Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Power Corrupts

As an American, I am saddened by the culture of corruption in Washington, and it's disgusting that any politician is capable of abusing his office. I'm sure no one gets elected so he can be corrupt; it's just something that happens over time, but it still happens.

Campaign finance reform can help to stop some of this, but there is still too much money in campaigns. There are too many lobbyists who are willing to spend too much money on officials in order to influence their votes. Pork barrel projects are the name of the game since politicians want to get elected by the voters back home, and to get elected, it takes money.

Of course, when was the last time you gave any money to a politician? That's the problem. Most voters are so turned off with politicians that they don't want to donate to them, so politicians have to depend on the lobbyists and special interests to finance their campaigns. Wealthy candidates who are willing to fund their own campaigns are less dependent on these groups, but they are not immune either.

So what is the answer? Perhaps the public media can provide free time for the candidates. Otherwise, they need to raise millions of dollars to pay for TV ads. Limiting the amount of money a candidate can raise, and by whom, can help, but there are too many loopholes in the system.

Several groups and organizations have PAC ( Political Action Committee ) money which they can use to support their candidates. This makes it too easy to abuse the system, and corruption is soon follows.

We will be having a primary in June for several statewide and local offices, and it's amazing the millions of dollars spent for an office that pays something over $100,000 a year. For the governor's race alone, each candidate will spend close to $40 million.

Enough is enough. The voters need to be more involved in the political process and make it clear to our elected officials and candidates that we want them to represent all of the people, and not only those who contribute to their campaigns.

The reason for term limits was to ensure that no politician stays in office too long, but, inevitably, the best tool for term limits is the ballot box on election day. If a candidate is not being fair with the people who he or she represents, then that candidate needs to be removed from office.

Maybe it's time for a change in Sacramento in November. It's obvious to me and most Californians that Arnold the Terminator has let us down over and over again.

He attacked, for no reason, the very people who put him in office--the nurses, teachers, policemen, and firemen--then he wastes our tax dollars on a stupid election. Now he wants us to believe that he cares about the people of California by proposing a budget that is irresponsible.

It's a budget that will only lead to a larger deficit. I though the Republican Party was the party of fiscal responsibility. What happened under Arnold's reign? Is it possible that he, too, has become corrupt? Here is a man who said that he was so rich that he would not have to take any money from the special interests, and then he turned around to take more money than even Gray Davis took after serving for five years!

It's time for the people to demand that our elected officials and candidates promise to do what is right, or they should plan to be out of a job at election time.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

district 35
central and south orange county supports your candidacy!

need signatures?
larry please attend...

OC Grassroots Progressives ::::::::: MEETS
When: Thursday, February 23 at 7:00PM
Where: Steve Young Campaign Headquarters

cm said...

I'm not sure how else to contact you Mr. Caballero, and I'm sure this may sound like an outrageous request, but...

I'm a newly registered voter and the upcoming Primary Election is the first election I will be able to vote in. I am not sure who to vote for, as I don't really know who any of the candidates are, but I am trying to do my research as best I can.

I am writing to suggest that I think it would help your campaign greatly if you had a small website detailing your beliefs on the various issues that will face you should you become a senator. It's a little difficult to get an overall view of your politics through the various newspaper clippings and blog posts scattered here and there.

I suppose I'm not as politically active as I should be, but I honestly don't know where else I could go to get such information. I feel a little silly to ask, actually. But thank you for taking the time to read this if you have, Mr. Caballero, and good luck in the election!

Anonymous said...

I'm also trying to get in contact with Mr. Caballero. I'm not happy with the way that Mr. Harman treats his consituants. I have a letter from him that may be able to help you prove that he does not care about his people. If you would like to get in touch with me please email me at jack.seattle@comcast.net. Thank you for taking the time to reAD my post and good luck.

Anonymous said...

I'd like to echo pink-chan's comments, and add that I'd have greatly appreciated it if you (Mr. Caballero) had filed a candidate statement for your CA Senate race. To be blunt, while I am strongly disinclined to vote for either of the Republican candidates, I generally interpret a lack of candidate statement as a lack of real interest in the race. Perhaps you don't feel that you have a real chance of winning the race, but that strikes me as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

However, I agree that putting up a website with campaign information would be greatly appreciated by people looking for alternatives to the Republican candidates.

Good luck.

pyrotecher said...

Looks like there is a lot of call for Larry to put up a campaign website!

How 'bout it Larry? You're a great candidate and I know you believe in an informed electorate. You've got an excellent ballot statement but a website is a good way to elaborate on it and get feedback.

It's inexpensive for even the someone running a principled low-budget campaign. If nothing else, start a campaign blog on blogspot for free!!!

In the meantime, to help do what I can, I've made some posts about Larry's campaign on my own blog:
http://ad67dem.blogspot.com/
It's not nearly what the campaign itself could do, though.

Go for it, Larry!