Democracy Doesn't Begin With President Obama

Is getting Obama in the White House all we need?

I have been concerned with the way people are putting the majority of their focus on the presidential campaign and seemingly viewing the outcome of this election as the end of their needs being met.

I realize that it is where the media is mainly focused, but I feel the urgent need to look beyond the presidential campaign.

Even if, or when, you might suggest, Obama is elected, it won't be enough to heal the wounds this country has endured these past eight years and beyond.

I don't mean to denigrate or take away from him. I am fascinated by his presence and seemingly strong core. The core that shows up whenever he answers a question. There is no hemming and hawing from him. He seems to know who he is and what he stands for. I admire that. Not just as a politician but as a human being on planet Earth.

But he won't fix everything. He is but one man. He is fallible. His recent vote on FISA demonstrates that.

Story continues below

advertisement

Thing is, no one person can do all the heavy lifting. Even if a buddhist monk was elected president, he or she would still have to work, or fight, congress. Even the politician with the noblest of intentions eventually compromises and takes political sides. It's those sides that I feel is at the root of our problems in government.

When I was 18 I registered Democrat and was there for many years. But I became disenchanted and switched parties. I registered Green, Independent, and just to prove to myself that parties don't matter, I recently registered Republican. I'm the same person and I don't feel anymore allegiance to the Democrats, Republicans or Greens than I do to The Whigs.

To me the answer to our many and varied problems lie outside of partisan politics. I know, I know. Not an original thought, but here's what is:

Even if Obama does become president, that isn't the most important thing. The importance lies within Congress. That's where the real power lies. You may argue that statement given the past eight years, but in order for Cheney and Bush to pull their crap, they had to be emboldened by a willing Senate and House. Had the mouths of the Legislative Branch said "no", the Executive Branch would have been powerless. Think about it.

So here's what I think needs to be done to affect real change: ready? We need to run TRUE INDEPENDENT candidates who use reason over fear. Logic over emotion. People who we know who they are going in. People who can see past party identity. Who are complex, not black and white. People not easily given to greed and power. In total: people who aren't politicians.

When I was younger, someone once said to me that the people most qualified to be president never run. I found that concept fascinating and I've ruminated over it for a couple of decades.

You and I know plenty of people who are educated, reasonable, compassionate and forward thinking, but would never go into politics. They recognize the filth and the deception associated with such a career. They get the black and white world in which politicians operate and avoid it at all costs. They have too much character and sense to compromise who they are at their core. But we need them.

These people are usually found in the foundations of bureauacracy. Be it the nurse who carries the load for the doctor in a hospital. The school clerk who knows more about how the school functions than the principal. The unsung heroes of the everyday world who keep the clocks running but are quiet about it because they do not seek glory. These are the people who must be our new leaders.

So what's to be done? I believe we must recruit those individuals we know to run for the House and Senate as TRUE INDEPENDENTS. Surely no one would go in alone as an independent because they would be powerless in a Demo/Repub dominated world. That's why there would need to be a group of such people. But a group sounds like a party. Okay, this is where things get interesting.

If I can get Mr. Perfect Non-Politican in New Hampshire to run as an independent, then I can get Mrs. Perfect Non-Politician to run in Arkansas. If I can get her to run, then I can get someone in Idaho to run. This goes on until we have a coalition of independents. The difference is, they don't answer to one another or a party line. They have a foundation of mutual understanding and beliefs, but they are not beholden to one another.

Let's say we get twenty such people to run for the Senate. Maybe a dozen actually win. That becomes a very powerful voting bloc that can swing votes between two increasingly warring and out of touch parties. There would also be some similar action needed for the House. I have no idea what the number would be, I admit my ignorance of voting in the House.

Do you see what happens? This no longer becomes a "this side of the aisle or that side of the aisle" government. It becomes accountable. It comes closer to representing the many voices of our country.

"But," you say, "The dems are going to sweep congress in this election. We'll be fine!" Really? The dems took control of the Senate in 2006. Lot of good that's done us. Any institutionalized politician is going to be problematic, regardless of party. Especially if that party controls both houses of congress and the White House. It might be dreamy for a while, but imbalance always creates trouble no matter who's in charge. We will still need independent voices.

Initially these independent candidates would work like a slate. Supporting one another across the country. Show themselves as a unified spirit, but as independent people. They are joined not my political party, but by intention and independent thinking.

I hesitate to use this example because it is so loaded, but think about terrorist cells. They don't communicate with each other, there is no hierarchy, but they are bonded by a common belief. Unfortunately their belief is about killing. The analogy obviously ends here.

But what if we had "cells" of people bonded by their desire for a non-militarstic foreign policy? By educating and raising our people's position in life? By sharing our wealth with the world and lifting everyone with us? By coming together to heal our economy with sustainable banking and business practices? By using laws to protect our health and that of the planet instead of bowing to the myopic practices of destructive corporations. What if?

Pie in the sky? Cynicism never got us anywhere. Remember Obama's slogan: Hope.

Financing is perhaps the key to making this happen. I believe that there are enough well heeled readers of this site and members of the progressive community at large that could pool their resources together to bring about this slate of independents. I invite you wealthy and influential progressives to talk amongst yourselves.

I used to believe that what we needed was a third party. Then a third and fourth party. But that means people will continue to fall into the same traps of party ideology.

We need to move beyond that and this is how I see us accomplishing this task. So take a moment and visualize this. Picture someone of true integrity and small personal ambition from your own state taking up the cause. Envision them joining with another such person from the state you think is completely the opposite of your own. Then picture individuals from every state in between. Picture them working together to level the playing field in Congress and holding everyone there accountable for their actions.

Picture it.