For me voting is an honor. I think about all my female ancestors who never were allowed to vote and I feel humbled that I have been entrusted with that right. I think about all the women in third world countries whose voices are suppressed everyday because they are not afforded the opportunity to vote. I think about my sons and the example I want to set for them, the example I want them to look for in a partner.
And lastly, I think about myself. My beliefs, my values, my intellect all are voiced and enacted by filling out a single form once a year. It is the one time in my life when I can shout out with the loudest voice that I matter, that I inspire and I can do it without saying a word.
I vote in every election because I can. Next Tuesday millions of Americans will be showing their respect and honor for our country and the millions of men and women who have died to give us all this honor. Millions of Americans already have already taken their place in history by voicing their opinion of the way they want their government to run.
To be sure, this election is not an easy one. Because of the ruling by the Supreme Court earlier this year in the Citizens United decision, our entire system of democracy is threatened by PAC ad that have very little to do with informing us about what's best for us, but rather, fooling us into voting for what's best for them. That means that every one of us have a duty to inform ourselves about the candidates and the issues. Nothing and no one on the ballot is too small to be ignored this year.
I realize that what I'm asking is not easy or pleasant for most people. We work hard all day long and at the end of the day, we really don't want to have to do RESEARCH on what's really true and who's really best. What I suggest is that you get some of your friends together that live near you and divide the candidates and initiatives up and each research a few. Then get together to discuss and make your decision. If you don't have any friends, call the local headquarters of all political parties and ask for their recommendations. Be sure to ask WHY they recommend a certain person or initiative. They will gladly give you reasons why.
If enough of us do this and commit to doing it year after year, then we the people can render the Citizens United case irrelevant. If we can unseat a very strong incumbent who has spent millions on his/her campaign (personally I hope it will be Darrell Issa) then we can send a message that will ring out all over the country that our votes cannot be bought. That our elected representatives need to do more to start representing us and not their parties or their donors. We can preserve the America that so many have fought and died for. An America that we can be proud to leave for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Showing posts with label election 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label election 2010. Show all posts
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Meg Whitman is a Weak Quitter.
Meg Whitman tries to represent herself as a true leader with the stuff to get California out of its economic woes. She's going to stand up to those politicians and special interest groups that have brought us down and will bring California back to its heyday. I have a few problems with all this and serious doubts about her ability to get this done due to her work record and her ability to be a democratic leader.
While it's true that she's quit most of the jobs she's been at, what troubles me the most is when she was on the Board of Directors at Goldman Sachs. It was during the time when she was making money off of insider deals in a practice called "spinning." At the time this was not illegal (it is now), but did create a conflict of interest while she was also serving as CEO of Ebay. Soon after the SEC started investigating her involvement in this practice is when she resigned her position with Goldman Sachs. In her autobiography she stated that she resigned from the Board because Paulson, then the CEO of Goldman Sachs, wanted people on the board who were just going to "rubber stamp" his plans and she wasn't willing to do that. This is very interesting to me since I always thought that it was the Board's job to make sure that the CEO couldn't have his/her plans just "rubber stamped." I thought they were the people who protected the interests of the stockholders. Isn't that why the CEO can't fire these people?
What really bothers me about this is that Ms. Whitman wasn't even willing to TRY and stand up to Paulson. She just quit. If she is supposed to be the person we in California will be depending on to stand up to the legislature and special interest groups but she was too weak to stand up to one CEO, then what makes her think that she can take on the groups of people and stand up to them. Her own record shows that she will back down or quit, like she always has.
I also have problems with Politicians who buy their own political seats. I didn't used to until I moved to the 49th Congressional district of California. My congressional representative, Darrell Issa, is the richest man in congress. When I call his office and say "Hi. My name is Rena Marrocco..." I get hung up on before I get a chance to say what I'm calling about. Now I pay taxes like everyone else in that district, and yet this is the representation I get. I think this is called "taxation without representation." Mr. Issa can do this because he doesn't need to answer to any of his constituents since he pays for his own seat each election cycle. This is exactly what I worry about from Meg Whitman. By buying their seats, these ultra rich people are able to practice a form of Oligarchical Imperialism, which leaves them free to ignore their constituents. This is exactly what Darrell Issa does (he votes with his party 95% of the time, abstains 2% which means that he only votes against his party 3% of the time- even though a full 55% of his constituents are NOT Republicans) and definitely what Meg Whitman will do too.
