Does anyone else feel like American politics are a mess? When I think about who I want to vote for, I find myself searching for the lesser of two evils. Or sometimes for the most ineffective politician in order to minimize the damage.
Take the Utah race for govenor, for instance. The incumbent, Gary Herbert, is an alright guy - I've even met him and talked with him. But he is mired in a scandal where he was given $82,000 dollars for his election campaign by the same construction company who then got a $1.7 billion dollar reconstruction contract for I-15 in Utah county. Then - get this - the folks who came in second in the bid process for that same job got $13 million - for coming in second??? Gee, I'd like to make a living coming in second for that kind of scratch. Sounds like hush money to me.
The pathetic thing is that it took a reporter in a news conference to tell him about the $13 million - or so he claims. So he can take his choice of either being corrupt if he did know or an idiot for not knowing. Not to mention the fact that another reporter brought the original issue of the $1.7 billion contract to light in the first place.
The Democratic challenger is Pete Corroon. Once again, an alright guy who has done well as county mayor. But how does one vote for a Democrat this year? With Obama set to win the all-time race for squandering political capital, no one wants to vote for a Democrat - not even the Democrats!
Then there is the Senate race. We have a choice of Mike Lee, an idealogue that makes a John Bircher look like a liberal, or no-show Sam Granato who paid his filing fee then disappeared from public view. The thing that I find hilarious is that when a survey was taken between these two and Bob Bennett running as an independent, Lee and Bennett are about even. I think that Utah Republicans threw the baby out with the bath water when they refused to give Bennett the nomination.
I saw a political sign hanging on a fence today that really shows how some people try to take advantage of the public's political ignorance. It is black with white lettering that says "Matheson = Pelosi." Seriously folks? Don't be taken in by this. Look at Matheson's voting record. He votes with the Republicans more than he votes with the Democrats - he is called a Blue Dog Democrat. To those who are responsible for this sign, you know this is true. Yet, in a shameless attempt to turn American government into a game show, you exploit and lie for your own advantage. Outside of her own district, Pelosi may be the most hated woman in America, and for good reason.
Politicians really don't see their actions from the point of view of the voters. Elections are a game to them. They want to win to further their own power base; not to serve, not to uphold this country, not to see that the Constitution is followed.
So what's a voter to do? Become informed. Now when I say informed, I am NOT saying to listen to what any politician says. Are you kidding? Listening to a politician is like reading the National Enquirer - vaguely entertaining but far from the truth. Being informed is taking a hard look at what they have DONE in the past - not what they have said. Look at what they have actually voted for and against. Look at their experience. What have they supported in the past by action, not by what they flap their mouths over. If Americans would have done this two years ago, we wouldn't be in this mess now.
