First off, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is excellent television, some of the best cable can buy. His interviewing skills are truly what have kept him in the top tier of TV Hosts. Yesterday, he interviewed Al Gore and discussed the former Vice President's role in the sale of Current TV to al-Jezeera and his new book called The Future. However, what struck me most in the interview was Stewart's question on lobbyists and how they impede progress in Washington. Gore went on and gave a stripped down description of environmental lobbyists and their efforts. While his piece focused on environmental lobbyists, his break down could be applied to many other types of legislation: education, marijuana, debt, guns, healthcare. At one point he describes how they were, and many times are, outnumbered 4-1 or 4-0 on a bill just because the corporations can afford to fund more opposition, "If Michael Jordan was covered by four defensive players every time he took the court, he wouldn't be an all-star."
I know this current form of lobbying is feeding the problem with our democracy today. Representatives do not present the motives of their constituency to congress. With the passage of Citizens United (a great song describing the court case) and policies of the like, the average man's voice is drowned out by billions of greenbacks. As the song says, "Citizens United, puts the mock in Democracy." Money has led politicians, their parties, and the corporations/private funding supporting them to care more about winning, than facing the next season. I mean how ridiculous is this, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell basically said that their main objective was to obstruct progress. Where is that in the constitution? Which founding fathers shared that same ideology? It is just plain destructive politics. The economy reaps the wounds and society ends up blaming each other.
Instead, those in Washington need to play fair. Letting money run our system instead of the principles America was founded on got us into this current political stalemate. It has damaged our economy, our faith in the government, but moreover, our future. When one side wins instead of compromise, we all lose. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity and I am afraid some of those in Washington are stuck in that infinite loop. In the interview with Al Gore, there were some other great highlights surrounding climate change and how both sides respond to spreading of hiding the message. I encourage you to watch the other parts of the interview at thedailyshow.com and also to look up Citizens United yourself, and think about how much your opinion really matters on policy and how it is made.
I know this current form of lobbying is feeding the problem with our democracy today. Representatives do not present the motives of their constituency to congress. With the passage of Citizens United (a great song describing the court case) and policies of the like, the average man's voice is drowned out by billions of greenbacks. As the song says, "Citizens United, puts the mock in Democracy." Money has led politicians, their parties, and the corporations/private funding supporting them to care more about winning, than facing the next season. I mean how ridiculous is this, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell basically said that their main objective was to obstruct progress. Where is that in the constitution? Which founding fathers shared that same ideology? It is just plain destructive politics. The economy reaps the wounds and society ends up blaming each other.
Instead, those in Washington need to play fair. Letting money run our system instead of the principles America was founded on got us into this current political stalemate. It has damaged our economy, our faith in the government, but moreover, our future. When one side wins instead of compromise, we all lose. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity and I am afraid some of those in Washington are stuck in that infinite loop. In the interview with Al Gore, there were some other great highlights surrounding climate change and how both sides respond to spreading of hiding the message. I encourage you to watch the other parts of the interview at thedailyshow.com and also to look up Citizens United yourself, and think about how much your opinion really matters on policy and how it is made.