This is absolutely outrageous. I’ve never considered myself naive or an idealist. I generally fall in the realist to sometimes even pessimist section. Heck, I was sure the California Supreme Court would rule against same sex marriage equality – New York and Maryland did. Even so, I’m alarmed to see a general acceptance of something we decried what seems only a short time ago: that money is the only thing that moves politicians. If you don’t fill campaign coffers, they don’t care. If that’s the truth, maybe I should give up the ghost on believing we’re not an entirely corporate-owned system.
Every time I tell people they should contact their representation to discuss the issues most important to them as constituents, I hear,"Oh no, my Rep. or Senator is a Republican! Why bother?" Why bother?! Because you’re a constituent, that’s why. You’re the boss. ACT LIKE IT.
If you don’t engage your representation, then they don’t know you exist, and they don’t know or have a reason to care about issues that have real, concrete effects on their constituents. I point out that we can’t just push Democrats. We also must push Republicans; we can’t just ignore them because there’s an "R" next to their names. Somehow this translates to an accusation that I’m saying we start voting for and donating to Republicans.
I've now been told that "in political terms", to "engage" a Republican means I have to donate money or vote for them, or I don’t matter, and so I’m saying we should do that. I’m not, and I disagree. Besides – donations, they can track. Votes, they can’t. I wouldn’t personally advocate that you donate or vote Republican – unless that’s how your political views fall. And for some on this site and others I frequent, that may be the case.
But for Pete’s sake, people, if we don’t speak up, we don’t exist! If we as constituents don’t make that call, send that email, visit that office personally, mail that letter, the only voice that Rep. or Senator hears is someone else’s. In a lot of cases, it’s going to say something other than what you want your representation to do or say. I admit, it’s frustrating to see my Rep. or Senator say things I think are idiotic or simply take no action whatsoever. I can call them on it, though, and I should.
So should you. If you don’t, the corporations are the only voice they hear. And in the system as it is, with no more campaign finance reform on the table as far as my limited awareness goes, money talks. We can’t stop that, but we can fight it and in some cases drown it out. Otherwise, they run the show.
Senator Durbin said it about the banks – "they own the place." We’ve long seen revolving door staffer/industry lobbyist incest for most of my adult life. Cheney’s "energy task force" unabashedly wrote energy policy during the last administration – an all-corporate fondlefest. Now I get to watch the insurance companies, who regularly slop campaign troughs and go on hunting and golfing trips with Democrats and Republicans alike, take their turn using our corporate Congress to screw us. On another blog, I saw this post title: "Olbermann: Are Democrats Blocking Health Care Reform?"
Well, DUH, Mary. Of course they are. They’re just as corporate-owned as they’ve always been. Poll after poll shows broad support for a public option, but somehow corporate clods like Conrad and Baucus are so enmeshed in lobbyist money that they seem to’ve forgotten who actually ELECTED them. Why is it that undue corporate influence holds sway only when it seems like they need us to do something that hurts people and goes directly against widespread voter sentiment? I don’t get it.
A lot of corporations already have nondiscrimination policies and domestic partner benefit policies which prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. They want to hire and keep good talent regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity – rightly so. Why aren’t we seeing corporate lobbyists up there on Capitol Hill pressing for a nationwide version of their policies (which would be the Employment Non-Discrimination Act)? Polls show over 80% support for such a law, and Congresscritters can’t find a penny in the budget to BUY a clue...but their corporate masters aren’t standing up for the measure, either.
Or is that because there’s a set of corporate religious masters in play? Sometimes I think of the large conservative religious organizations as corporate structures playing the same game – and playing it effectively, to the detriment of people like me. And if they are, even though they hate me, where is their oh-so-moral voice on the healthcare debate? Or are they quiet on this issue so as to scratch the back of the Congresscritters who butter their bread on social issues?
Where’s the GOOD side of the corporate-owned Congress? I’m lookin’ for it, but I’m not seein’ it. I’m putting my voice up against the corporate phenomenon, and I sure hope you are too – and that you’re ignoring the party affiliation of your representation to focus on who they SHOULD serve – the people. I know it’s not perfect, but it’s what we’ve got. Make the investment in what we have to get the most out of it.
Update: lineatus reminds me to post links to contact your Senator or your Representative. Thanks, lineatus!