However, we the people still hold the ultimate key to democracy: the vote. If we just don't vote for the ultra rich, we can and will stop this trend. When someone touts themselves as a "business person," it doesn't always qualify them to be a good political leader. Sometimes it works out, but more often then not, in order to be a good business person, you have to be a good dictator. You have to do what's best for the business which isn't what's best for the employees and what's best for your customer base. Customer bases aren't everyone (unless you run a mortuary). They are a specific group of people that you have tailored your product and your image to. Which is why someone like Darrell Issa isn't able to "represent." He has tailored his representation to a few people- Republicans. As a business person you learn that you don't waste time and money trying to get someone who has no need for your product to buy your product. For example, insurance agents don't try to sell homeowners insurance to people who live in apartments. The problems is that democracy isn't and shouldn't be a commodity. The problem is that business leaders only know how to lead as if it is.
Meg Whitman has done nothing to prove to me that she will do anything more than put another nail in the coffin of democracy if she's elected. It is our job to stop her. On November 2, 2010, vote anyone but but Meg.
While it's true that she's quit most of the jobs she's been at, what troubles me the most is when she was on the Board of Directors at Goldman Sachs. It was during the time when she was making money off of insider deals in a practice called "spinning." At the time this was not illegal (it is now), but did create a conflict of interest while she was also serving as CEO of Ebay. Soon after the SEC started investigating her involvement in this practice is when she resigned her position with Goldman Sachs. In her autobiography she stated that she resigned from the Board because Paulson, then the CEO of Goldman Sachs, wanted people on the board who were just going to "rubber stamp" his plans and she wasn't willing to do that. This is very interesting to me since I always thought that it was the Board's job to make sure that the CEO couldn't have his/her plans just "rubber stamped." I thought they were the people who protected the interests of the stockholders. Isn't that why the CEO can't fire these people?
What really bothers me about this is that Ms. Whitman wasn't even willing to TRY and stand up to Paulson. She just quit. If she is supposed to be the person we in California will be depending on to stand up to the legislature and special interest groups but she was too weak to stand up to one CEO, then what makes her think that she can take on the groups of people and stand up to them. Her own record shows that she will back down or quit, like she always has.
I also have problems with Politicians who buy their own political seats. I didn't used to until I moved to the 49th Congressional district of California. My congressional representative, Darrell Issa, is the richest man in congress. When I call his office and say "Hi. My name is Rena Marrocco..." I get hung up on before I get a chance to say what I'm calling about. Now I pay taxes like everyone else in that district, and yet this is the representation I get. I think this is called "taxation without representation." Mr. Issa can do this because he doesn't need to answer to any of his constituents since he pays for his own seat each election cycle. This is exactly what I worry about from Meg Whitman. By buying their seats, these ultra rich people are able to practice a form of Oligarchical Imperialism, which leaves them free to ignore their constituents. This is exactly what Darrell Issa does (he votes with his party 95% of the time, abstains 2% which means that he only votes against his party 3% of the time- even though a full 55% of his constituents are NOT Republicans) and definitely what Meg Whitman will do too.
However, we the people still hold the ultimate key to democracy: the vote. If we just don't vote for the ultra rich, we can and will stop this trend. When someone touts themselves as a "business person," it doesn't always qualify them to be a good political leader. Sometimes it works out, but more often then not, in order to be a good business person, you have to be a good dictator. You have to do what's best for the business which isn't what's best for the employees and what's best for your customer base. Customer bases aren't everyone (unless you run a mortuary). They are a specific group of people that you have tailored your product and your image to. Which is why someone like Darrell Issa isn't able to "represent." He has tailored his representation to a few people- Republicans. As a business person you learn that you don't waste time and money trying to get someone who has no need for your product to buy your product. For example, insurance agents don't try to sell homeowners insurance to people who live in apartments. The problems is that democracy isn't and shouldn't be a commodity. The problem is that business leaders only know how to lead as if it is.
Meg Whitman has done nothing to prove to me that she will do anything more than put another nail in the coffin of democracy if she's elected. It is our job to stop her. On November 2, 2010, vote anyone but but Meg.
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