Mike PouraryanKP Week-End II (2/14/2010): The US Election Season
February 14th 2010 08:55
The election season is in full swing. Democrats and Republicans are falling all over each other in retiring. Almost 9% of the sitting members of the House of Representatives have announced that they are not seeking re-election. I found the annoucement by Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Senator Kennedy's Son, to be especially surprising:
I have seen reports about a third generation of Kennedys picking up the mantle. That's something that would be fun to watch. There is another personality that seems to want to throw his hat in the ring: Mort Zuckerman. For those who don't know who he is, he is a New York Property Tycoon who is also heavy into newspapers and is a regular on some of the US Sunday Public Affairs shows in the US. He wants to run against Kristin Gillibrand, the apponted US Senator from New York, for the Democratic Nomination. I saw this on CQ Politics. There is precendence for this in New York, Michael Bloomberg is now in his third term as Mayor.
These kind of developments is a precursor to a bigger problem: the gap between the have and the have nots. If you want to run for office, you got to have money. The level playing field that McCain-Feingold promised for Federal campaigns got thrown out the window with what the Supreme Court did with the Citizens United Case that I commented on in KP's Sister site, Outsider Views. There needs to be a concerted effort to bring people in to be a part of the process. This is how Democracy will work to renew itself and be energized. I see no other way.
I have seen reports about a third generation of Kennedys picking up the mantle. That's something that would be fun to watch. There is another personality that seems to want to throw his hat in the ring: Mort Zuckerman. For those who don't know who he is, he is a New York Property Tycoon who is also heavy into newspapers and is a regular on some of the US Sunday Public Affairs shows in the US. He wants to run against Kristin Gillibrand, the apponted US Senator from New York, for the Democratic Nomination. I saw this on CQ Politics. There is precendence for this in New York, Michael Bloomberg is now in his third term as Mayor.
These kind of developments is a precursor to a bigger problem: the gap between the have and the have nots. If you want to run for office, you got to have money. The level playing field that McCain-Feingold promised for Federal campaigns got thrown out the window with what the Supreme Court did with the Citizens United Case that I commented on in KP's Sister site, Outsider Views. There needs to be a concerted effort to bring people in to be a part of the process. This is how Democracy will work to renew itself and be energized. I see no other way.
| 39 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
