Dirty Politics (Tx)

[kenmar]

I watched it on Cspan. Amazing how little we know about public figures. I was quite impressed with the way the whole family was so supportive of each other.

[janecallanan]

I am always amazed that people think they are no more than their opponents commercials. Taken in context, they're both (or all three) fighting for the same job. If they didn't fight hard, and use what they could, would you want them representing you?

[kenmar]

Lot's of people bad mouthed him and complained about his liberal beliefs and his sometimes being the only nay vote on an issue. He seemed to be one of a kind in the Senate. Too bad his type aren't in the majority. Not with his liberal bent, but with his integrity.

[reeb]

SS,

The ONLY proof I have is the "slamming" ads on the tube.

Other than that, elect another WOMAN.

enough..........

[janecallanan]

If you really want to know, go deeper than the ads. Write a letter asking questions to the candidate. They respond. They want your vote. Listen to debates. Dig deeper than the mainstream.

[kenmar]

Jane, back a few years ago, when I was into the activist game, I quickly found out that unless you were a heavy campaign contributor, access to elected officials was very limited.

All correspondence is filtered through staff members andmost federal politicians have a staff of 10 or more. So unless you have a letter of Pulitzer quality or mass quantities of letters from different constituents about the same subject, chances are slim your letter will actually get to an official's eyes.

Most answered letters are boiler plate responses from the staff. By the way, I'm talking about snail mail not e-mail. The latter is usually scanned by a computer and a template from an auto-reply program is sent back to the constituant. That's nothing more than a feel good thing for the voter.

But that's not to say the average joe-sixpack voter can't be heard. What it takes is finding out which staff member handles the area of your concern and then smoozing him or her for a long time.

Then, when you finally get the ear of one of the staff, the real work begins.You become a lobby of one. And whatever your cause, it must be something that has mass appeal to your official's constituency and maybe the whole country.

Assuming you get that far, the work's not over yet. If what you need is a new or changed bill, you really have to have a good case. Because the time and effort it will take the official's staffto create or submit an amendment to a bill is overwhelming.They won'tdo all thatwork unless they think the bill has a chance of passing.

Granting that you convince the official to go that far and he/she agrees to introduce the bill, there are stillseveral steps left. The Senator or congressman now has to possibly convince a committee to pass it. Getting past that hurdle the leader of either body has to be convinced to put it on the floor for a vote. Then a house/senate conference committee may have to look it. After that it could still be vetoed by the president.

Those wheels in Washington really do grind slowly, so patience,stamina, and tenacity of purpose are a must.....A couple thousand volunteers of like mind wouldn't hurt.

Some food for thought... Think about how hard it is to get a consensus aboutanythingin this forum,with just a relatively small number participants.

Of course, this is all just the opinion of a dwindling Irish curmudgeon. What the hell do I know....:cd:

ken

[reeb]

Jane,

I WONT VOTE FOR ANYONE!!

The only one I would vote for has been dead for years and years, ( I chopped down the cheery tree) dude.

Now in all reality "IF" by any chance the so called politicians would try to get a woman into office of high authority, and meets the criteria I would vote for her.

These polos now want to do so much and deliver nothing except tufer laws for the offenders ( of which the polos) do the same thing each and every day.

Have you ever been to a court house and go through a Pub Intox or Dwi case, and just sit there and listen to what the Judge/pros/def atty are saying? If not well::::

Then comes Lunch break, and the judge/pros/def aty go to the nearest restraunt and order lunch and eat, ( but at the same time they are downing more liquor than a drunk can handle) and then drive back to the court house and send the poor person to jail for 6 months, and then after work the same perple that sent this poor person to jail , go to the pub and have a couple more and then drive home.

The same type of that bullshit happens in the White house each and every day.

What is good for the Goose is also Good for the Gander deal.

No Sir. I wont vote for any of them, cause they are Hipocrites.

My View Not yours.

To each his own, but WATCH THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU.

enough...........

[Boats]

Hey reeb,

You have to vote for referendums. Those are the ones that local snakes like to pass. Higher taxes and those little bits you see increased in your utility bills.

They are real sharp at trying to sneak these by. I only wish the congressional issues were voted on by the people then those guys would have to learn a new dance step.

[bbeil]

I have heard (not researched) that about 20% of all eligible voters, vote on election days. This is such a small percentage of turnout that it is not a representation of the majority and I am sure the formula works in the odds of big money politicians.
What if 80% of the voters voted at election time, wouldn't't that be a shock to the politicians who have already run the numbers based on the "Apathetic" response of the usual turnout ( 20% ?)on election day.
Damn I would love to see it in my lifetime.

[janecallanan]

Reeb...Think I'm still supposed to be running for Mayor of Mars. Will you vote then?
Jane for Mayor.