of being cowed down to by the “little people” when in public, and having the ability to be as condescending as they feel like being … see John Kerry for a good example of this one.

And, Congress has learned that feeding the electorate entitlements from the public coffers is a sure-fire way to cement that career choice, or to be able to put on a public display of arrogance whenever the urge hits. As long as “we, the people” stand in line with our hands out for “some of dat gubbermint money” things aren’t about to change any time soon, either.

The “Old Guard” Republicans are already trying to position themselves for those plum seats on cherry committees – the ones who hold the purse strings – so if that happens, don’t expect much to change in Washington, dear readers. Republican legislators have become even bigger whores than the Democrats when it comes to entitlements, pork barrel spending, money grabs for pet projects, and underhanded back-door deals that line their “retirement” or “re-election” funds with pieces of silver. All these bright-eyed “new breed” Republicans that the T.E.A. parties love will be relegated to rank and file positions that won’t enable them to push for the changes we truly need – like the curtailment of government spending. “Old Guard” Republicans have reportedly strategized on” how to “co-opt” the Jim DeMint-ites” (read: T.E.A. party candidates) when the GOP regains control … how is this any different than what we have?

There is an answer. It requires a tough decision for some. Don’t vote for either major party candidate. Vote for the Libertarian. Or the Constitutionalist.  I voted last week, and I clicked on a goodly number of Libertarian candidates – it was refreshing to have so many on the ballot. I don’t vote a straight ticket – and all three parties actually received at least one vote from me this year. But I dare say the bulk of my clicks went to Libertarians.

Before you start – NO, I don’t feel like I wasted my votes. Perhaps YOU did … And NO – I don’t agree that my voting for the Libertarian was helping the liberal Democrat win. My vote for the Libertarian was helping the LIBERTARIAN win. And if enough people voted like they truly THOUGHT or FELT, we’d see a real onslaught of victorious Libertarian candidates from the local level all the way to Washington. I can safely say – even though the election isn’t until tomorrow – that this Libertarian sweep won’t happen this election cycle.

Why? Because “we, the people” aren’t quite ready to start recognizing the harsh realities of failed entitlement programs, that’s why. OH, we want to wave our cool flags with cool mottos on them in public, and we want to gather in groups of several thousand to listen to some great motivational speakers, listen to some music, and chant anti-statist slogans while holding up copies of the US Constitution. But most of us aren’t quite ready to give up the Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, and other welfare entitlements just ….yet. So, even if the Republican Party wins BOTH Houses, don’t expect much to change. Unless of course, the “old guard” actually paid attention to the chanting and flag waving. It’s possible … but don’t count on it.

So maybe the NEXT election cycle, we’ll finally get it right, and vote ALL the bastards out and start with a clean slate. And new rules.