macdalejax wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
I believe this is true as well. But you have to realize that the Pres isn't really in charge of these decisions unilaterally. He is mearly a mouthpiece or a spokesperson with a small amount of actual power unless Martial Law is declared. His main power is influence. I think we all know he is NOT smart enough to put this all together. He is clearly a "special" individual. However, corruption and manipulation aka lobbyists have been in the government since its inception. How do you think slavery or the Indians to be practically exterminated by the Army were all allowed? It was all about making money and pushed by lobbyists. Congress has the power to make these decisions, policies and bills. The problem is that there aren't enough of them that agree on anything but how to keep themselves elected and making money. IMO there are only a handful in the government who are truly servants of the people. This corruption spreads across party lines and political divides. The goal of the average politician is to stay in office. Well, in order to do that you have to appease the people who put you there. Those are the people who donated the most money to your campaign so you can afford to run for office or reelection. The money for staff members, private buses and jets, campaign trips and special events, and most of all television advertisements. Without financing you can't get elected. Have you ever wondered why the media keeps ranking political candidates by how much money they have raised? According the mainstream media, the candidate with the most money obviously has the most voter support. As George Carlin says, "It's all bull***t and it's bad for you." My point is simple. Be careful about buying into all that misinformation thrown at you from all sides. Be careful of what people tell you. Find the information yourself from multiple sources and make your own decision. If you are wrong, who cares. If you are right, who cares. Either way you(the collective you) might want to think twice about propagating and regurgitating all the spin and misinformation floating around out there.
I am not trying to offend anyone, just stating my opinion here. Just another libretarian here who can't understand why most people seem to pick sides to argue rather than see that the whole thing is clearly corrupt and screwed up.
I agree with a lot of what you had to say. I'm an independent, not a democrat, and definitely not a republican. I have voted republican in the past, and I believe in some of their ideals, but they often end up catering to the rich elite of this country. Just as you pointed out about the money in politics, its bad on both sides no doubt, but its the President that sets the agenda. He is the one who makes the priorities and points the direction of the country. Yes, its very much complicated to implicate one man alone, but you have to look at the base which got them elected as to what policies they will follow. Policy is set by lobbyists right now, not we the people, and very rarely does a candidate come along that you know can make a difference.
I sent money to two people in this election, Ron Paul, and Obama. The rest are the best politicians that money can buy imo. I believe our system is heavily corrupt and it was never designed to have people stay that long in Washington. It was meant to be for your local community leaders to go and serve, and then come home after their terms. It has become about staying as long as you can now, and that takes money. They rely on a dumbed down electorate in order to do this. Thats why, usually, the one with the most money and the most advertising dollar usually gets elected. But every once in a while, we have a movement in this country because of the thirst for change. I believe that we are in one of those right now. Its sad that only 50% of our country pays attention to the issues and votes. We get too distracted on such things as Paris Hilton, or Brittany Spears, etc. Then out of nowhere the people remember who really runs this country and we have a C-change. That time is now, its a very important time in history.
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