Can the US Government be Reformed?

Lets take a close look at how our government functions.

Elections

Under our two-party system we, as voters, are given a choice between two corporately funded candidates. We can acknowledge that there are third party candidates, but viable ones are about as common as unicorns. Candidates are elected by the people within their districts but the lines of those districts are drawn by whatever happens to be the ruling party at the time. Corporations, special interest groups and extremely wealthy individuals give money to the candidates in exchange for a quiet promise that the candidate will somehow further their interests. Everyday citizens are then bombarded by very expensive campaign commercials for about 18 months. In November the citizens who are still willing to see the respective candidates' names in print go to vote and the winner is chosen.

Campaign Funding

As I mentioned above, the lion's share of campaign money comes from corporations, special interest groups, and very wealthy individuals. There are some notable exceptions. Obama bilked many of his average followers out of cash. Ron Paul and his Money-bomb campaigns have also relieved some idealistic folk of their spare change. However, if a candidate wants to be viable, he or she must pander to big money.

When this sort of thing happens in other countries American Exceptionalists look down their noses at the practice, calling it bribery. The reality of the situation is that influence over one's government is cheaper, and therefore more accessible to the common man/woman in places like Iraq or Mexico. Here in the United States one must own a large company to exert any kind of influence over his/her government. (And who amongst us hasn't paid off a cop in a Mexican boarder town to avoid a public urination charge?)

Gerrymandering

Voting districts are drawn up according to census data. If Republicans are carving up an area one will generally find that poor, minority and ethnic neighborhoods will be bisected leaving strong blocks of rich areas to win districts for their man. Democrats will do the same thing, leaving poor areas intact and chopping up affluent neighborhoods. In either case they would never divide an area into exclusively rich and poor neighborhoods. If that were to happen candidates would have to pander to what they would call extremes. Poor areas would demand that police stop abusing their residents and rich areas would have the audacity to ask for lower taxes. This would not serve either party or the corporations who fund them. From the prospective of the ruling parties it is much better to keep people divided.

Lobbying

Once the candidate has made his/her way into office they are beset upon by lobbyists offering lavish meals, weekend getaways, free flights, the company of attractive members of the opposite sex and, in some cases, cash. Democratic Rep. William Jefferson was caught with $90,000 in bribe money in his freezer in 2006.

If bribery doesn't work, extortion will. Candidates who do not submit to the Moet et Chandon treatment can always be beaten into submission by threats of support for his/her opponent in the next race. These Lobbies are powerful and their grip is tight. When Clinton shut off monetary support for Israel it took AIPAC hours to bring him into compliance. Of course, this would not be an issue if politicians planed to serve only one term and then go back to live in the communities that they represented.

Reform

It would take an enormous effort on the part of the American people to reform our government. We would have to do away with seniority in Congress, electoral college and voting districts, lobbyists, and somehow limit the amount that candidates can spend on campaigns. We would probably have to amend the Constitution to nullify the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. But I will deal with that in a future blog. In the mean time, vote for independent candidates, buy guns, and stockpile food because things are not looking up.