Will elections bring real change?
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Editor,
In the race for President of these United States, I thought we had Republican solidarity on how to run our country. It seemed so simple: just do it the opposite way of how Obama and the Democrats are doing it. But hardly before the horses are out of the gate we have, in the Sept. 6 Republican debate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney clashing and beating each other up over "job creation," "healthcare," and "Social Security."
I thought the Republican leaders were in lockstep on all issues and policies. They have all been repudiating and voting down everything the Democrats put forward and all gleefully shouting out the same coordinated themes.
Does this mean that there is suddenly a crack in the Republican solidarity and perhaps, just perhaps, when the dust settles after November 2012, that things just might not change? That our huge and bloated government might just continue? That everyone who really wants and needs a job might not be able to find one? That the houses so many have been trying to sell for two, three and four years might not suddenly be sold to the highest bidder? That our Social Security checks, our Medicare coverage, our access to hospitals and good care might not change? That life will go on in Washington with the Democrats and Republicans still attacking each other with not much else getting done?
Woe is me. But, then on the other hand, if I really step back and look at history just a bit closer, why would I think that anything about our political system will really change? It has only become more insular, more divisive, more filled with greed, and more responsive to perks, big money and selfish interests rather than to the real needs of America.
"The government is like a baby's alimentary canal — a hearty appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other end." (Ronald Reagan)
Bob McClellan
Polson
