September 06, 2010
Yes, it’s that wonderful, delightful time of the election year when candidates, finished with their primaries (i.e. kissing up to their base) now set out to court those coveted Independents. You know, the ones who are neither Republican nor Democrat. Supposedly, being an Independent is a badge of honor. After all, these are the non-partisans. They just care about the issues. Indeed, they may actually be more intelligent than the rest of us.
Allow me to put forth a question that begs to be asked: Why do we keep rolling over and playing dead for these people? I understand that politicians need their vote. But it’s frightening and uncanny how much power they have. Think about it. Those who have difficulty making up their minds will decide the fate of the country for the next four years. Maybe if we didn’t kiss up to them so much, each citizen would be forced to choose a party by first learning what the party actually stands for. In fact, they might just develop some genuine convictions. Instead these pampered pals hold the election hostage year after year, viewing debates from special rooms, hooked up with the latest electronic gadgets that register their disapproval when one candidate raised his voice too much or another wore a crooked tie.
In this corner, the liberal agenda! In that corner, the conservatives! Serving as a judge who will call the game for us; people void of convictions and filled with a fickleness tossed back and forth by the wind.
Before I continue, I have certainly met some true Independents, people familiar with the world we live in and frustrated with the hypocrisy that often characterizes both parties. But frankly, I see this wing of the Independents as an exception.
I remember, years ago, listening to a woman explain to me why she was not going to vote for George Bush Senior as president. It was because of his running mate, Dan Quayle. “There’s no way I’m voting for him. He can’t even spell the word, potato.”
Now mind you, this woman knew nothing about what was going on in the country and would have been unable to explain the philosophical difference between a Democrat or a Republican. The only thing she knew about this election, and I mean THE ONLY THING SHE KNEW ABOUT THIS ELECTION was that Quayle couldn’t spell the word potato. Dan Quayle, supposedly, was too stupid for the Oval Office, even though he graduated law school and served in the National Guard before becoming a US Senator. The very idea of somebody voting in any election based upon that kind of reasoning, yet smugly patting themselves on the back, saying “He’s too stupid for my vote,” creates a rather scary irony. And yet, these are the ones being wooed by presidential hopefuls.
Speaking as one individual, I’m tired of hearing what the “independents” think. Why? Because many of them cannot think. Doesn’t matter. They hold election lightening at their fingertips.
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