If you believe that statement then you haven't been following politics since the dawn of time. Ok, maybe not the dawn of time, but at least within about 100 years since then when people started forming committees to decide whether or not it would be a good idea berries off of a particular bush. After all they had no idea if there would be adverse effects to it, such as death. So they would get together, force feed some of it to the village dog, then stand back and see what happens.
Of course at this point the dog will go into convulsions and die, which would then lead to the finger pointing and blame throwing. Thus the seeds of Democracy are born.
Coming back to present day we see ourselves embarking on another election season where we will watch, with morbid curiosity, as Democrat and Republican candidates sling the proverbial mud at each other until the public is left to decide who to vote for. This generally results in one of the two following approaches: throwing a dart at a wall with pictures of the two main candidates for a specific office, or the time honored eany-meany-miny-moe approach.
Out here in California it has already gotten into full swing as Carly Fiorina, who won the recent Republican primary, runs against the incumbent Barbara Boxer, for one of the coveted Senate seats. There have already been rumors of this turning into quite the cat-fight.
Carly Fiorina
"I beat cancer, therefore, I will squash Barbara like a bug."
vs.
Barbara Boxer
"Don't you just love my hair?"
With many voters upset over Boxer's support of the recently passed Health Care Reform Bill, she will have a rather difficult fight on her hands.
We also have Meg Whitman, who recently beat Steve Poizner in the recent Republican primary, running against California District Attorney Jerry Brown.
Meg Whitman
"California should be run like a business, or not, whatever."
vs.
Jerry Brown
"Prop 13, what was that?"
The gloves are already off and the battleground will be littered with issues like Immigration and Health Care Reform. Democrats will have an uphill battle on their hands this fall, especially the incumbents. The Republican candidates will, most likely, have the support of most Tea Party groups, who are looking for candidates who will cut taxes and promote more anti-illegal-immigration laws like the one that was passed recently in Arizona.
There will be the typical tv and radio ads that will be slamming each candidate for everything from their suitability to run for office to their choice of hair color (Jerry Brown excluded of course). And they will be broadcast at a frequency that by the time we actually reach election day we will be so tired of them we will vote for anyone that will just MAKE IT STOP!
The challenge for voters this year, more then even in previous years, is to not get distracted by all the accusations and half truths and actually pick the right person for the office. One thing that should be pointed out is even though the candidates you will be seeing on TV and hearing on the radio are the ones who have been nominated by their respected parties, there are other candidates to choose from. Do not get distracted into thinking that you are only able to pick from between the two major parties. There may be someone as qualified, if not more so, to steer this country in the right direction that may not have millions to spend on a full-blown campaign.
The gauntlet has been thrown down, research the candidates and pick who you feel will be the right person. Do not make your decision based on advertisements.
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