In a way. I don't think that all politicians are scum. If we believe this way, then we forsake the ideals of what makes democracy so wonderful. If all politicians are scum, then that would mean that all or most of the populace they represent are scum as well.
no it doesnt mean that. the system is such that politicians are forced to be jackasses. the normal person is not in that situation. plus, in order to get elected, most politicians have to adopt the stupid views of their party and hug the political middle as much as they can. any post can be bettered by a quote from my jesus hl mencken: "A professional politician is a professionally dishonorable man. In order to get anywhere near high office he has to make so many compromises and submit to so many humiliations that he becomes indistinguishable from a streetwalker."
The reason I label them as scum is because they talk out of both sides of their mouth, always leaving themself and out if they cannot make good on promises they make to the American people. While at the same time, these same politicians elected by "us", break their backs to help out the special interests that funnel money into their campaign in order to get their candidate elected. Who would you work harder for, someone who says they agree with you, and hires you... or the guy that signs your paycheck. You may comeback and say that the American populace signs their paycheck, but this is untrue. When we put them in office, there is almost no way to take them out of office if they don't keep a promise to "us". They also control the amount of money they make, and if at the end of the budget they 'find' money left over, then a bill is passed raising their salaries, or that money goes into a slush fund/expense account. The day a politician runs on genuine donation given by the working class family, is the day your congressman will owe something to you. This is the way our system works, it is wrong, it needs to be fixed, but with so many billions rapped up in Washington, it wont change until we as a people make a stand and say "go to hell special interests and big business donations". This is our country built with the blood, sweat and tears of the working man, but the benefits are reaped by only the true elite. Case in point - "If i were unhappy with the state of my public highschool in New Orleans, how do I get something done about it?" Inversely - "If I am Honda and need to figure out how to build a plant in Nachitoches I know in the blink of an eye Blanco and her crew would be on my door step to help". The government is supposed to be for the people, by the people, not for the elite, by the big money donations. I also understand that we do need big business (tax breaks, tariff breaks etc...) but do we need these guys pooring hundreds of millions of dollars into our elected officials so that they no longer work for us? There is only one profession lower than a politician on the scale of scum suckers, with the lowest being my chosen profession "law", but hopefully both of these profession will change in the future. (My law school has a mandatory 60 hours of pro bono work to be done at the Public Defenders Office in order to graduate, which I believe is a step in the right direction). You can view our politicians as genuine and striving for the American people all you want, if that keeps you warm at night, but I choose to see them as they really are... business men.
Add: I can view politicians as scum and not believe that the poplulace that elects them is the same. Barely 50 % of American people vote, and of those that do vote - alot vote straight ticket, name value (strom thurmond), or like my mom voted, base on who the more fitting first lady was. Just like an episode of South Park I once saw if you had to chose between a "Turd Sandwich" and a "Giant Douche", do either really represent you or the people that have to choose between the two options? Would I like to be president, maybe, would I be able to become president, No. Why you may ask ? Because my family is not very rich, although we are well to do, we are not multi millionaires. Don't you think there is something wrong with a system that values my bank account more then my ideas, intelligence, or merit? Sorry for the Rant - I have probably said this to everyone I know, so join the club if you even read it all. Also for the record, I'm a moderate republican, but am fed up with both parties in this country.
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to KTeamLSU again. OUTSTANDING posts, KTeam. You nailed it, man. Right freaking on! Right. Unfortunately, none of the other excuses materialized into anything legitimate, either. Links to al qaeda & terrorism, threat to the U.S., threat to the middle east, UN sanctions, etc...pretty much every excuse we stated. I was talking about what you said. I just did so in the form of a blanket statement that covered all the discounters of Nader supporters. It's funny that you tell me to grow up, yet you insist that the only people who could support Ralph Nader are 'stupid college kids who know nothing about politics'. If by 'know nothing' you mean 'condone corruption and accept it as a necessary part of our political system', then sure. Say what you will about the man's ideals. Hell I think some of them are too extreme myself. But at least the guy has principles, and is incredibly intelligent. How many other 'politicians' do you know that don't own a TV and take the bus to work?
OK, in my view politicians are scum when they select judges based on their political activism rather than their impartiality. Above all judges are supposed to represent the law, not any political party. A judge should be graded highly for being apolitical, impartial, broad-minded, and allied with no one. Activist judges, on the left and right, have no business here. Politicians are scum when they work in lockstep with their political parties instead of their constituants. The President is supposed to be the advocate for the United States of America, not the Republican party. The Senators are supposed to be looking out for the good of their states, not their political parties. The congressmen are supposed to representing the wishes of the citizens of their districts, not their political parties. Partisan politics is keeping the major branches of government from working as they are supposed to. It is holding back progress on many fronts.
Kteam & Red - excellent, valid points. One point I'd like to add is that it's not all the politicians fault. It's Americans that elect these people. It's not always a choice between two horrible candidates (like it was this past presidential election). Ignorance is the greatest enemy of a successfull society, IMO. Bobby Jindall offered a plan of action that looked to bring real results to Louisiana - but Louisiana voted for Kathleen Blanco, who offered slow/stuttered speech, a disdain for LSU & some ideas but nothing to back them. Why?!?!? Too many people are ignorant. Thefacebook has more groups than I can count about how George W. Bush is the greatest thing since pancakes - Any impartial observer will tell you that W. isn't much of a president. Whether you agree with the war or not, alot of things about his term almost seem put together by children. There are just as many groups that say John Kerry was the greatest hero/politician ever put on this planet. Again, an impartial observer would notice that Kerry could make a decision about as well as Michael Jordan could play pro baseball. His attempt to put himself in the "hero" light is also up for debate. This all stems from ignorance. These people either don't know the issues, or aren't intelligent enough to make a rational decision on them.
A large section of the Louisiana voting public (mostly conservative white folk) perceived Bobby Jindal as "colored". Another large sector (mostly black folk) perceived Jindal as a "foreigner". Jindal is young and needs to develop a strong pro-Louisiana policy now that he is in Washington. All of his impressive appointee posts showed nothing to Louisiana voters of what he could do for them. Talk is cheap, and the slicker the talker, the more supicious we have come to be in Louisiana politics. Jindal also need to emphasize that he was born and raised in Louisiana. This needs to be hammered into some people. Jindal offers us brainpower, which we badly need. Now he must show us who he is working for, the people of Louisiana or the Republican party. He could be Governor or Senator someday if he's his own man.
