CRYING THE BLUES…WHILE KNEE DEEP IN A FLOOD OF RED…
(…even though a lot of green was spent to prevent it…)

The aftermath of these mid-term elections has left a lot of folks in shock. Some, especially those who are of an absolute partisan bent, are displaying either total gloom and despair about it…or overbearing jubilation… depending on which end of the political spectrum they support. Hardcore Democrats…are crying the blues…while knee deep in a flood of red…even though a lot of green was spent to prevent it. For their part, hardcore Republicans are gleefully sharpening their political scalpels under the illusion that they now have a mandate to start carving up everything they’ve been against and obstructing for the past six years.

Neither is the truth of the situation.

Despite the record low turnout for a mid-term election the taxpaying voters of this country have simply expressed their general dissatisfaction with the way things are, that is, the partisan gridlock in Congress, and its failure to get anything done…and the apparent lack of leadership muscle from the White House to kick it in the ass about that failure. So the voters did that ass-licking instead.

The problem is…we, the taxpaying voters, are the real failures in this situation because we’re the ones who are ultimately responsible for the sorry state in which our country finds itself.

Why do we say that? We say it because we’re the dimwits who keep voting over and over and over again for all those same career politicos we keep ranting about…all because we insist on being rabidly partisan for either Democratic or Republican party agendas… rather than focusing and thinking about what might be best for the country as a whole. Thus, that political duopoly has now evolved into two oligarchic groups constantly sparring for political power and economic control for their own benefit…instead of for the rest of us. Until we the taxpaying voters of this country wise up and quit blindly supporting such a political duopoly…nothing will ever change.

Back in 2008, we tried to rattle a few cages with that idea. So some like-minded fellow veterans decided to run a campaign for an “independent” write in candidate for President…drafting me for that purpose. Reportedly, we actually received some 150 votes…nationwide! While the campaign was mostly just a tongue-in-cheek potshot at the establishment, we were struck by how seriously some people actually took it, indicating that there was a much deeper flow of voter unhappiness with the way things are than we had realized.

It was from that realization that we came up with a way which could, perhaps, really change things for the better, by steadily diminishing that political duopoly’s hold on the way our country is run. Sadly, as far as we know to date, nothing has ever come of it. Instead, anarchic and demagogue elements, from both the Left and the Right, have somehow held the Congress and the White House hostage for these past six years, refusing to face the reality that, the electorate as a whole doesn’t care much for the deep canyons of the extreme Left or Right, but is much more inclined to occupy a very broad central mesa instead… somewhat liberal on social issues…somewhat conservative on matters of government and fiscal sensibility. Both parties of this duopoly, in their greed to feed at the trough of public service as long as possible, seem to have forgotten that.

Which is where we are today… in a situation almost identical to what we had in 2008, but instead of blue, this time the sweep is red. Now, perhaps, it’s time to re-consider the thoughts and comments we made in a video clip about it at that time. Maybe this time, some will see the merits of what we were proposing back then…and so make a serious effort at the next elections in 2016 for some real…change. Well, we can dream…can’t we?

To view that video clip and to learn more about the American Reform Movement (ARM) click here!

CENTURION