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Essays, Opinion, & Commentary |
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July 10, 2006 Vote Third Party by Zak Toomey
The Republicans would like you to know that if the Democrats win the House this November then abortions will be legal, and that flag burning will be protected under the constitution, and that gay people will have rights. Meanwhile, the Democrats would like you to know that if the Republicans win here in 2006 and again in 2008, then we could face a conservative Republican President backed by a congress that is dominated by conservative Republicans that ignore environmental concerns, arbitrarily initiate wars in other countries, and actively attack the constitutional rights of minorities, gays, and women. For the past 5 or 6 years the public, both Republican and Democrat, have had to endure the endless repetition of the same message, which is essentially: "Vote for me or my opponent will destroy everything that you love." And for these 5 or 6 years, we have continued to obediently vote for our particular party, despite the fact that nearly everything that these political parties have told us to fear has come to pass. The view is unsettling when seen from the extreme right or from the extreme left. Abortions are still legal, gays still have rights, there are still countries in the world that hate America, there is still a large deficit, there are still illegal immigrants entering our country, governmental spending is still too high, and there is still a waiting period for purchasing a firearm, despite the constitutional right to do so. Likewise, if the country is viewed from the other extreme, then the Supreme Court has just taken an alarming turn towards the conservative, we are fighting an unnecessary war in Iraq, we do not have universal healthcare, the government is not being proactive in fighting global warming or other environmental issues, and there has been a sustained assault on the rights of women, gays, minorities, and the privacy rights of the general public. However, when the specific political agendas of the far right and left are obscured, and the day to day life of Americans in America is examined, it can be seen, despite the fact that our supposed worst fears have come true, that most of us are living very acceptable lives. True, gas prices are too high for most of us, and job growth is a little slower than we would like, but most of us have jobs, have lodging, and can afford food. We go to work, we raise our children, we have a little cash left over to spend on entertainment, and we have the freedom to do so in nearly any manner that we please. And this after decades of rule by the Democratic Party followed by a Republican has formed one of the most partisan governments in the history of the country. After half a decade of being beaten over the head with the fear tactics of America's two political parties, can anyone between the fringes believe their cries of "wolf" anymore? For the religious conservatives, nearly everyone one of their largest fears has been established law for years and yet they have been able to perpetuate their beliefs within their community for generations. The liberals have had to endure a President with nearly unlimited power that has been attacking everything that they cherish for 6 consecutive years, yet the individual lives of nearly all Americans are the same as when President Clinton left office. Our parties have ceased in trying to serve us. Instead they have satisfied themselves with simply manipulating us into supporting them. In a grotesque reversal of the democratic process we, the voters, have been tricked into fighting for parties that have lost all interest in fighting for us. They have abandoned any attempt at discovering the actual needs of their constituents, or trying to lead us on the path to a freer and more equal society, but have instead become content in their role as THE political parties of the United States, and as such, have satisfied themselves by simply amassing more and more power, not for their constituents, but for the PARTY. The Republicans have not delivered on any of the social or fiscally conservative promises that are the basis of their political platform. We are running an enormous deficit; Roe V. Wade has not been overturned, and none of the other items on the conservative agenda have been carried out, just as the Democrats did not cement environmental protections, or the rights of minorities, when they controlled congress and the presidency during the Clinton Administration. But, while neither party has delivered on their promises to their base, they both have excelled at giving billions to the few exceeding wealthy individuals and corporations that donate money to the party during every campaign season. These lobbyists, millionaires, and corporations have all reaped the benefits of getting their party elected many times over and many times directly at the expense of the Republican and Democratic voters that were tricked into voting for their party under the naïve impression that the party was more interested in helping them than it was with filling its own campaign reserves. It is time for the public, Democrat and Republican alike, to wake up and realize that we are not here to fight for a party that is only interested in suckling money from lobbyists, but that the party exists solely, and exclusively to fight for us. Our worst fears, those that have been so clearly outlined for us by our political parties have come true one and all, and neither party has been able to stop it. Their promises are broken and will remain so as long as we continue to blindly support them while they take our votes with one hand and give our money to the special interest groups that are strangling our democracy with the other. In the November elections the Democrats are expecting to re-take the House of Representatives, while the Republicans pull out their most manipulative campaign tricks in the hopes of stopping it. If either party wins, nothing will change, what they want us to fear is already here and we have shown that we can live with it. Don't throw your vote away on a party that does not respect or represent you, and don't stay home on election day in a fit of apathy, vote for any independent or third party that offers up a candidate, and let the parties know who they work for. Zak Toomey is a first year law student at the University of Iowa College of Law. He earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Maryland and is originally from Washington D.C. He can be contacted at zak.toomey@gmail.com. Essay copyrighted (c) 2006 by Zak Toomey. All Rights Reserved. Reproduced here by permission of the author.
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